Experience

  • Contracts and Agreements
  • Geothermal
  • Solar
  • Tax Credits

PCB Cleanup to Facilitate Sale and Residential Redevelopment

Advised client with respect to implementation of TSCA-compliant PCB remediation at former plant site, to facilitate sale and residential redevelopment of property.

Represent Miller Family on Sale of The Silverado Vineyards

Represented the Miller family on the sale of Napa Valley luxury wine producer The Silverado Vineyards to Foley Family Wines. The sale included a 73,000-square-foot winery and 300 acres of vineyards across Napa’s Stags Leap District, Coombsville, and Yountville wine regions.

Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards

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.

San Francisco Transbay Parcel F Tower Approved

Represented the joint venture of Hines, Urban Pacific Development, and Goldman Sachs to secure approval for the construction of a 61-story, 800-foot tall mixed-use tower adjacent to the Transbay Terminal on Howard St. known as Transbay Parcel F. It will be the fourth-tallest building and second tallest residential tower in San Francisco. 

3400 Cesar Chavez/555 Bartlett Street, San Francisco

In the face of well-organized opposition, we assisted Seven Hill Properties resist a CEQA appeal to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and obtain entitlements for a mixed-use project in San Francisco's Mission District.

Diamond Heights Shopping Center

Represented the seller of the 75,000-square-foot Diamond Heights Shopping Center in San Francisco.

First Republic Bank

We assist First Republic Bank with structuring, drafting and negotiating loan documents for its individual and business clients for business acquisition loans, real estate acquisition loans, short and long term real estate term loans, equity and accounts receivable secured personal and commercial lines of credit, real estate construction loans and loans for buy-outs and recapitalizations.

San Francisco Flower Mart Development Project

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 16th 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.

San Francisco Overlook

We represented San Francisco Overlook Development in obtaining entitlements for its Crestmont Drive residential development in the Forest Knolls neighborhood of San Francisco located in Supervisorial District 7, and then assisted the team settle a lawsuit brought against the project by the adjacent homeowners association.

20-Acre Premier Development Site, Redwood City

Guided Graniterock on the sale of a 19.85-acre premier development site in Redwood City, Calif. to Jay Paul Company.

Grgich Hills Cellars

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.

VF Outdoor Corporate Campus, Alameda

Represented the developer of a build-to-suit new corporate campus consisting of four buildings for VF Outdoor, owner of such brands as North Face, in connection with developer entity formation, land purchase, build-to-suit lease with option to purchase, construction agreements and construction financing.

Oakland State Office Building

Represented Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company, the design/builder, in preparing and negotiating design/build agreements with the State of California and in negotiating agreements with design professionals for the 500,000 square foot Oakland State Office Building.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Assisted Berkeley Repertory Theatre in the acquisition of a 62,000 square-foot building in West Berkeley, allowing Berkeley Rep to pay 50% less for 50% more space.  The acquisition allows the theatre to consolidate all its pre-production activities into one campus.  

Price Family Vineyards

Handle winery’s general business matters, as well as acquisition matters for its owner, Bill Price, including Price’s investments in ultra-premium Kistler Vineyards.

Parcel P and 55 Ninth Street, San Francisco

Representing AvalonBay Communities in obtaining entitlements for two large apartment developments in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley and Mid-Market neighborhoods.

888 Brannan Street, San Francisco

Representing SKS Investments in converting an historic but obsolete industrial and showroom building to a state-of-the art technology office building in San Francisco’s South of Market district. 

Nob Hill Masonic Center, San Francisco

Assisted the Freemasons of California and concert promoter Live Nation in obtaining permits to reposition the historic Masonic Auditorium as a major concert venue, including the successful defense of several lawsuits challenging the approvals.

55 Laguna (UC Extension Site), San Francisco

After obtaining land use entitlements, including general plan amendments, rezoning and conditional use approvals for the 55 Laguna mixed-use development project located at the former University of California Berkeley Extension Campus in San Francisco, we prevailed in the Superior Court and Court of Appeal (unpublished decision) defending client AF Evans Development, Inc. in a CEQA lawsuit challenging the City of San Francisco's approvals for the project (Save the Laguna Street Campus v. City and County of San Francisco, et al.). 55 Laguna provides multifamily apartments, affordable senior units, public spaces, and retail space. The project includes a combination of new construction, the adaptive reuse of three historically significant buildings and the demolition of two others, which was the focus of the litigation.

Mercy Housing California

We successfully represented Mercy Housing in defending the project entitlements for the San Lorenzo Senior Housing project, including prevailing in the Alameda County Superior Court and the California Court of Appeal (Hancocks v. County of Alameda).

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Represented SFMOMA in obtaining land use approvals for a major expansion of its facilities in the Yerba Buena district of San Francisco, including new galleries to display the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection.  The project included the relocation of a City fire station off-site, acquisition of City property, air rights and right-of-way, and the replacement of two historic resources with the museum addition and new fire station.

333 Harrison Street, San Francisco

For Emerald Fund, Inc., obtained entitlements for a 300+ unit apartment project, fronted by a new public park, in San Francisco's emerging Rincon Hill neighborhood.

Pittsburg River Park Sale

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.

Freight & Salvage Performance Venue, Berkeley

Assisted Freight & Salvage with New Markets Tax Credits program in the development of a performance venue run by the Berkeley Society for the Preservation of Traditional Music.

Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation

We have represented TNDC on numerous affordable housing projects in San Francisco, including the Rosa Parks II senior project in the Western Addition, the Kelly Cullen Community and the Eddy and Taylor Family Housing in the Tenderloin neighborhood.  We are currently assisting TNDC in obtaining entitlements for the 909 Howard Street project in the South of Market neighborhood.

People v. MJA Vineyards, LLC

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.

Murphy Crossing Campus, Milpitas

Represented CBRE Global Investors in the sale of the nearly 368,000 square foot Murphy Crossing campus in Milpitas for $88 million.

Hop Kiln Winery Acquisition

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. 

America’s Cup Pavilion, San Francisco

Represented Live Nation in defeating a last-minute appeal of the entertainment permit authorizing Live Nation to present a summer concert series in conjunction with the America’s Cup sailing races in a temporary 9,000-seat pavilion at San Francisco’s Piers 27/29.

Institute on Aging/BRIDGE Housing Corporation

Assisted the Institute on Aging and BRIDGE Housing Corporation in obtaining land use entitlements to demolish the vacant Coronet Theater in San Francisco’s Richmond District and replace it with a mixed-use project containing two floors of health and social services for seniors and low-income senior rental units above.  In the face of intense opposition from some immediate neighbors, we obtained unanimous votes from both the San Francisco Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, and successfully defended the project’s EIR and use permit in San Francisco Superior Court.