PLEASANTON, Calif. – November 28, 2011 – The Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) http://www.trivalleycvb.com/, a sales and marketing organization dedicated to promoting a five-city region in San Francisco’s East Bay, today announced the appointment of G. Grant Raeside as executive
director. Bringing more than 20 years of management, marketing, public relations and event planning experience, Raeside is charged with developing and managing the organization’s business plan and budget, reflective of the CVB’s mission of elevating the Tri-Valley as a top of mind destination for
leisure travelers, meetings and events.

Raeside joins the CVB following successful stints as executive director at the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance and San Luis Obispo Vintners Association. During his tenure at Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Alliance, Raeside doubled revenues of the organization and established innovative programs that continue today. This experience will be key in his role of providing direction and oversight to the CVB staff and working with the organization’s 14-member board of directors.

“The energy and guidance Grant brings to the Tri-Valley CVB allows us to focus on building strong relationships with stakeholders and to enhance the marketing and public relations efforts for the region,” said Kevin Goebel, chair of the board for the Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau. “His experience with membership organizations and event planning brings a fresh and exciting approach moving forward.” Immersing himself quickly into the position, Raeside is building strategies with key stakeholders and collaborating with the CVB Board of Directors, Tri-Valley cities and the region’s tourism-related businesses.

“Our mission is quite clear: Market and sell the Tri-Valley as a competitive meeting, event and tourism destination,” said Raeside, executive director for the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. “In the next 90 days we will have a more proactive sales department, a results-driven marketing and public relations plan that together will increase visitor-related economic impact to the Tri-Valley region.”

About the Tri-Valley, California Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Tri-Valley, California Convention & Visitors Bureau is the destination marketing organization for the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon, Danville and the surrounding region. It markets Tri-Valley, California as a preferred destination for visitors, meetings, and events by promoting CVB member businesses and bringing overnight visitors to the region, to increase awareness of and measurable spending to Tri-Valley, California. For more information, please visit www.trivalleycvb.com.
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Media Contact:
Rachel Christie Simmons
PR & Communications Manager
Tri-Valley CVB
Rachel@trivalleycvb.com
925-846-8910

Tags: Dublin Updates, Press Releases, Newsroom by Tim Sbranti
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By Robert Jordan, Contra Costa Times.

DUBLIN — The Palo Alto Medical Foundation is giving the Tri-Valley a healthy boost with the expansion of its Dublin clinic.

The nonprofit health care organization increased its presence in the Tri-Valley with additional services to its facility, the Dublin Center, on Dublin Boulevard.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation opened six new medical services at the Dublin Center, including allergy, general surgery and ophthalmology for its patient base that spans from Livermore up to Danville and has grown from 6,000 to 27,000 since it opened in 2007. The foundation now occupies all three floors of one of the Dublin Center’s two 66,000-square-foot buildings.

“There is a very young and growing community, ” said Katie Borgstrom, vice president of operations for the foundation’s Alameda Region, about the clinic’s patient base. “People don’t want to drive for health care and this was a chance to provide more services.”

The medical foundation’s expansion added 13 jobs to Dublin and is part of a larger boon of employment opportunities the city has added and will add over the next six months. Dublin expects to add over 500 jobs overall in the next four to six months, said Linda Smith-Maurer, Dublin’s economic development director.

In addition to Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s expansion, the Dublin Center’s second building will house ValleyCare’s Urgent care facility and Webster Orthopedic. Less than a block away, the software company Taleo is also expanding and civil engineering firm Fluor is increasing its presence at the Dublin Corporate Center. And, Epicor Software Solutions in Livermore is relocating to Dublin.

“The best economic development policy is retaining and growing existing businesses,” said Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti. “Another important piece to economic development strategies is making sure to bring in professional services to balance out retail.”

The Dublin Corporate Center, which opened in 2001, had a 30 percent occupation rate in 2009. That number is now up to 90 percent.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation began planning for expansion two years ago and the design and building took place in the past eight months, Borgstrom said.

The expanded facility will also allow Palo Alto Medical Foundation to offer more weekly sessions for new mothers and provide additional educational opportunities through its larger resource center.

Tags: Dublin Updates, Newsroom by Tim Sbranti
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By Robert Jordan, Contra Costa Times.

Dublin’s retail market is expected to receive a high-end boost, after Southern California mall magnate Rick Caruso picked the city to open his first upscale shopping center in Northern California.

Caruso Affiliated, which owns and operates several high-end shopping centers in Southern California, has purchased 14.32 acres of open land owned by Alameda County at the southwest intersection of Dublin Boulevard and Hacienda Drive in Dublin.

The Alameda County Surplus Property Authority, which is made up of the five supervisors, voted Aug. 30 to allow Caruso to pay $13.1 million for the land, with the company planning to build a more than 165,000-square-foot retail shopping center anchored by a high-end grocery store.

“This is a huge win for Dublin,” said Linda Smith-Maurer, the city’s economic development director. “The goal is to work to build a project that people in the Tri-Valley have never experienced or had.”

Dublin’s council is expected to take the first step in getting the project approved on Tuesday when it is scheduled to provide its staff with direction on amending the city’s eastern specific plan to accommodate the development.

Caruso Affiliated has already talked to potential tenants for the center but has not named them, said Matt Middlebrook, the company’s senior vice president of development.

Middlebrook cited Dublin’s large daytime population from the surrounding offices, its growing single family and  multifamily stock and its proximity to various modes of transportation as reasons for the land purchase.Caruso Affiliated has nine high-end shopping centers in Southern California, including The Grove, a 20-acre outdoor shopping center whose tenants include Coach, Nordstrom and Barneys.

“This is completely different and is just an added attraction,” said Sandra Weck, senior vice president for Colliers International, a commercial realty firm about the proposed project. “You have a number of high-end homes, including Blackhawk, that would come down because of the traffic pattern.”

The Tri-Valley has the income to support a high-end retail center with an average median household income that ranges from $94,530 in Livermore to $128,810 in Danville, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Dublin’s median household income is $108,711.

Dublin’s largest shopping center, Hacienda Crossings, generated $1.29 million in sales tax revenue for the city over the past four quarters ending in March.

“Every retailer I have talked to wants to be here in Dublin, but it’s about finding the right space,” Smith-Maurer said. “This project helps to elevate our identity in the region and shows we could be a place where high-end lifestyle could exist and do really well.”

Tags: Dublin Updates, Newsroom by Tim Sbranti
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