Keith properties hit the market

Mervyns, Migliavacca, $156 million in listings from recently deceased developer for sale

By JENNIFER HUFFMAN
Register Business Writer

Totaling more than $156 million, a group of properties owned by the Ed Keith estate, including the Mervyns complex, the Migliavacca Mansion and the Catacula Lake Winery, are for sale.

Keith, a local real estate investor and businessman, died in September 2006. In the year since Keith’s death, a number of his properties have quietly become available, including the Parkway Plaza/Mervyns property.

Parkway Plaza was purchased by Keith in 2005 for $20 million. According to Napa County Assessor John Tuteur the property was assessed in 2007 for tax purposes at $20 million. Today the property is listed for $20 million by daughter Lisa Keith, with Red Hawk Realty in Menlo Park. A sales flyer notes the property has 77,278 square feet, with nine tenants. The outstanding loan balance on the property is $6.2 million.

The listing has attracted some attention.

“Several months ago, two or three developers were interested in acquiring it,” said Jennifer LaLiberté, with the city’s redevelopment agency. About six months ago, “One prominent developer from San Francisco was in contract and for whatever reason could not close the transaction.

“I know there are some others that are attempting to make offers now. I know of two local developers who are interested,” she said. “Some of the developers we have talked to would be interested in the property if they could totally redevelop it and move Mervyns to somewhere else in the community.”

“We are happy to work with whoever buys the property,” said LaLiberté.

What would a new owner mean to downtown Napa? “A lot of that depends on the owner’s intentions,” said LaLiberté. “If their intention is to buy and hold it doesn’t mean much. But if their intent is to redevelop it, then it could mean a lot for that eastern end of First Street. Particularly if other downtown projects move forward.”

Regardless of a new owner, Mervyns isn’t going anywhere soon. One of the chain’s first outlets, Mervyns has a long-term lease downtown, at below-market rates, and options extending to 2031.

Other listings

During the 1980s and ’90s, Ed Keith owned more than 500 apartment units in Napa. As a landlord Keith sometimes found himself at odds with both tenants and the city over property upkeep and code violations. In 2000, the city sued Keith for “public nuisance.” A group of tenants also sued Keith over conditions, resulting in a $2 million settlement. Keith eventually sold off his apartments.

The most expensive Keith estate property on the market today is a 1,025-acre site in Chiles Valley that includes the Catacula Lake Winery, with annual production of 25,650 cases. Offered at $80 million, the property has it’s own Web site to showcase the vast estate, rebranded as Keith Winery. Included in the price are five homes, a lake and barn.

Keith, who reportedly bought the estate in the 1960s, ran a summer camp on the property for years before opening the winery. In 2001, Keith entered into an agreement with the Land Trust of Napa County to designate certain areas of the property part of a conservation easement.

The Migliavacca Mansion on Fourth Street is listed for sale by Green Valley Associates, on behalf of the Ed Keith estate. The listing price for the historic three-story mansion, zoned commercial/residential, is $1.75 million.

The Brenden Theaters in Vacaville and Modesto, also owned by the Keith estate, are also listed for sale by Lisa Keith. The asking prices are $20 million and $24 million, respectively.

Several other Keith properties have already sold. In April 2007, his personal home on Forest Drive sold for $2.2 million, said listing agent Martha Rodman of Green Valley Associates. The home was purchased by Eagle & Rose Estate founder Norman Alumbaugh.

Green Valley Associates itself bought a Keith owned property, Lincoln Square, a commercial building near Silverado Trail well-known for it’s blue-tiled roof. The firm paid $4.6 million for the corner lot in October 2007. The property had been listed for $6 million by Lisa Keith.

Lisa Keith also represents a Best Buy building in Pinole owned by the Keith estate, listed for $11 million.

Efforts to reach Lisa Keith, and Dr. Robert White, Keith’s son-in-law, and contact for the Keith Winery estate, were unsuccessful.

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