Town Of Danville

East Bay Real Estate: Danville Fine Arts Faire – June 18 & 19!

For the past 20 years the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Town of Danville have produced one of the finest art festivals in the Bay Area in this town that is still know for it’s fine dining and equestrian centers. Each year over 50,000 people come to Town to select art from this prestigious show.  It happens to be on Father’s Day weekend each year and is always an unforgettable couple of days in Danville.  During your walk down Hartz Avenue and Prospect Avenue you will discover some of the finest high-quality paintings,  sculpture,  glass,  ceramics,  jewelry,  fiber arts,  and other media by more than 200 of the finest California and Western U.S. artists.  Entertainment will be presented by three street corner musicians throughout the weekend along Hartz Avenue.  Check out the short video highlighting the event. Read more

Town Of Danville

Dark Horse Enters The Race For The Danville Town Council Seat!

Marianne Bordogna has thrown her hat into the race for on of the Danville council seats to be decided on November 4th.

Who would have thought that a community activist who has never run for public office would throw her hat into the ring for the November election of the new Danville Town Council?  Well, it has just happened!!!  Marianne Bordogna, is the “new kid on the block” who has been nominated to have her name on the November ballot.  Until she showed up there were only three incumbents to vote for, and….there were only three spots to fill.  SO…what type of “choice” is that?  Marianne decided that she has sat on the sidelines long enough and is now ready to make a difference in the direction of how The Town Of Danville evolves.  There are many issues facing the Town Council today – Responsible growth in the Tassajara Valley;  Affordable housing; Infrastructure;  Senior Services;  Addressing specific projects, such as the Veteran’s Hall and the Danville Hotel complex; and, many more that need to be effectively addressed.  Marianne has the qualifications and the commitment to address them all!

I had a chance to speak with her today regarding why she believes she would be the best candidate for the Danville Town council.  Marianne told me,  “I am running for town council because I love where we live and want to maintain the uniqueness My experience of resolving issues within the context of the ‘bigger picture’ brings a new voice and a much different perspective in creating solutions that makes us all Danville.”  She laid out five specific items that make up her campaign’s platform;

• Proactively engage San Ramon and county officials on future Tassajara boundaries, which directly impact our town – the unincorporated parts Danville and Blackhawk;
• Seek solutions to traffic and downtown parking via stronger relationships among our school district, businesses, planners and council;
• Expand activities and meeting places for teens, singles and seniors
• Streamline our building permit and planning process for homeowners and builders, while ensuring that appropriate studies, architectural standards, community input and common sense have been applied in decision-making so that new projects (Danville Hotel, Veteran’s Hall) augment our town
• Grow Danville’s business community, while balancing downtown events that attract potential new residents – and revenue.

If elected, she wants to hear from you – often!  She is new to the political arena, but not to leadership roles. I have discovered over the past five years that she listens with an open mind and analyzes the facts, before reaching a decision.  She is a very quick study – and fully committed to win/win outcomes. When she is elected she will implement fiscal policies that continue to enhance all aspects of the quality of life that is so valued in the Danville community.

Obviously, she would appreciate your vote, and I know she would be a welcomed addition to the leadership, and stewardship of the Town of Danville.  Check out her website and learn more about her plans for addressing the important issues that are facing our community – www.DanvilleTownCouncil.com .   Your Bay Area lifestyle detective is always on duty.  Until next time…

Town Of Danville

East Bay Real Estate – Rumor…Keller Williams-Danville Is Moving!

So, Jim Walberg was snopping around today at the Rose Garden Retail Center In Danville In order to see which businesses were moving in.  And….

I ran into Gary Riele, the partner in the commercial real estate company, Straface Riele.  I asked Gary what he was doing there and did he know who some of the other business tenants were that may be moving in.  After some significant proding, he said that one of the companies about to sign a lease was the Danville office of Keller Williams Realty – the 4th largets real estate company in North America with over 90,000 Realtors.)  Currently, the KW Danville office is located on the corner of El Cerro and the 680 freeway in the Theater Arts Financial Center.  ( This was the building that was intended to be the arts center for the Town of Danville that ended up being a front for a financial scam which caused one or more of the principles to eventually be sentenced to jail.)

Gary said the problem KW Danville was having with the owners of their current office space is the Town Of Danville was unwilling to have any signage for their company, even though they were one of the largest tenants in the building.  The Town of Danville’s position is the building was approved as a theater arts center, not a commercial center for businesses.  Unfortunately for the owners of the building, KW Danville has apparently had enough after five years of no one knowing Keller Williams Realty is in that building, so they started investigating other alternative since their lease is up next month.  They want the community to know where they are and it appears they are going to pull it off at the Rose Garden Retail Center – the newest retail center in Danville at the corner of the 680 freeway and Sycamore Valley Road.

Beverly Steiner is the one of the three owners of this Keller Williams office and she was not available for comment about what I had learned from Gary Riele.  Kristin White is the Market Center leader and she was also vague about what seems to be unfolding.  I tagged along with Gary Riele as he was walking through the office space, and it appears the KW Danville is going BIG with this move.  They are taking on 7,200+ square feet of the second floor of the building in the Rose Garden Center which has the big deck on San Ramon Valley Boulevard.  As I walked through the open space of the their future office – no walls or ceilings are in yet, I was VERY impressed!  Apparently, KW Danville is preparing for over 250 Realtors to be a part of this real estate center!

What I know about the KW business model is that they lead with revenue, and because of this model, they are not being impacted by the current adjustments happening with home sales in the East Bay.  They only spend money they actually have.  This is allowing them to make this move with the full understanding that no other real estate company in the East Bay is in the expansion mode – they are generall downsizing and/or consolidating their office locations.  Since KW Danville is expanding against the trend of companies downsizing, they are committed to fill the void that is being created by those who are creating the “open space” within the real estate industry because of closing and/or sub-leasing their office spaces.

If I was going to make a prediction, I would say that KW Danville is the company that is poised to take over the lion’s share of the real estate market because they are coming from a place of support and belief in the health of the real estate market for Realtors who still want to have this business as their career.  The KW motto is, “Building careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living.”  How in the world could any Realtor not find that appealing as a place to grow their real estate practices.

Your East Bay real estate detective is on duty and will update you as to what I find out about this rumor.  If it is true, I will let you know immediately.  Contact me anytime for any of your real estate needs.  Until next time…