Gregg Neuman atop Palazzo de Cielo

Who has the top-of-the-world condo listing Downtown? Easy, Gregg Neuman. The sumptuous four-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath Palazzo De Cielo he represents atop Downtown’s Renaissance begins with 2,000 square feet of exotic marble tile in its entry. The home’s Website, with its cleverly named URL — palaceinthesky.net — grabbed more than 10,000 viewings in its first 2 1/2 months on realtor.com. You expect Central Park, not bay and palm tree views from its windows and balcony. The owners spent 47,000 man hours tearing down and then rebuilding what was a new penthouse. “For two years it was a wood shop up there,” Neuman says. To get the word out, he’s hosting high-end charitable functions and marketing nationally and internationally. His office already holds the record for a condo sale in San Diego ($7.5 million) but that Downtown buyer ended up being a move-up in the same building. When this deal closes, that record is going to be shattered.

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Lindbergh Field’s best bargain just got better. The 50-space cell phone parking lot on Harbor Drive already is the best place to wait for free to receive word a friend, loved one or associate is ready for curbside pickup. The Airport Authority even added bathrooms last year. Now the agency is installing snack-stocked vending machines and an electronic display to track when flights will land.

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The median price of a resale condo Downtown was $579,500 for the 30-day period ended Dec. 20, up $500 from November, and essentially the same as December 2006 ($579,250), reports Realtor Lew Breeze of sdcondo.com. The number of condos pending sale during the past 30 days was 35, compared to 39 from the same period last year. The number of condos closing sale during the 30 days prior to Dec. 20 was 38, compared to 40 from the same period last year.

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James Brennan (photo/Ethan Pines)

James Brennan is working to turn the raggedy corner of University and Vermont in Hillcrest into the slyly named Universal, a hip entertainment complex featuring Dish as its signature restaurant. Set to open next month, the $7 million, 17,000-square-foot Universal will include a lounge featuring four urban entertainment concepts: Dish, an open-air lounge called The Garden, an indoor lounge with a dance floor and a Ciro’s Pizzeria. CEO Brennan and his partners — Mike Georgopoulos, Demien Farrell, Dana Shertz, Mitch Compton Jr. — run EnDev Enterprises, a sizzling developer of restaurants and nightspots. Their Downtown projects include the Stingaree, Side Bar, Ciro’s Pizzeria and The Witherby. In spring they opened Bar West in Pacific Beach and 2009 will present their version of the iconic Top of the Cove project in La Jolla. At Dish, Chef Antonio Friscia will transform comfort classics, turning out fare such as lobster mac and cheese in a dining room the developer promises will “ooze sex appeal with its swank-funk fusion of driftwood, gold-plated leaves and sandblasted brass.”

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Robert De Niro and Nobo Matsuhisa. (Photo/Ramona d’Viola)

As Gaslamp Quarter’s Hard Rock Hotel held a series of parties to celebrate its opening, the most delicious event was the sake ceremony for Nobu, the latest from international culinary star Nobo Matsuhisa. In San Diego, the crowd was kept happy with generous and succulent tray-passed appetizers and then with keepsake boxes for the sake toast, perhaps the best Downtown has seen since Sandy Shapery opened Emerald Shapery Center in 1991. All that seemed missing was Robert De Niro, a partner in Nobu. But wait, look there. In the company of one person, the Hollywood superstar made an unassuming entrance, walking through the crowd and taking a seat near the back. Dressed casually, and smaller in person than on the big screen, he was barely noticed. At first. Later the camera phones came out, but he still wasn’t crowded. When the event ended, he walked out front and left. In a van.

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As Jan Goldsmith seeks to quickly build his campaign treasury for city attorney he is offering “Gold Star” status to couples who max out their contributions. Donating $640 — or $320 apiece — guarantees a welcome at any and all other campaign events.

