Most of Greenbrae was developed by Niels Schultz Jr who teamed with his father to develop Greenbrae - initially dubbed Kentmore - from 635 acres of farmland. Mr. Schultz helped build more than 1,000 homes, 1,500 apartments and dozens of businesses between Highway 101 and Manor Road in Kentfield. Much of the remainder of Greenbrae was built by a competitor, Eugene Berger.

Upon his return from the war, Mr. Schultz went to work with his brother, Alvin, for their father's development company. In 1946, Schultz Building Co. bought 635 acres from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and broke ground on what was known as "Marin's new city." Greenbrae was designed as a neighborhood of custom homes and oak trees, set into the hills on winding streets with Spanish names. For the era, there was an unusual emphasis on saving trees, design, setbacks, landscaped medians and open areas. The Schultzes also left a tract to be developed for Marin General Hospital and developed Bon Air Shopping Center.