Daily Business Report-Jan. 27, 2021
Welk Resort in Escondido (Courtesy Welk Hospitality Group)
Family-owned Welk Resorts to be acquired
by Marriott Vacations Worldwide
Welk Hospitality Group has entered into an agreement with Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation to sell the Welk Resorts portfolio of vacation resorts, programs and property management contracts for approximately $430 million, including approximately 1.4 million MVW common shares. The acquisition is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2021.
After the transaction closes, MVW intends to rebrand the Welk-branded vacation resorts in California, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico as Hyatt Residence Club properties. This will bring the Hyatt Residence Club portfolio to 24 resorts and complement its existing locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Puerto Rico and Texas. The process to integrate and rebrand the Welk Resorts properties and products will be a complex, longer-term initiative and subject to final approval from Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
“It is bittersweet after 57 wonderful years of memories and accomplishments to be welcoming a new owner for Welk Resorts. We are confident in MVW and its shared commitment to excellence. Our board and family recognized that its vision, resources and globally-recognized brand ensure the best long-term future for our valued team members and Owners,” said Welk Resorts President and CEO Jon Fredricks, grandson of the late Lawrence Welk, the television bandleader who started the Welk hospitality business.
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A Tale of Two Local Economies
San Diego’s economy is on the cusp of a massive shift: Tech companies are thriving while the hospitality sector remains in a deep depression because of the pandemic.
By Ramin Skibba | Voice of San Diego
San Diego’s economy is on the cusp of a massive shift. Biotech and pharmaceutical firms are poised to move into the massive waterfront site being built Downtown, while Horton Plaza’s turning into a tech hub and UC San Diego Extension is moving in a few blocks away.
But at the same time, the tourism and hospitality industries — so often identified with San Diego’s brand through its hotels and the Convention Center — has collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tens of thousands of San Diegans have lost work and the homeless population has grown.
Despite the pandemic, San Diego’s tech startup scene has flourished and some firms have moved here from the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
“We certainly have been seeing an upward trend even before COVID, but it seems like it has accelerated a bit. We’ve seen a big growth of tech jobs in the area,” said Elizabeth Lyons, a UC San Diego economist.
The tech sector accounts for about 9 percent of jobs in San Diego, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm. Many, though not all, of those jobs are for tech work, including software engineers and data analytics workers, which earn higher-than-average salaries.
Cubic launches Umo platforms
to enhance urban mobility
Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has launched Umo, a fully-integrated suite of platforms for riders, transit agencies and mobility service providers to complement its existing portfolio of transportation technology.
Umo is a flexible suite of products that enables riders to conveniently pay fares and plan trips across public and private modes, earn rewards for riding public transit and access real-time information to optimize their mobility experience.
Umo simplifies travel by integrating all of a region’s transportation options, from buses, trains, trams and ferries to rideshare, scooters and bikes, in one place. Umo’s scalable platform-based approach is designed to benefit agencies of all sizes from the smallest bus operator to larger towns and cities. Large and mega-cities also benefit with Umo’s suite of platforms complementing their existing fare collection systems with options including enhanced multi-modal journey planning, next generation mobile applications, digital loyalty and rewards, operator intelligence, passenger information and a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform.
Lawmakers propose extending
eviction moratorium until June 30
Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders announced a deal Monday to extend California’s eviction moratorium through June 30 while leveraging $2.6 billion in federal funds to pay landlords 80 percent of back rent if they agree to forgive the remaining 20 percent owed, CalMatters’ Nigel Duara reports. Lawmakers are expected to vote formally on the proposal Thursday, though some say additional relief and protections are needed.
Statewide rental debt is pegged at $400 million, a number that pales beside the estimated $1 billion Californians have racked up in water debt, according to new data from the State Water Resources Control Board. At least 1.6 million California households — one in eight — could see their water shut off once Newsom lifts the pandemic moratorium on disconnections, CalMatters’ Jackie Botts reports. Low-income communities of color are particularly at risk of shutoffs: They have more widespread and higher average debt.
‘Typical’ San Diego home value rose
12.5 percent since 2019, to $679,000
According to a Zillow real estate report. growth in home values continued to rise sharply in December as high demand for homes carried into winter. Typical home values in the U.S. climbed to $266,104, up 8.4% from a year ago – the highest annual increase since January 2014. Many metro areas took part in this late surge, including San Diego.
Two important real estate metrics to note in San Diego County:
The typical home value in December was $678,665, up 12.5% year over year, 1.7% since November and 5.1% since the third quarter.
Typical rent is $2,375, up 4.3% year over year.
“The housing market ended 2020 with an exclamation point, as home values rose sharply near the end of the year at their fastest quarterly rate on record,” said Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow. “Sales are taking place at a rapid clip as momentum gathering in the market since June is still pushing forward at full force and is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Although prices are skyrocketing, record-low mortgage rates keep bringing buyers to the table by keeping monthly payments in reach.”
