“Make hay when the sun shines” and “sow seeds when it’s raining.” The old-fashioned sayings may sound cliché, but not to one group of local real estate professionals.

Meant to evoke “strength” and a play on the word “hay,” two longtime Napa commercial brokers, Gary Van Dam and Jim Henry, have formed Strong & Hayden.

The firm assists buyers, owners, and tenants with leasing, sales and acquisitions of commercial real estate.

“We have a firm belief in the strength of commercial real estate,” Henry said. “These are challenging times for both tenants and owners, however, we see many opportunities.”

“For tenants, we realize the importance of how a location must fit their business strategy and model,” Henry said. “For owners and prospective buyers, we understand that each commercial property is one element in their overall asset portfolio that needs the right amount of attention and analysis to maximize value.”

These days, prospective tenants considering Napa spaces have a number of new developments to pick from. Downtown projects such as Riverfront, Avia and Napa Square are generating interest, said Van Dam.

Strong & Hayden was recently tapped to spur on new leasing efforts for Napa Town Center. Other Strong & Hayden projects include leasing all Gasser properties and locating a larger space for Lafitte Cork & Capsule.

Interest is one thing, but signed leases are another. “We are seeing activity, but a lot of people won’t be moving forward until 2010,” Van Dam said. 

“People are waiting to see where this economy is going to take them before they do anything.”

Even with a wait and see attitude, “the bottom line is that there are always transactions and opportunities throughout the cycle,” wrote Henry in an e-mail. “Having a better idea of where you are as a tenant, landlord, buyer or seller should be an important part of your decision, pricing and bids.”

Commercial broker Michael Holcomb, broker associate Matt Connolly, financier Joe Fischer, Todd Dobson and Milan Clarke complete the new Strong & Hayden team.

“At my age some might think I am crazy to start a new company, but in all my years in commercial real estate, I have never been so excited,” Henry said. “This is a great team.”