Every year TMC employees and board members hop on a trolley and visit some of our local clients. At TMC, we process about 250 loans a year. With each deal, staff is inundated with numbers, memos, correspondence with bankers, submissions, and closing docs. This is the day we get to see the results of our hard work.
Our 2019 Trolley Tour was our 14th tour and our 4th tour in Oakland. We visited two amazing clients with wonderful stories in the industrial part of East Oakland.
Tez Marble
Our first stop was at Tez Marble where we were able to learn about the business from Ali Cengiz , Partner at Tez Marble and Michael DeMordaunt, Manager at Tez Marble.
Tez Marble was founded in 2002 and is built on a foundation of integrity, ingenuity, perseverance, innovation, resilience and hard honest work. What began as a sole operation out of a small warehouse specializing in Turkish travertine, marble, and limestone, Tez Marble has grown to the largest stone supplier in California with stone imported from all over the World.
- Located at 20 Hegenberger Ct Oakland, CA, 94621
- The 504 loan provided funds to purchase 24,180 square feet split between two industrial buildings
- Made the purchase with only a 10% downpayment
- The purchase of the subject property allowed Tez Marble to secure its existing location, provide the security, and fix occupancy expense.
John Lewis Glass
Our second stop was at John Lewis Glass where we learned about the glass making and blowing from Lynn Zboyovsky, Chief Operating Officer and John Lewis, Owner.
John Lewis founded his studio in 1969. He was one of the first artists to open a hot glass studio in the Bay Area where, for 10 years, his focus was blowing glass. The studio is located in the industrial area of East Oakland. It has grown to include not only the hot shop, but mold and cold shops, as well.
- Studio is located at 10229 Pearmain St., Oakland, CA 94603
- The 504 loan provided the funds to purchase a 9,000 square foot commercial building located at 10410 Pearmain Street and 801 105th Avenue
- The acquired property replaced the leased storage space, which John Lewis was renting the storage space on a month to month basis
- The purchase fixed the business’ occupancy costs while providing the stability of a long term location