Take a break and go walk through the hills. After a year of searching, MarketTools, a company that develops Web-based tools to help companies gather market research, has found space in Mill Valley that will handle its growth. It is the first company to lease 40,000 square feet of space in one of the two buildings under construction behind the Strawberry Village shopping center. Orion Partners Ltd. is handling the leasing, and brokers expect the buildings, a total of 100,000 square feet, to have tenants before they are completed in the fall. Officials at MarketTools signed a seven-year lease for the space.
Sailboats bobbing on the bay are visible from corner offices in one of the buildings.
But the new space has its attractions. Company officials believe the Mill Valley location is key to successful recruiting because of its proximity to San Francisco. That's important, because plans call for adding at least 65 more employees by the end of the year. The company' s work force lives in Marin, the East Bay and San Francisco. A few employees make the drive from Silicon Valley.