San Francisco Business Times articles from June 1997

San Francisco Business Times archives from June 1997

Gap to scrap plan for new headquarters: Chairman Don Fisher's waterfront dream on ice. (Gap Inc)
June 6, 1997... Gap Inc. is close to shelving plans to build a 14-story headquarters tower on the San Francisco waterfront. The San Francisco-based retail chain was expected to begin construction later this year on the 540,000-square-foot building overlooking...

Tours de force: Pier 39 snags bus-tour company in its bid to rule on land and sea.
June 6, 1997... Just as San Francisco's Pier 39 is about to close a deal to rule the local waves, it's preparing a land assault with the purchase of San Francisco's second-largest ground tour operator. Pier 39's Blue & Gold Fleet is close to an agreement to...

Kaiser executive who cut hospitals hangs up scalpel. (Kaiser's hospital strategy Managing Director Martin Manley)
June 6, 1997... The executive most closely tied to Kaiser Permanente's revolutionary plan to close aging hospitals statewide and contract with non-Kaiser facilities has unexpectedly quit. Martin "Marty" Manley, Kaiser's managing director of hospital strategy...

Prescription for success: Rite Aid drug stores blast into Bay area. (San Francisco Bay Area)
June 6, 1997... Rite Aid Corp. is launching a major expansion campaign, with plans to build as many as 25 new drug stores a year in the Bay Area. The nation's second-largest drug store chain is leading the industry's consolidation trend after its acquisition...

Residential builder targets Pleasanton. (Security Capital Pacific Trust; Pleasanton, California)
June 6, 1997... A New Mexico-based real estate investment trust has tied up the second-largest undeveloped parcel in Pleasanton's Hacienda Business Park and is planning a $60 million residential development. Security Capital Pacific Trust, based in Santa Fe,...

A business renaissance develops in downtown Berkeley.(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... After years of declining population, neglected buildings and all-too-visible homelessness, downtown Berkeley is enjoying a renaissance. Driven by a slew of public and private investment activity and a general upturn in the economy, the area is...

Critics attempt to derail BART land development: retail, theater project remain stalled. (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
June 6, 1997... The Bay Area Rapid Transit District is sitting on a potential development empire, but not everyone wants the public transportation district dabbling in the real estate game. Recent attempts to develop retail and entertainment complexes at the...

Downtown buildings plug in to post-deregulation power. (San Francisco, California)
June 6, 1997... Power companies from around the country are finding downtown San Francisco to be a popular place these days. The reason is not the bird's-eye view from the top of the Transamerica pyramid, but the $110 million in electricity it and the other...

Shipping giant APL is bullish on new China freight center. (American President Lines)
June 6, 1997... Oakland shipping giant APL Ltd. has just clinched a deal for a new $27 million distribution center in Southern China in a bid to tap the mainland's gushing consumer growth. The company's freight logistics subsidiary, American Consolidation...

Safeway comparison shops for huge corporate intranet. (Safeway Inc)
June 6, 1997... Safeway Inc. is about to make a precedent-setting technological choice between two feuding high-tech giants: Microsoft and Netscape. Pleasanton-based Safeway wants to link all of its 1,368 far-flung grocery stores in 17 states with a...

New developments heat up Fremont's housing market. (Fremont, California)(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... Fremont, once consisting mostly of orchards, nurseries and cattle pastures, has become one of the hottest residential markets in the Bay Area. The southernmost municipality in Alameda County is the fourth-largest in the nine-county Bay Area....

Alta Bates heads off losses by eliminating capitated fees. (Alta Bates Medical Group)
June 6, 1997... Alta Bates Medical Group, a key element of the powerful East Bay Medical Network, is moving back to the future by eliminating so-called capitated contracts that pay a set monthly fee to its primary-care doctors. Instead, the 550-doctor,...

