PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

A fourth generation native of San Rafael, Mr. Smith has more than 14 years of experience in the leasing and sale of commercial properties. He is a founding member of Orion Partners Ltd.

Previously, Mr. Smith was a senior member with Grubb & Ellis Company in San Francisco/Marin County for more than 11 years. While at Grubb & Ellis, he was a "Century Club Member" and a consistent high producer including "Top Producer" in the office leasing division.

Mr. Smith is uniquely qualified in all phases of commercial property development, construction, leasing, financing, and management. He has participated in a wide variety of projects, which contributes to a broad base of knowledge. This experience allows him to anticipate the inevitable but unexpected problems common in real estate transactions and to provide innovated yet practical solutions.

EDUCATION

Mr. Smith earned a Bachelor's of Science in Food Technology with Highest Honors from the University of California at Davis and earned his Masters of Business Administration from University of California at Berkeley.

9,000 sf Retail Building
Negotiated the purchase of a half vacant, former bank branch. Designed and obtained easements and City approvals and financing for a 4,000 square foot addition and redesign. Supervised construction drawings and construction. Negotiated new leases with existing and new tenants. Obtained permanent financing. Property remains leased to the same tenants after twelve years.
35,000 sf Industrial Building
Negotiated the purchase of this 1930's vintage, obsolete, downtown property. Designed and executed a complete renovation, including approvals, design and construction supervision. Re-leased the building to new tenants with new uses.
65,000 sf Office Building
Represented a non-profit foundation in a four county search for new headquarters. Analyzed features and benefits of each area until client focused on San Francisco. Located and negotiated the purchase of a five story building. Mr. Smith was the lead agent but all efforts were coordinated with different cooperating brokers in each county and their information standardized for the client.
35,000 sf Office/Retail Complex
Conceived, designed and obtained approvals for this $5 million complex on an 8 acre site. The approval process involved more than ten public hearings and a successful defense against a citizen lawsuit. Supervised all aspects of design and construction. Pre-leased the 26,000 square foot office component to a local software firm. This office lease transaction was extremely innovative and required non-adversarial cooperation between owner and tenant. The retail component is leased to the same tenants after six years.
10,000 sf Retail Complex
Negotiated the tax deferred ("Starker") exchange of five small properties into a defunct health club. Designed, obtained approvals and completely remodeled the building into a multi-tenant retail complex. Obtained both construction and permanent financing for this $2 million project. In the eight years since completion, there has been no loss of rent due to vacancies.
30,000 sf Retail Building
Negotiated the deferred buy out of a partnership interest in a 14,000 square foot office building and combined the proceeds with a minority, second partnership interest in a 65,000 square foot office building in order to purchase a new, 30,000 square foot leased retail building in Southern California. Ultimately, the new partnership that was formed was comprised of seven entities. The entire transaction was tax deferred.