Builder Announced in Vallejo Project

Builder Announced in Vallejo Project
By Nathan Halverson

FAIRFIELD - Triad Communities announced Texas-based D.R. Horton will build hundreds of residential units in the first phase of a project in downtown Vallejo.

"D.R. Horton's decades of experience in creating exceptional new home communities will be an integral component of our efforts in downtown Vallejo," said Fred Grimm, Triad Communities president, in a prepared statement. "As a homebuilder, D.R. Horton has an outstanding track record in developing a very creative mix of housing in urban areas."

Seattle-based Triad Communities' design for the project will include sidewalk-level retail space with residential units above.

The project is slated to break ground April 2006. The first building will be on Virginia Street downtown. It will consist of residential, live-work and retail space. It will also include underground parking.

The building will have 150 condominiums and will feature public paseos and gardens.

Triad Communities established a presence in Vallejo in 1998, when the company took a controlling interest in Hiddenbrooke, a community with 1,100 homes and a golf course.


Walnut Association Ups Price Recommendations

FAIRFIELD - The Walnut Bargaining Association is recommending an increase of 15 percent to 20 percent over the prices growers received for the 2004 walnut crop.
This year, the California Agricultural Statistics Service predicted the state's walnut harvest would yield a record 340,000 in-shell tons, up from 325,000 tons harvested in 2004. Between September to November, walnut growers in the state - numbering at more than 5,300 - collected their bounty.

"With market prices for inshell deliveries in the $1.02 to $1.15 range presently compared to 92 cents to begin the year in 2004, we feel increased prices to growers are warranted," said Don Norene, chair of the Lincoln-based Walnut Bargaining Association, in a release.

In Solano County, the 2004 harvest translated into $5.6 million. Walnuts ranked seventh among the county's top million-dollar crops and alone took up almost half of the dedicated fruit and nut acres.

The association recommends the price of $2.05 per meat yield pound for quality Chandler walnuts and $1.75 for other shelling stock varieties.


Biz Bits . . .

- Genentech (NYSE: DNA) will announce its 2005 fourth quarter and year-end earnings Jan. 10, 2006, after the markets close. Following the earnings release, the company will host a live webcast conducted by management who will discuss the earnings.

- Milwaukee-based staffing firm Manpower Inc. signed a lease to open an office at the Corporate Plaza, Suite 110, at 1261 Travis Blvd., Fairfield. Kirk Hull of the Wiseman Co. handled the lease negotiations.

- Christopher Lichtenhan and Brian Ollendorf leased 1,320 square feet of space to open Fused Cafe at 898 Alamo Drive, Vacaville. Randy Dawson, Premier Commercial, represented the two men.