Even the pros find it tougher to house transfers, temps. (relocation housing)(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... Finding a temporary nest for migrating employees is getting tougher in the Bay Area's shrinking rental market. Corporate housing specialists - who find interim homes for clients on the move - are fighting a 2 percent vacancy rate in temp...

Debbie Pond-Heide. (Adecco Employment Services North American president)
June 6, 1997... Name: Debbie Pond-Heide Title: North America President Company: Adecco Employment Services (formerly Adia Employment Services), in Redwood City. Education: Studied U.S. history at Cal State Hayward. Residence: Pleasanton. BUSINESS...

Asia imports Bay Area architects for 21st-century designs.(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... When Kookmin Bank decided to build a new headquarters in Seoul last year, it set out to create its image as Korea's banking giant of the future. Its architects did just that. Designed online by a 24-hour team in Seoul and San Francisco, the...

Vacation homes offer escape from tight Bay Area market. (San Francisco Bay Area)(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... With Bay Area housing prices inflated and fewer homes available, many people are scrambling just to buy a first home. But increasingly, realtors are closing second-home sales in traditional getaways and retirement communities. Home sales in...

DeVry to teach high-tech skills at Fremont site. (Chicago, IL-based DeVry Institute of Technology)(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... A number of tech companies have been snapping up real estate and setting up camp in Fremont recently, and now a tach school plans to do likewise. Chicago-based DeVry Institute of Technology, a national player in adult technical training, last...

Vacancies make East Bay the envy of Bay Area workers. (San Francisco)(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... A healthy East Bay real estate market has attracted a couple of new additions to this year's List of the largest commercial real estate firms in the East Bay. (See page 17A.) Cornish & Carey Commercial makes a strong debut at No. 10 with the...

Diving into foreign waters. (Cetacea Corp)(Small Business Growth Strategies)(Company Profile)
June 6, 1997... When 30-year-old entrepreneur Clayton Gush wanted to start his own business nine years ago, he knew two things: A lot of Saudi Arabians and scuba diving. Thus, the Foster City-based exporter Cetacea Corp. - Latin for water mammal - was born....

Mergers, sale shake up ranks of property managers.(Real Estate Quarterly)
June 6, 1997... A couple of mergers arid a large portfolio sale have shuffled the rankings on this year's Business Times' List of the largest property management firms in the Bay Area. (See page 18A.) For starters, CB Commercial Real Estate Services Group...

To party-guy Willie Brown: keep it down. (San Francisco, CA, Mayor Willie Brown)(Editorial)
June 6, 1997... Time to loosen our belts, throw some shrimp on the barbie and let the good times roll. That seems to be the spirit these days at San Francisco's City Hall. Mayor Willie Brown unveiled a proposed budget the other day that adds $183 million in...

Why are California banks attacking credit unions?
June 6, 1997... The California Bankers Association announced recently that the banking industry has no plans to attack credit unions in the state Legislature. That's a surprise - banks have already viciously attacked credit unions in the courts and in public....

Giant H-P targets small business.
June 13, 1997... Sweeping technology push enlists army of middlemen Hewlett-Packard is taking aim at a new target: small businesses. The Palo Alto-based computer company has hired 100 Bay Area employees and 500 abroad in the last year and a half dedicated to...

Pouring it on: Mondavi uncorks new strategy to dominate midprice wine market. (Robert Mondavi Corp.)
June 13, 1997... After building its reputation on pricier wines, Robert Mondavi Corp. has decided the time is right to sell to drinkers mid-market varietals. With a handful of new brands and a network of global partnerships. Mondavi expects to sell 78 percent...

San Francisco's Just Desserts sweet on East Bay. (Just Desserts Inc.'s plans for expansion and relocation)
June 13, 1997... Just Desserts, the socially conscious San Francisco retail and wholesale bakery, is cooking up plans for a possible expansion and relocation across the Bay. Executives at the 320-employee company, which was co-founded by activist/entrepreneur...