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Mike McGee

The president and CEO of Pardee Homes, Mike McGee, is the 2007 Builder of the Year, says the Building Industry Association of Southern California. “Mike McGee exemplifies the innovative thinking and leadership we seek when selecting our Builder of the Year,” says Ali C. Razi, the president of Stratham Homes in Irvine and the 2006 winner. “Pardee Homes has risen to new levels under Mike’s guidance, and is noted for quality homes and communities, philanthropic initiatives and leadership in environmentally friendly construction.”

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Look for Fred Sainz, the canny and politically omniscient press secretary for Mayor Sanders, to turn in his cell phones when this year’s mayoral campaign concludes.

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Lankford and Associates has completed installation of ‘Bamboo,’ one of the art pieces at Downtown’s Advanced Equities Plaza, 655 West Broadway. Two other art works, ‘Arc of Light & Life’ and ‘Blue Ice,’ were installed earlier. The surreal representation of bamboo is 34 feet high, 32 feet wide and weighs from 10,000 to 12,000 pounds. The hanging art was installed in four major pieces made of aluminum and tube steel. The piece is set against a dark background wall to make the art stand out, and the metal appears to subtly change colors throughout the day from light reflections. Ed Holakiewicz, associate principal at Carrier Johnson, designed ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Blue Ice.’ Todd Siler designed the ‘Arc of Light & Life.’

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More than 1,000 are expected for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on Jan. 31 where Manpower’s Phil Blair will be introduced as 2008 chair. Details are at sdchamber-members.org. AT&T is title sponsor.

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Out of 65,000 public notices published in the San Diego Metropolitan Uptown Examiner over the last 15 years, the fictitious business name statement for the San Diego Natural History Museum, published last month, smashed the record for earliest date of beginning business: Oct. 6, 1874. For assistance in bargain-priced publishing of any legal notice, visit sandiegometro.com/legals.

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S. Hira Singh Gabria, cabinet minister of Punjab (in turban), took part in ribbon-cutting ceremonies for Uptown Rotary Club’s Rotary Dialysis Centre at Shri Krishna Charitable Hospital in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. The center is a joint project of Uptown Rotary, The Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Club of Ludhiana Central and will serve patients in the region who are unable to pay for dialysis treatment. The project cost of $24,000 was shared by the three groups.

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Ken Henry has returned to family-owned Hallmark Communities to play a key role in the builders’ outreach to those who lost their homes in the October fires. Henry led Hallmark’s fire rebuilding team after the 2003 Cedar Fire, where 52 residents were back in new homes within 11 months of permits being pulled. “Our goal is to ensure that residents affected by the recent fires have the information they need to make informed decisions, Henry says. “If they choose us to rebuild, our team is ready to support them by making the process as easy as possible and returning them to homes they will love to come home to once again.” More is at hallmarkcommunities.com.

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Next time you run into Tom Creamer, thank him. As the longest serving member and volunteer fundraiser for the Century Club, Creamer was around when Denis Waitley and Jonas Salk persuaded singer Andy Williams to become the first celebrity host of the San Diego Open, a PGA event in danger of being canceled unless a suitable celebrity was recruited. That was 40 years ago, when Creamer, then a broker with Merrill Lynch, raised $350 to assist the golf tournament.

This year, with the event since named the Buick Invitational and scheduled Jan. 21-27 at Torrey Pines, Creamer, now 76, will raise $270,000, the top fundraiser among all the volunteers of the Century Club. And the Buick Invitational has rated as the most-watched of the PGA’s regular tour events in 12 out of the last 15 years.

It costs about $13 million now to stage the event, including the $5.2 million purse with $936,000 to the winner. Economic impact on San Diego is estimated to exceed $30 million.

Since they started counting, the event has raised $13.8 million for charities, mostly children’s services, including $2.8 million last year alone. Save Our Schools, a program in which children sell discounted event tickets with their schools keeping 100 percent of the proceeds, has made $5.3 million over the last 13 years, says Creamer, now long retired from Shearson/Lehman Brothers and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. But not retired from the Century Club.

