Local group buys Sunset Line and Twine property

Residential, commercial offices planned for historic site

August 10, 2005

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

One of Petaluma's most recognized historic landmarks is changing hands for just the second time in its 113-year history. The Sunset Line and Twine building is being purchased by a group of local investors for an undisclosed sum well above the $4.5 million asking price.

The investors, calling themselves Petaluma Preservation Group, LLC, include Skip Sommer, Robert Mitchell, Ravi Anand and Michael Troy. There is also an as-yet-unnamed Petaluma resident who will become the fifth partner.

The group plans to turn the factory into for-sale commercial/retail space and residential condominiums. Sunset Line and Twine will continue operations at Jefferson and Lakeville until 2007, when it will relocate to another Petaluma location.

Sunset has manufactured braided cords and lines for the hardware, marine and other markets out of the same building since 1940, when Art Agnew relocated the company to its Petaluma location. The company also supplied the parachute line that eased the Gemini and Apollo missions back to earth.

But the company fell on hard times over the past few years and threatened to close. Last year, the operations end of the business was sold to Kraft Tools, which retained the original name and location for the subsidiary. The original Sunset Line and Twine Corporation retained the building and property, which it is now selling to the new partnership. Art Agnew's son, John Agnew, is the factory's general manager.

"We didn't feel the scope of the braiding operations could justify the expense of retrofitting this building for seismic upgrade," said John Agnew.

Moving the operation to another location in Petaluma will enable the company to keep its 25 employees in town.

The Georgian Colonial Revival-style structure was built in 1892 by Carson-Currier Company as a silk mill, using bricks from G.P. McNear's brick kiln in San Rafael. The company continued to process silk from the Far East until trade was curtailed before the onset of World War II. It was the only factory making silk west of the Mississippi, and there is still a vault on the property where the valuable silks were kept.

In 1922, the original building was added on to by well-known architect Brainerd Jones, who also built the Petaluma Historical Museum, originally a Carnegie library.

The Sunset Line and Twine building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Petaluma Preservation Group seeks to preserve the structure's historic presence while renovating the interior for office, retail and condominiums. The second floor will be exclusively residential.

Sommer has been involved in Petaluma revitalization before, including the remodel of the warehouse that became the Great Petaluma Mill and the relocation of two Victorian homes to the Turning Basin. He is probably best known for creating the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur.

Other partners include Robert Mitchell, a Petaluma resident, former general contractor and development consultant who has specialized in historic renovation; Ravi An-and, an architect who design-ed the Folger and the Spreckels renovations in San Francisco; and Michael Troy, the longtime Petaluma resident and founder of Know-ledgePoint, who worked on the renovations of the Mystic Theater and the McNear building.

When a building is on the National Registry of Historic Places, owners are not allowed to change the exterior of the structure, and must keep the integrity of the look and materials as much as possible.

"That's exactly what we're going to do," said Sommer. "In my opinion, this is the absolute gold prize in historical preservation in Petaluma."

He said he has been taken aback by the outpouring of local support.

"So many people have come up to me in restaurants and on the street, and they tell me they are so happy that a local Petaluma company has purchased it."

If the partnership restores the property to meet historical guidelines, they would receive tax breaks upon the sale of the parcels, based on the amount of investment they put in. Sommer said the group plans to do $10-$12 million in renovation.

"We'll have to do considerable remodeling," he said.

Included in the plans are up to 200 Pella wood-sash windows to replace the 4-by-8-foot windows around the building, most of which are in pretty bad shape.

As far as cleanup goes, there is a large fuel tank in the basement that hasn't been used since the '60s. The partnership will be hiring contractors to remove it.

"We're not worried about it," said Sommer. "This is just one of the things you have to do with a building like this."

"I think this will be a wonderful place to live and work," he said. He's already gotten calls from half a dozen people who want to buy the offices or residences.

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)