Trans Bay Steel leases former Pilgrim building in Fairfield

East Bay Business Times - October 15, 2007
http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2007/10/15/story8.html

Friday, October 12, 2007
Trans Bay Steel leases former Pilgrim building in Fairfield
East Bay Business Times - by Jessica Saunders

Trans Bay Steel Corp., which fabricates steel parts for projects like the Bay Bridge, is moving from Napa to a building in Fairfield purchased by Adobe Lumber in 2006.

Trans Bay Steel was the largest of 13 tenants at the 152-acre former Napa Pipe facility, with 250,000 square feet. But Oregon Steel Mills Inc. sold the property in December 2005 to Napa Redevelopment Partners, which has proposed a mixed-use development with 3,200 residential units and retail, office, industrial and hotel space.

The steel fabricator realized it could not remain a long-term tenant at the riverfront Napa County site and began searching for an alternate location in the East Bay, ruling out the Central Valley, said Gary Fracchia, a senior vice president with NAI BT Commercial.

They wanted to stay close in, Fracchia said, and when the company changed the way they manufacture their product, they didn't need the old-fashioned steel-processing plant ion Napa, originally built for Kaiser Steel.

A Trans Bay representative did not return a phone call in time for publication.

Meanwhile, Adobe Lumber, which makes wood products and building supplies, decided against using the 140,184-square-foot manufacturing and distribution building at 2400 Cordelia Road in Fairfield that it bought for $7 million from fireplace accessory manufacturer Pilgrim Home & Hearth LLC, said Brooks Pedder, co-managing partner of Colliers International in Fairfield. Adobe Lumber had originally planned to use at least 30,000 square feet of the building and lease the rest.

Pedder said he did not know why Adobe changed its mind. A representative of Adobe did not return a phone call in time for publication.

When Trans Bay found 2400 Cordelia Road was available, it moved quickly. Another company was considering a short-term deal for the property, but Adobe Lumber preferred a long-term tenant, so it signed Trans Bay in 48 hours, Pedder said.

Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but both brokers described it as a long-term deal that will bring 75 to 100 workers to Fairfield. The deal closed in late August.

Trans Bay is currently moving its operation from Napa to Fairfield, a process that's expected to continue over the next quarter with the plant becoming fully operational by early 2008, Fracchia said.

The 9.8-acre Fairfield location was vacated last year after Pilgrim was sold to SilkRoad Resources LLC of Palo Alto and Triton Pacific Capital Partners LLC for $4.75 million in 2005.

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