Smart starts HQ move to Petaluma

<p>The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District has moved 80 workers, consultants and contractor's staff from downtown Santa Rosa into a consolidated headquarters in Petaluma.</p><p>The next step will be to move the dozen SMART administrative staffers from San Rafael to Petaluma, said General Manager Farhad Mansourian.</p><p>The commute rail district is leasing 25,000 square feet on the second floor of an office building at 5401 Old Redwood Highway for $510,000 a year.</p><p>SMART had its construction operations headquartered in an office building at Mendocino Avenue and Seventh Street in Santa Rosa, which it closed two weeks ago when it moved to Petaluma.</p><p>The move to the headquarters will save the district $100,000 over the next decade, but more importantly make SMART more efficient and effective, Mansourian said.</p><p>“You don't run two different offices and have people constantly being on 101. That is how you run an efficient operation,” Mansourian said. “As we award more contracts, the ability to make sure everybody is on the same page is even more crucial.”</p>