Tosco to act neighborly: oil company will grit teeth, abide by law.
June 13, 1997... Tosco Corp., one of the most strident opponents of Contra Costa's "good-neighbor ordinance," will likely be the first oil refinery to seek a permit under the controversial new law. The oil company, which recently purchased the West Coast...

PeopleSoft plays hardball in Europe; contracts in Germany, France lead off an overseas expansion.
June 13, 1997... Fresh from a big win in Germany, PeopleSoft Inc. is close to inking a major contract in Paris as part of its overseas push. The Pleasanton-based software maker expects international sales to increase 125 percent this year after 100 percent...

Losing the advantage: reinsurer refuses to renew contract with CMA plan. (Swis Re Life and Health Ltd.; California Medical Association; California Advantage Inc.)
June 13, 1997... California Advantage Inc., the much-ballyhooed statewide health plan launched by the California Medical Association last July, will lose two-thirds of its business next month after failing to renew a contract with its reinsurance company. As...

Wells Fargo explores new trade frontiers. (Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank)
June 13, 1997... Even a stagecoach can leap the Pacific if given the reins of free trade. Wells Fargo Bank is seeing double-digit growth from a 3-year-old joint venture in a whole new frontier: trade finance. The Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, a venture...

Brown & Toland manages a move to the Central Valley. (Brown & Toland Medical Group)
June 13, 1997... Brown & Toland Medical Group, one of the Bay Area's most ambitious physicians' organizations, has taken a huge first step outside its San Francisco bailiwick by agreeing to take on management responsibilities for a 473-doctor group in the Central...

Coordinating independent workers. (Master Software Inc.)(Small Business Growth Strategies)(Company Profile)
June 13, 1997... For entrepreneur Meryl Natchez, the past several years have been a wild ride. In 1991, Natchez launched her second company, Master Software Inc., and since 1993, her first business, Walnut Creek-based Tech Prose Inc., has grown more than tenfold,...

Kaiser asks oldest docs to pack their bags: retirement push nudges 1-in-8 physicians toward door. (Kaiser Permanente-Northern California)
June 20, 1997... KAISER PERMANENTE Total Kaiser doctors in Northern California 3,525 Doctors offered early retirement 466 Window of opportunity Sept. 1-Oct. 31 Kaiser Permanente's Northern...

Tortillas to go. (Mi Rancho Tortilla Factory shuts down Oakland operations and moves employees to San Leandro, California)
June 20, 1997... It's a wrap: Mi Rancho to move 165 Oakland jobs to San Leandro Berber Food Manufacturing, better known as Mi Rancho Tortilla Factory, will shut down its two Oakland operations and move its 165 employees to San Leandro. Founded in Oakland in...

Highrise muscle: 345 California is back in shape. (office building owned by Norland Properties)
June 20, 1997... A rich diet of new lease deals has pumped up Norland Properties, transforming its First Interstate Center from a 98-pound weakling into the colossus of California Street. Last week, PG&E Energy Services agreed to lease 80,000 square feet -...

Piece of The Rock lets REIT roll: Meridian sells stake to Pru, bags properties for $360M. (Meridian Industrial Trust to acquire 9.3 million square feet of industrial property)
June 20, 1997... Meridian Industrial Trust has taken Wall Street by storm with a pair of stock-for-property deals valued at $360 million. The San Francisco-based REIT, which invests in high-end distribution facilities in selected transportation hubs around the...

Retirement housing throws out old to take in boomers.(The Baby Boom Turns 50: A Guide to Health, Wealth & Retirement)
June 20, 1997... The hot Bay Area residential real estate market is reaping the benefits as baby boomers empty their nests and select housing for their retirement years. On top of all the other factors fueling one of the hottest housing markets in the country,...

Oakland closer to filling vacancy in downtown hotel market.
June 20, 1997... Negotiations for a second major hotel in downtown Oakland - one of the city's glaring weaknesses - are nearing completion. City officials are hammering out final details with developer Lankford & Associates on the estimated $25 million to $35...