Community College District board to interview
candidates for vacant seat on board of trustees
The San Diego Community College District’s (SDCCD) Board of Trustees is moving closer to selecting a candidate to fill a vacancy resulting from the November election of former SDCCD trustee Sean Elo-Rivera to the San Diego City Council.
Six individuals applied for the seat representing Trustee Area E, which stretches from Barrio Logan to City Heights and includes Downtown, North Park, South Park, Golden Hill, Mountain View, Logan Heights, and Normal Heights. Candidates include physician and residency program director Joel Trambley, public health professional Geysil Arroyo, nonprofit management official Dwayne Crenshaw, Realtor and housing professional Rafael Perez, and chief compliance officer, executive vice president, and general counsel Jared Quient. A sixth applicant was disqualified because she does not live in Area E.
The Board of Trustees will discuss the candidates at the board’s Jan. 28 meeting,
scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. The public can access the meeting via the SDCCD’s YouTube channel.
Jonathan Grissom returns to
Higgs Fletcher & Mack as partner
Attorney Jonathan A. Grissom has been welcomed back to Higgs Fletcher & Mack as a partner. He spent over 12 years practicing at the firm earlier in his career.
In his business practice, Grissom focuses primarily on nonprofit organizations, representing a wide variety of public charities, private foundations, and other nonprofit organizations. His clients have included scientific research organizations, social welfare organizations, professional societies, trade groups, educational institutions and related groups, religious organizations, business leagues, hospitals and related groups, social clubs.
He also represents organizations dedicated to animal welfare, environmental protection, human rights, arts and culture, and other philanthropic causes.
Grissom currently serves as immediate past chairman of the Board of 211 San Diego, “a resource and information hub that connects people with community, health and disaster services.” He also chairs the Tax-Exempt Organizations Committee of the Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Association. He also co-authored the Continuing Education of the Bar treatise titled Advising California Nonprofit Corporations (2nd Edition), which addressed business and tax matters affecting nonprofit corporations.
Coastal Roots Farm raises $130,000
to support local families
Coastal Roots Farm, a nonprofit Jewish community farm and education center in Encinitas, has reported raising $130,000 to support 7,800 local families. The farm exceeded its initial $100,000 goal to feed 6,000 families, providing to a total of 7,800 families with 35,750 pounds of fresh, organic, nutrient-dense produce, grown on the Farm. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, one in three San Diego households is hungry.
Additionally, the Farm awarded After-School Farm Camp scholarships to local kids this fall. Interested families should email Sharone Oren, Education Manager of Community Programs and Events, at Sharone@coastalrootsfarm.org for scholarship information.
Leo Lens Pharm announces name
change to MediPrint Ophthalmics
Leo Lens Pharma, a San Diego-based clinical stage eye care pharmaceutical company focused on helping protect sight, announced a corporate name change to MediPrint Ophthalmics, effective immediately. The company is also announced it has successfully closed an over-subscribed Seed round fundraising.
The company’s rebranding to MediPrint Ophthalmics is based on input from stakeholders and prospective customers and is intended to align its name with the innovative and proprietary pipeline of products it is developing.
The total raised in the Seed round exceeded $4 million, with $2.6 million from new investors, including from the lead investor, which is the venture arm of a leading global ophthalmic pharmaceutical company. As previously reported, these funds are intended primarily to support the Phase 2a clinical study along with the end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA.
Elizabeth Hansen named
president of Southwest Strategies
Elizabeth Hansen has been named president of Southwest Strategies, the San Diego-based public affairs firm. Outgoing President Chris Wahl becomes chief executive officer of the firm.
Hansen has worked at Southwest Strategies for more than 20 years. She is currently an executive vice president, managing a wide range of projects, including entitlements for Tri Pointe Homes (FKA Pardee Homes), public outreach for Poseidon Water and infrastructure communications for the City of Carlsbad. Hansen is a PRSA Deborah Baker Public Relations Professional of the Year Award winner, was named one of San Diego’s Most Influential Women by The Daily Transcript and serves on the City of San Diego Board of Library Commissioners. She also manages the company’s Leadership Team, which oversees much of the day-to-day operations of the firm.
Wahl, who has served as the company’s president since 2008, will continue to lead and provide strategic direction for major projects and initiatives. He will also focus on implementing a broader vision for the company.
“Elizabeth is an accomplished public affairs practitioner with an impressive track record,” said Wahl. “She is a perfect fit for this position and I look forward to working closely with her to chart a path for continued growth and success at Southwest Strategies.”
Warwicks hosts virtual event on former
U.S. ambassador to U.N.’s memoir
On Monday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m.,Warwick’s, in partnership with HarperCollins and Dey Street, will present Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power as she discusses the new paperback edition of her book, “The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir,” in conversation with Academy Award-winning actress, Laura Dern. In this event, hosted in collaboration with independent bookstores across the U.S., Power and Dern will discuss Power’s journey as an immigrant, journalist, activist, and diplomat, as well as their perspectives on the current political moment and the road ahead. A Crowdcast link for this event is available upon purchase of the new paperback edition of “The Education of an Idealist.” More information is available at https://www.warwicks.com.