Calix signs lease to stay in town

<p>Calix, one of the original firms in Petaluma’s Telecom Valley, recently signed a five-year lease to remain at its 82,000-square-foot headquarters on North McDowell Boulevard.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The deal, announced earlier this month, is the largest commercial lease agreement in Sonoma County in the past year, industry watchers said.</p><p>The company, which employs 200 people in its Petaluma location, makes broadband access equipment and was reported to be looking around the North Bay for a possible new location.</p><p>The Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce was concerned about the possible loss of a large employer and connected the company with city officials to talk about “minor things” that needed to be worked out at its location, Chamber president Elece Hempel said.</p><p>“We don’t want these kinds of companies to leave — good, clean companies that provide a lot of good jobs,” Hempel said.</p><p>City Manager John Brown met with the company late last year to talk about its concerns, including overgrown brush along the freeway behind the building and signage requirements.</p><p>The company had security concerns about anise plants growing along the freeway and blocking visibility of the building, Brown said.</p><p>“I sent the water department out a couple of times to clear that out,” he said. “I wanted them to understand that the city values them and wanted them here.”</p><p>A company representative confirmed that Calix had extended its lease and had talked with the city, but would not discuss details.</p><p>The real estate firm that represented Calix, UGL Equis, said in a statement that a year-and-a-half search process found that the current location “provided the most favorable economics when all was said and done.”</p><p>(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)</p>