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These cool guitars from El Cajon’s Taylor Guitar Co. are on display through the end of this month in the Commuter Terminal at Lindbergh Field. The exhibit is part of the Airport Authority’s Cultural & Performing Arts Program. In Terminal 2, across from Gate 33, are handcrafted dolls from San Diego’s Sister City of Yokohama, Japan.

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Low-fare airline Zoom Airlines Limited says it will begin twice-weekly flights this summer from Lindbergh Field to London’s Gatwick Airport. “Nonstop flights to San Diego will offer a convenient low-fare service from London, which allows customers to avoid the need to change planes en route,” say Hugh and John Boyle, owners of Zoom. “It’s all part of the low-fare revolution that we started earlier this year with our launch of flights to New York.” Expecting the flights to be popular is Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the Airport Authority. “The London flight will give San Diego’s tourism industry access to thousands of British travelers, who tend to stay longer and spend more,” she says.

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Are patience-trying telephone voice systems where users must peck their way through multiple choices before finally getting the right information soon to be a thing of the past? The organizers of Voice Search 2008 think so. When they gather March 10-12 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, a big topic will be making “voice search” as natural for callers as a Web search is today. Sort of Google by voice. The larger task is convincing big contact centers to move away from their existing highly-structured, “press 9 to hear this menu again” interactions. More is at voicesearchconference.com.

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Call these success-bred smiles. Laura Ann Fairchild, left, and her sister Julie are sitting better capitalized these days following the decision by Ted Waitt to have his Avalon Capital Group Inc. make a large investment in the next phase of growth of L.A. Fairchild Denim Bar, an apparel company located in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Customers can sample premium tap beer and play darts, pool or video games while purchasing chic (expensive) jeans. Coming on board as CEO to steer the concept expansion is William H. Parker. He has more than 35 years of merchandising experience. Maybe next time we check in with the company, we’ll use his photo.

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The Smart Stuff goes on display Feb. 21 when more than 240 masters’ and doctorate students at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering display their research results for tech leaders, investors, recruiters and others. Hot topics are expected to include networks of cooperating robots, underwater sensor networks, identifying weakened bridges before they fail and biomaterials for treating heart conditions. Corporate types will pay $125 to attend the day-long event while their government colleagues get in for $95. Call (858) 534-6068 for details.

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In soliciting our interest in writing a feature story on the cosmetic surgery industry, and pitching Dr. Susan Kaweski as the expert, Cohen Marketing & PR in New York reminds us that Forbes magazine considers San Diego the third most vain city in America, with 5.2 plastic surgeons per every 100,000 citizens. Locals spend $6.2 million on skin care and $3.2 million on hair coloring. The region has 115 board-certified plastic surgeons, although many of the most popular procedures can be performed by medical doctors without such ranking. Kaweski is, of course, board certified. Check your doctor out at plasticsurgery.org.

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The last developable parcel of land in Del Mar Heights - 23 acres - has been acquired by Kilroy Realty Corp. at a purchase price of $88 million. Pardee Homes sold the acreage, which is located within the 102-acre San Diego Corporate Center adjacent to Interstate 5. It consists of three legal parcels entitled for about 500,000 square feet of corporate office space. It is the last office development site in the Corporate Center and can handle an additional 2 million square feet of development.

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Americans spend more than $20 billion a year on herbal and dietary supplements. But does fish oil really help with depression? Will flaxseed reduce inflammation? Can ginseng boost energy? And how do you judge a supplement’s quality? One way will be to attend the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine’s fifth annual conference on natural supplements. Set for Jan. 17-20, “Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Update” will be held at the Paradise Point Resort. The keynote speaker is Dr. Mimi Guarneri, the best-selling author of “The Heart Speaks. For details, call (858) 587-4404 or click on scrippsintegrativemedicine.org.