Finding a job has no degree of difficulty. (Warner-Lambert Co.)
June 20, 1997... When Warner-Lambert Co. restructured this year, the company found itself with a host of entry-level openings. The Bay Area office, especially, was looking for new, energetic people who could learn quickly, be team players and grow with the health...

Helping itself: Scopus rides customer-call software to another year of 100 percent growth. (Scopus Technology Inc.)
June 20, 1997... Bursting at the seams, Scopus Technology Inc. is doubling its office space in Emeryville and positioning itself for another year of more than 100 percent growth. Six-year-old Scopus makes software for customer service call centers, and to a...

Trio of new contracts put Etak back on the digital map.
June 20, 1997... Gridlock is turning into good business for Etak Inc. The Menlo Park-based digital map maker has inked contracts worth more than $1.5 million recently to help transit planners unsnarl traffic in Seattle, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Etak...

Taking a long-term view of the financial perils of old age.(The Baby Boom Turns 50: A Guide to Health, Wealth & Retirement)
June 20, 1997... Even boomers feeling young and active at 50 need to start. thinking about long-term care insurance for themselves, their spouses and aging parents. Someone healthy and in their early 50s is more likely to purchase a better policy at a lower...

Made in America sells well abroad. (Amtrat International Corp.)(Small Business Growth Strategies)
June 20, 1997... "Shoes and clothing - everybody everywhere needs them," said Mary Amanam, vice president of the Union City-based clothing and footwear exporter Amtrat International Corp. Amtrat, which was founded in 1980 by Mary's husband Usua and hit...

Hot economy has office furniture retailers feeling suite. (San Francisco Bay Area)
June 20, 1997... For an economic indicator, look no farther than your Bay Area office furniture supplier. The exploding economy is propelling companies that sell commercial furniture into growth orbits as businesses expand, add new equipment and refurbish. The...

Embarcadero Center goes on the block: Pru shops 50 percent stake in billion-dollar complex. (Prudential Insurance Co of America sells stake in prime San Francisco property)
June 27, 1997... Prudential Insurance Co. of America is moving ahead with plans to sell its stake in San Francisco's largest office property, the $1 billion Embarcadero Center complex. While a buyer has not been lined up, the Parsippany, N.J.-based insurer has...

Former DJ brought in to spin new hits at Sybase. (Mitchell Kertzman appointed CEO)
June 27, 1997... Mitchell Kertzman's suspenders say a lot about what has been happening at Sybase Inc. in the last 12 months. The elasticated straps depict a floppy-eared canine in a double-breasted suit, clutching a hot dog while ascending a globe. The...

Enterprise software: too much of a good thing? (rapid growth of software market segment)(Industry Overview)
June 27, 1997... The phenomenal success of enterprise software companies such as PeopleSoft Inc., Baan Co. and Oracle Corp. during the last two years has posed a thorny question for companies and investors alike. As the enterprise segment has proliferated with...

Among carnivores, Providian's independence may be short. (Providian Financial Corp attractive as acquisition target)
June 27, 1997... Providian Financial Corp., one of the Bay Area's fastest-growing banks, plans to play a more prominent role in San Francisco now that it's an independent entity. But Providian's new-found independence could be short-lived. The bank's skills at...

Jammed commuters find a channel for their aggression. (Etak to produce instantaneous traffic program 'Traffic Check')
June 27, 1997... Etak hopes to do for traffic jams what the Weather Channel did for blizzards. The Menlo Park-based digital mapping technology company is negotiating with cable TV operators in four metropolitan regions to produce a instantaneous traffic...

New director could improve story of Macromedia's life. (Robert Burgess appointed president)
June 27, 1997... Macromedia, the maker of multimedia development tools which stumbled badly last year, claims that it's picked itself up off the floor. "Last year, we had a bad year," said Robert Burgess, who took over as president at the San Francisco-based...