Ukiah Strip Mall Sale
A Ukiah strip mall at 1230 Airport Park Blvd has sold for $3.75 million, according to county records. The property sits just northeast of the Ukiah Airport near Tractor Supply and includes 1.75 acres of commercial space anchored by Dollar Tree, Cannavine Dispensary, and several smaller shops. The front parcel also contains a U.S. Cellular store.
The seller appears to be the Peter Best family, operating through a Sacramento‑based LLC called UKiah APB. Best and his related investment companies have been active across Northern California — from Napa’s Imola Drive retail centers to holdings as far south as Yosemite — and have been steady players in regional commercial real estate.
The buyer is Ukiah Airport Ventures, a Delaware LLC that now holds 96.85% ownership. A smaller Tennessee firm, Sawhney Memphis, holds the remaining 3.15%. Sawhney is a buy‑and‑hold investor with roughly $9.6 million in recorded acquisitions across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Their portfolio leans heavily toward duplexes and single‑family homes, with an average purchase price around $687,000 and a pattern of cash‑heavy transactions.
That’s why their appearance in Ukiah caught our attention. It’s a long jump from Memphis to the Mendocino County airport, and while the annexation area has seen a surge of speculative interest this past year, this particular property is already inside city limits. Still, new investors and new capital are generally good news for the south end of State Street — an area full of promising local businesses but also more than a few dilapidated warehouses.
The majority owner, Ukiah Airport Ventures, was harder to pin down. The company lists a Las Vegas address and appears connected to a broader network of real estate holdings around the country. The LLC was formed in April 2026, just ahead of the sale — a common practice in commercial real estate, where buyers often create a fresh entity tied to the location for clarity in their investment portfolios. Ukiah Airport Ventures and Sawhney Memphis also filed a joint mortgage with Rubicon Mortgage Company.
If this were undeveloped land with housing potential, we’d dig deeper into the players behind the purchase. But for a straightforward strip‑mall acquisition, the identities of the investors matter less than the fact that new money is arriving in Ukiah’s commercial corridor. As reporters, we follow the money because it often leads to stories about new ideas, new businesses, and sometimes new opportunities for the community. And yes — occasionally it uncovers scams. But more often, it helps us introduce the people bringing investment and energy into Mendocino County.
If you know more about Ukiah Airport Ventures or Sawhney Memphis, we’d love to hear from you. As always you can reach us at frankhartzell@gmail.com
Albion ocean view parcels among donations of land recently in our searches
We’ve seen a surge of land donations across Mendocino County this year, and here are three of them — with more coming in future articles. One of the most striking involves a 1.1‑acre oceanfront parcel in Albion’s gated Pacific Reefs subdivision. The property was donated by Monique Lowy, trustee of the Kaufmann Trust, along with Marsha and Howard Guyer, to Planned Parenthood Shasta/Diablo — Planned Parenthood of Northern California.
The parcel sits high above the shoreline with spectacular views of the Salmon Creek Bridge, the open Pacific, and the public beach below. As with many nonprofit land gifts, the donation may ultimately support the organization through a future sale.
A similar donation occurred nearby last year, when Gabriel Levine gifted another dramatic coastal property just north of the Albion River Inn — on the east side of Highway 1 — to the Mendocino Land Trust. The Land Trust later listed the parcel with a local Realtor, consistent with its long‑standing practice of converting certain gifts into funding for conservation work.
Ten Mile Creek ranch sold to Christian money fund with ties to Tim Tebow
Gentle Valley Ranch has donated 160 acres in Laytonville, located at 48700 North Highway 101, to the WaterStone Support Foundation, a Colorado‑based nonprofit.
WaterStone — also known as the Christian Community Foundation — is a 501(c)(3) public charity that describes its mission as helping “donors and ministries simplify complex asset contributions, minimize taxes, and maximize Christ‑centered charitable giving.” The organization is widely known in evangelical philanthropy circles and has partnered at times with the Tim Tebow Foundation, founded by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who remains a prominent figure in Christian charitable work.
WaterStone has drawn attention recently for expanding beyond traditional donor‑advised giving into areas such as media ownership and the acquisition of rural properties like this one. The nonprofit was originally established to facilitate Christian charitable contributions, but its portfolio has grown more complex over time.
In researching the organization, we also came across a recent news report describing a dispute involving members of the founding family — an unusual development for a long‑established charitable foundation.
Lawsuit filed against Christian-focused charitable fund in Colorado Springs with Tebow connection
More recently, WaterStone spent $31 millon to buy conservative radio and other media Salem Media, according to an article by the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Donor-Advised Fund Foundation to Acquire Salem Media
Salem Media Group — a Texas‑based broadcaster that owns the Salem Radio Network, the Salem Web Network, Salem Publishing, and the conservative news sites RedState and Townhall — announced in a May press release that its board had approved a buyout by the WaterStone Support Foundation, a Christian donor‑advised fund, according to Nonprofit News.
WaterStone and the Tim Tebow Foundation have partnered on anti–child‑trafficking initiatives and programs supporting children with special needs, according to their websites. Tebow is also a partner in the WaterStone Impact Foundation, which is indirectly connected to the larger donor‑advised fund that received the Laytonville ranch once owned by a well‑known San Francisco State professor.
The property includes lush riparian habitat along Ten Mile Creek, a defining feature of the parcel. “Gentle Valley” is a regional name that has been in use for more than half a century. Gentle Valley Ranch itself is a business name filed in the early 2000s by the late Gene Geisler, who also registered Gentle Valley Vineyards and Gentle Valley Motel.
County records show that Gentle Valley Ranch purchased the Laytonville property from Nancy Nowotney in 2021 — the same year Professor Geisler died. Geisler, a Korean War veteran and longtime San Francisco State University professor, was a well‑known figure in political science circles. He taught generations of students how to uncover political corruption in San Francisco using public records, including county recorder documents — the very tools that surfaced this sale.
His obituary noted that he encouraged gifts to a foundation supporting empirical research. It’s unclear who assumed control of Gentle Valley Ranch after his death, but Laytonville served as Geisler’s second home for many years.
A parting note- all burning has now been suspended in Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Humboldt Counties. The brush pile will have to wait till fall.
And while we’re all busy watching the political theater, the truth hasn’t budged: money has always been the key. Money runs politics, and money runs almost everything else. If you want to understand a community — its pressures, its opportunities, its future — you look at what’s being bought and sold, and by whom. The record of ownership tells the real story. It shows what’s actually happening here, not just what you’re being told is happening, and it reveals the possibilities swirling around us long before anyone thinks to point them out.
