| SBTi Hatches Santa Barbara Technology Properties |
Santa Barbara, CA, September 28, 2000 -- Santa Barbara Technology Incubator (“SBTI”) announced today the launch of a new company, Santa Barbara Technology Properties, LLC (SBTP), to provide flexible office space on a short term basis to high-tech start-ups in Santa Barbara. The company has hired Jim Acos, former President of JPA Associates, as President of Santa Barbara Technology Properties and leased an additional 26,000 square feet of office space on East Gutierrez Street in downtown Santa Barbara. This brings SBTI’s total square footage to over 38,000 square feet. The space will be used to house SBTI’s portfolio companies and for subleasing to other, non-portfolio, pre-IPO, high-tech start-ups on a cash plus equity basis.
“We will be offering the functionality that high-tech entrepreneurs want and need,” commented SBTI Chairman and CEO Dennis Cagan. “A great deal of money and momentum can be lost searching for appropriate space, negotiating a lease, and building out a high-tech start-up environment. Here, entrepreneurs can walk in and start working.”
Santa Barbara Technology Properties will provide high-speed Internet access, an integrated phone system and receptionist, a conference room, kitchen area, game room, easy parking and the look and feel of high-tech success. Entrepreneurs can avoid the liability of committing to large deposits and a long-term lease, and have the flexibility to expand on an “as needed” basis. Companies will be admitted to SBTP based on the viability of their business model and a number of investment type criteria rather than traditional real-estate oriented financial ratios.
SBTP President Jim Acos will oversee all real estate activities associated with SBTI and its portfolio companies including further site acquisition, leasing construction, property management and budgets.
Jim has been active in real estate development, construction and structured mortgage banking for over 25 years. Most recently as president of JPA Associates, Jim has provided construction management, wireless network project planning and mortgage banking services for clients such as Real Homes, Inc. a subsidiary of Centex Homes. Inc. (one of the nation’s largest homebuilders) - complete construction project management for 235,000 sf multi-tenant industrial park including site development, shell construction and all tenant improvements; PacBell Mobile Services, Sprint PCS, and Montecito Bank & Trust – where he focused on placing real estate loan over $1 million on commercial and residential properties.
Jim has overseen numerous high technology tenant improvement projects including corporate headquarters for Wavefront Technologies (NASDAQ acquired by SGI). As Vice President and Managing Partner at Investec Real Estate Companies, Jim provided leadership and vision for a team of real estate professionals who created and managed over 30 partnerships of diverse commercial and residential properties. At Investec he was Managing Partner for numerous projects including El Escorial - a $68 million project including $20 million of construction; Activities included property acquisition, construction loan monitoring, construction management, sales and marketing management; customer service program development and board of directors. Additional activities included partnership formation, capital raising efforts, site acquisition, oversight of property management division, investor relations, budget development and tracking and partnership sales.
He is recognized for developing award winning projects, he has been a featured speaker at Building Industry of America trade shows. Jim earned an MBA from Pepperdine University, his BS from UC Santa Barbara and holds California B-1 General Contractor and Real Estate licenses.
SBTI intends to acquire an additional 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of space from Carpinteria to Goleta by the end of next year. In addition to gaining SBTI an equity position in a multitude of Santa Barbara’s best high-tech ventures, this space will allow SBTI’s portfolio companies to expand after their incubation period.
“The kind of entrepreneurs we want are those that can focus and that know the value of the time savings, flexibility and infrastructure that we offer” explained SBTI Sr. VP of Investments Jason Spievak. “Plus, we are making a bet on these companies. We’ll want to help them succeed once they are in.”
About SBTI: Santa Barbara Technology Incubator (www.sbtechnology.com) is the preeminent tri-county environment for financing, launching and successfully propelling high-technology start-ups to top-tier venture financing. SBTI constitutes one of the most complete incubator models by offering strategic funding, physical and operational infrastructure, and qualified hands-on guidance. Companies coming out of SBTI will enter the venture capital market with fiscal business discipline, qualified management teams and prudent, cutting edge business models. With a team of experienced professionals, SBTI provides web development services, investor relations, public relations and marketing, strategic planning, executive recruitment, state-of-the-art incubation facilities, and professional and technical services.