After acquiring the old abandoned hangars in 1998, it took Barker several months to decide what it wanted to do with the property. "We had the option of tearing the hangars down but I wanted to work with them," Barker says. "It was the more expensive option but we felt like in the end renovated historic structures would be more valuable and that the leasing activity would be such that it would be worth it."

The first hangar was going to be renovated on a speculative basis when Smith & Hawken decided to lease much of it for its headquarters. "We did that first building as a test and were very fortunate to attract them," Barker says. "They were the perfect lead tenant for this project because of the image they brought. They did a bang-up job on their space; we still show it during tours."

By the time the building was completed in May 2000 it was fully leased, prompting Barker to kick-off the renovation of three additional hangars on a speculative basis. Then came the recession.

In 2003, to get things rolling again, Barker Pacific took on an equity partner, Prudential Real Estate Investors. The renovation of the second, third and fourth hangars was completed in late 2003. Shortly thereafter, Barker Pacific sold two of three buildings it owned and occupied in San Francisco and moved its headquarters into one of the three hangars.

Leasing began to pick up in 2005. The Marin Community Library opened a branch at the development and the YMCA opened a new gymnasium. "At that point we were creating more than just office space, we were creating a community destination," Barkers says. "We also added a café and a dry cleaner."

Some 37 businesses now call Hamilton Landing home. In addition to Birkenstock and Take Two, deals have been closed with Sony ImageWorks, Oracle, and Dynamic Fund Management. Brokers Brian Eisberg, Haden Ongaro and Mark Carrington of Orion Partners Ltd. represent the property owner.

The total development cost of Hamilton Landing is approximately $150 million, including the cost to renovate the two remaining hangars and develop a new 65,000-sf building at the entrance. With the most recently completed building, Hangar 10, already taken and interest still strong, Barker says he is talking with prospective tenants and expects to be renovating the next to last hangar before the end of the year.

Barker's investments have included a mix of longer-term and shorter-term holds. It's unclear in which category Hamilton landing will end up. A sale or a recapitalization is likely in the next few years, however, because PREI typically only holds investments for between three and seven years before it liquidates the asset in order to pay off investors.