Real Estate

Represented Napa Valley luxury wine producer Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards in its acquisition of the Provenance Vineyards real estate in Rutherford, Calif. from Treasury Wine Estates. Far Niente purchased the property as the new home for its Bella Union brand. Farella also advised Far Niente on the concurrent sale of the Provenance brand and inventory to Lodi, Calif.'s Thomas Allen Vineyard & Wines.

Represented the master tenant of the San Francisco Flower Mart in renegotiating its agreements with Kilroy Realty Corp., including a long-term master lease to permanently relocate the Flower Mart to 16^th and Mississippi Streets in the San Francisco Potrero Hill neighborhood. The firm continues to assist the San Francisco Flower Mart with the redevelopment of the property. Over the past six years, the firm represented the owner of the site in obtaining entitlements for 395 housing units, industrial leasing and design matters.

Obtained a use permit and variance from Napa County to allow this premium winery to convert an existing residence on an adjacent property into a new hospitality center for the existing winery.  The new facilities will accommodate up to 150 visitors per day for private events such as dinners and wine-education programs.

Represented the seller, Johns Manville, in the sale of this former manufacturing site of asphalt and asbestos roofing materials, which was contaminated with asbestos, petroleum hydrocarbons and various volatile organic compounds.  The sale to Pittsburg River Park, LLC, an affiliate of Renova Partners, involved the shifting of various environmental responsibilities and liabilities to the buyer, which obligations were secured and backed by deeds of trust and insurance programs.

Representing a Napa vineyard owner in a code violations case for building a wine cave without a permit. Negotiated a favorable civil settlement and avoided criminal charges.

Serves as outside general counsel for and represented Justin Vineyard & Winery, a subsidiary of The Wonderful Company, in the acquisition of Sonoma’s Hop Kiln Winery in Healdsburg, California. The Hop Kiln Winery is one of the most historically significant agricultural buildings in Sonoma County and had fallen into disrepair under previous ownership. Farella assisted with the acquisition of the property and now leads a team of consultants with expertise in historic rehabilitation. The team was successful in obtaining permission to perform a seismic upgrade and rehabilitation of the historic kiln structure and in obtaining a pending use permit that will allow the owners to move forward with a complete remodel of the interior of the hop kiln structure, as well as the construction of a new winery production facility on the site. 

Represented Embarcadero Capital Investors with its disposition of office property Sherman Plaza East & West in Van Nuys. The property was acquired by Majestic Investments for $49.5 million and houses tenants such as the State of California Franchise Tax Board, General Services Administration and North Los Angeles County Regional Center.

Represented The Swig Company in its $150 million joint venture purchase of 6300 Wilshire Blvd., a Class A office building in the Miracle Mile.

Represented Swig Co. LLC in its $26.1 million purchase of a 72,500-square-foot office complex and adjacent parking garage in Pasadena, CA.

Assisted in the expansion of the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, including federal historic tax credits, acquisition, development and construction documentation, environmental contamination issues.

Represented Levi Strauss & Company in the negotiation of the renewal of its headquarters lease at Levi's Plaza in San Francisco, California, a transaction involving over 500,000 rentable square feet of office space.  Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest branded apparel companies and the global leader in jeanswear, marketing its products in more than 110 countries worldwide.

Represented The Swig Company in the negotiation of a long-term management agreement with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts at the Fairmont Chicago Hotel, and the subsequent sale of the asset to an international hotel investment company.

On behalf of our client, Fisher Vineyards, we prevailed upon the City of Calistoga to abandon an attempt to bring certain vineyard land from the unincorporated County into the City's sphere of influence, thus preventing the City from annexing that land into the city and preserving the viability of the land for agricultural purposes.