Contact: John Reed
Director of Public Relations
Gauger + Associates
(415) 434-0303
Jreed@gauger-associates.com
NOTES: the following family members from the Codding companies are available to talk with you about this story.
1 – Lisa Codding, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Codding Investments.
2- Brad Baker, President and CEO, Codding Investments (Santa Rosa, CA) on green leasing practices, market conditions, background.
A Family’s Evolution from Ranching to
Homebuilding
to Shopping Centers
to Environmentally-Friendly Development
1849-2006
In less than a year, since November of 2005, a family that has played a significant role in the growth of Sonoma County has evolved yet again.
Codding Enterprises remains a family-owned business, first started in 1849 with ranching, then the building of a hospital in Petaluma, CA. In the early 20th Century, Codding starting building homes in Sonoma County, but not many: just thirty before the start of WW II.
After the War, Hugh Codding went on to build more than 2,500 homes in Santa Rosa, along with one of the first shopping malls in California – Town & Country in Santa Rosa. Other malls followed: Coddingtown in 1960, the Merced Mall in 1972.
Over time the company found itself competing with the giants in the shopping mall business– not necessarily a growth strategy. In November of 2005, working with Simon Property Group, Codding handed over most of the day-to-day management of Coddingtown to Simon, although they continue to manage the Merced Mall, as well as other retail and office properties.
The family company, under the direction of Brad Baker and Lisa Codding, is now developing Sonoma Mountain Village, the former Agilent Technologies Campus, on 200 acres in Rohnert Park into a New Urbanism community, the first of its type in Northern California.
Using “green” construction methods and the re-use of former office buildings, Codding is planning a 200 acre community with homes and shops using the New Urbanism model for the convenience and enjoyment of its residents. Pedestrian-friendly environmentally sustainable homes, vibrant gathering places and innovative businesses are surrounded by scenic vistas of Sonoma Mountain.