Barker Pacific Group Announces Purchase of Commercial Parcel at Hamilton Airfield; 550,000 Square Feet of Space Available at Hamilton Landing.

NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998--Barker Pacific Group, Inc., a developer and real estate leader in California for almost two decades, has announced the acquisition of the commercial/office portion of Hamilton Airfield from the New Hamilton Partnership.

Named Hamilton Landing, the project will be approximately 550,000 square feet at full build-out and currently consists of seven former U.S. Air Force hangars and adjoining land designated by the City of Novato for commercial office development. Barker Pacific plans to develop the hangars into multi-tenant office and commercial space.

Construction will begin by the end of 1998, and tenants will be able to move in as early as the third quarter of 1999. The projected cost of the project is close to $100 million. The former military base was closed in 1974. In 1995, 400 acres of the Airfield was purchased by New Hamilton Partnership, marking the first time a decommissioned base was transferred to the private sector.

Barker Pacific foresees developing the hangars into a retail and commercial center, attracting industries such as technology, communications and service companies to this Marin County site. The buildings will contain state-of-the-art fiber optic telecommunications technology and incorporate energy saving designs and fresh air ventilation, not available in most commercial buildings.

A unique feature offered by the project is its proximity to vast open space wetlands as well as a wide variety of housing choices within the small town environment of Hamilton. Discussions are currently underway with several Marin County companies about relocating to Hamilton.

"I am extremely pleased to be involved in a reuse project that creates a unique environment for the office worker of the millenium," said Michael D. Barker, Managing Director. "While traditionally hangars have been cleaned up and used for storage or warehouse space, our plan is to take them to a higher level of finish. We want to create an atmosphere where people's work space is as exciting as the jobs they perform."

One of the unique features about Hamilton Airfield is its proximity to a major metropolitan area. "We don't think this type of project could be accomplished anywhere else but Hamilton," continued Barker. "Most airfields are in deserts or miles from civilization. The environment at Hamilton, nestled in Marin County and 20 minutes from San Francisco and the wine country makes it inviting to tenants looking for something different with a tremendous history and breathtaking beauty."

First Bank & Trust of Newport Beach is providing financing for the acquisition and construction; the architecture firm of Interior Architects, Inc. of San Francisco is handling the project design; McCarthy Construction will be the general contractor. The Leasing Team is headed by Michael Baskauskas of Barker Pacific's San Francisco office and Brian Eisberg and Haden Ongaro of Orion Partners, Ltd. in San Rafael.

Barker and his partners have been involved in commercial real estate for many years and personally handled the completion of more than 20 projects with a combined 5.5 million square feet of office space in California, Texas, Arizona and Florida.

In addition to Hamilton Landing, Barker Pacific is responsible for the construction of the 500,000 square foot 100 First Plaza in downtown San Francisco, as well as redeveloping the 500 Sansome Building in San Francisco. The company also recently acquired the architectural landmark The Fine Arts Building in downtown Los Angeles.

Other projects developed by the Company include the Miami Sports Arena in Miami, BP Plaza in Houston, The Cigna and Southwest Gas buildings in Phoenix, 5055 Wilshire in Los Angeles, 790 Colorado in Pasadena and multi-family residential project in San Francisco.

Tom Stubbs of Grubb & Ellis and Brian Eisberg of Orion Partners, Ltd. represented the Seller and Collister Capital Corporation represented Barker Pacific Group, Inc. in the transaction. For more information, call 415/495-7900.