Politics & Government
In-N-Out Site Review On Hold
Company says it is working on due diligence on securing two properties on Entrada Drive and Enfrente Road. Other business news: 999 Grant Avenue, Indian Valley campus, Raptor and BioMarin pharma companies.
Novato residents hungry for an In-N-Out Double-Double with cheese are going to have to continue making the drive to Petaluma or Mill Valley to satisfy the craving.
Novato’s city staff reports that the approval process is on hold as the company puts its energy into securing two parcels it is considering for a
In an email to Novato Patch, city senior planner Stephen Marshall said In-N-Out Burger is continuing to work on architectural and site design revisions requested by the city's planning division. Additionally, In-N-Out is working on the acquisition of the parcels at 399 Entrada Drive and 400 Enfrente Road in Ignacio, he said.
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"I’ve been advised that In-N-Out has decided to complete its internal real estate process before advancing the project through Novato’s development review process," Marshall said in an e-mail.
Marshall said the city staff does not have a definitive time frame within which In-N-Out will submit updated project information for review. No public hearing dates have been scheduled for the project.
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In-N-Out’s project manager, Kim Kennedy, confirmed via e-mail that the sites have not been purchased and that the company is continuing its due diligence on the properties.
Carl Van Fleet, In-N-Out's vice-president of planning and development, said "the due diligence and site development phase can be quite lenghty" and the project is still considered in the very early stages of development.
999 Grant Ave. Update
The plan for 999 Grant Ave. remains unchanged with completion of the building still anticipated during the summer. The concrete slab was poured on Dec. 16. Gary Tobin, spokesperson for the project, reports that the slab has to cure for seven or days before construction above it can undertaken. Work at the site — future home of Circle Bank and several retail/restaurant spots — is essentially halted until Jan. 4.
IVC Campus Awarded Gold
The new main building complex at has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its focus on sustainability through site selection, water and energy efficiency.
The 32,264-square-foot complex at the entrance of the Novato campus houses workforce development programs in medical and dental assisting, court reporting and computer technology, as well as a new library, media resources center and Internet café.
VBN Architects of Oakland served as LEED consultant and architect on the project. "When you have a building that saves energy, saves water, provides a healthy environment and minimizes the impact on campus — this is everybody's win," said Idalia F. Larsen of VBN. "This was the priority when we began."
Next semester, IVC students will have expanded library resources and the return of food service, which has been one of their top requests. They have been subsisting on vending machines during the construction period, according to Cathy Summa-Wolfe, College of Marin’s communications director.
Other recent LEED Gold certified buildings at College of Marin include the renovation of the Physical Education Center, swimming pool and the Transportation Technology Complex.
For more details on the project, click this link.
Novato Biotech Update
(NASDAQ: RPTP) announced the signing of a cooperative research and development agreement with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a Phase 2b clinical trial. According to a media release, the trial will evaluate the safety and potential efficacy of RP104, Raptor's proprietary delayed-release tablet formulation of a drug to treat an advanced form of liver disease in children. The clinical trial is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2012.
The planned manufacturing expansion of (NASDAQ: BMRN) has received committee approval by the European Medicines Agency. Final approval by the EMA is expected in the first quarter of 2012 and would allow for products manufactured in the Novato facility to be distributed in the European Union. According to press statement by the company, two BioMarin facilities in Novato will support up to $1 billion in revenue for the company’s growing enzyme replacement therapy portfolio.
