Daily Business Report — April 7, 2010
40 Under 40 Nominations
Nominations are now open for San Diego Metropolitan Magazine’s 11th annual 40 Under 40 awards. The nomination period ends May 31. The honorees will be feted at our annual luncheon on Sept. 9 at the San Diego Convention Center and profiled in the September issue of the magazine.
Visit http://sandiegometro.com/40under40/ for a nomination form.
Land Transfer Approved For Convention Center Expansion
The San Diego Convention Center Corp. (SDCCC) has secured land from the Port District that will allow for the expansion of the San Diego Convention Center — an expansion deemed necessary to retain lucrative conventions such as Comic-Con and to lure other big-name conventions. The Board of Port Commissioners on Tuesday authorized the transfer of six acres of land from Fifth Avenue Landing to the SDCCC for the expansion. That site was recommended in September by the Mayor’s Citizen Task Force on the Convention Center Project. “While there is more work to be done before we can break ground, today’s action is a critical step forward,” said Mayor Jerry Sanders.
The Convention Center Corporation will pay $1 million from reserves at the closing of the transfer agreement and issue a promissory note for the remaining $12.5 million to be secured by the six acres. There will be an annual principal payment of $500,000 per year. The balance of the principal and interest will be paid by the corporation at the end of the five-year financing period. With the land transfer complete, the SDCCC will begin working in partnership with the Port to complete the necessary environmental and permitting steps.
“This is a major milestone in our efforts to expand this regional economic engine which has transformed San Diego into a world-class meeting and convention destination,” said Bob Nelson, chairman of the SDCCC board. “As our recent efforts to secure future bookings of Comic-Con International demonstrates, we need more space to keep our most valued clients and ensure San Diego remains a top choice for conventions into the next several decades.”
The mayor’s task force said last year that the expansion is necessary to generate more economic impact for the city and to create new jobs. “Our current size is limiting our ability on many levels because we lack enough meeting space to meet market demand,” said Carol Wallace, president and CEO of the SDCCC. We have lost or turned away 381 events in recent years because of lack of space or available dates. An expansion would allow us to accommodate 89 percent of that lost business.”
The expansion would add 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, 100,000 square feet of meeting rooms, 80,000 square feet of multi-purpose ballrooms and 40,000 square feet of bayfront retail. With service and support space, the overall gross square footage of the expansion totals 1,266,719 square feet, amounting to roughly one-third of the entire San Diego Convention Center upon completion of Phase III. The expansion cost, including a proposed pedestrian bridge linking Fourth Avenue with the waterfront, was estimated at $752.7 million for the mayor’s task force. The expansion of the Convention Center is expected to generate $698 million of economic activity annually on top of the $1.3 billion a year the Convention Center already generates, plus 6,885 new fulltime jobs in addition to the 12,500 jobs throughout San Diego County already supported by the Convention Center, according to market reports given to the mayor’s task force.
Median Asking Price for San Diego Businesses — $199,000
If you want to buy a business in San Diego, the current median asking price of businesses is $199,000. That’s no change from the end of the first quarter of 2009, according to BizBuySell.com, an online commercial real estate listing service.
For the first quarter of this year, businesses listed for sale in San Diego had a median revenue of $385,000, up from $358,000 at the same time last year. The median cash flow — meaning the money that comes out of the business over the course of a year — is $90,000 versus median cash flows of $85,000 last year.
According to BizBuySell.com, business owners in the San Diego area will typically ask for, on average, a revenue multiple of .75 (changed from .64 year over year) and a cash flow multiple of 2.92 (changed from 2.69 year over year).
The first quarter statistics are based on 349 San Diego-area businesses listed for sale at BizBuySell.com.
Business-for-sale listings can be viewed at http://www.bizbuysell.com/california/san-diego-businesses-for-sale/.
Nationally, the business-for-sale market continues to show signs of slow but sure economic recovery, according to the company. The number of closed transactions reported to BizBuySell.com in first quarter 2010 rose slightly, 0.3 percent, as compared with the same time period in 2009 — from 1,146 transactions to 1,149. Market improvement is more evident when comparing first quarter 2010 data to the prior quarter, with BizBuySell.com reporting a healthy 6.3 percent increase in transaction volume.
Meadows Developers Win SDG&E Award
Pacific Scene Homes and Legacy Building Services have been presented a San Diego Gas & Electric Award of Excellence for the Meadows affordable housing development in Poway. The award recognizes a commitment to quality, sustainability, durability and low cost of ownership for its homeowners. The Meadows has 33 homes. Each one showcases a 2.3- kilowatt solar electric roof system, tankless water heaters, fully landscaped drought-tolerant front and rear yards, efficient heat and air conditioning systems and energy star appliances. Each single-story home at the development was rated by the Environmental Protection Agency-as an Energy Star new home. All of the homes at The Meadows are being sold to low and moderate- income first-time homebuyers through the Poway Redevelopment Agency’s Supporting Home Ownership in Poway (S.H.O.P.) Program. To date, more than half of the buyers at the Meadows either previously lived or worked in the area.
UCSD Students Receive Internships With CB Richard Ellis
Two students from UCSD’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies have been chosen for a six-month internship with CB Richard Ellis’ Carbon Services Division. Graduate students Jarrod Russell and Anne Shiraishi will work directly with Matt Ellis, CBRE Carbon Services director and a UCSD alumnus, as part of two three-month stints analyzing global carbon markets as they relate to the commercial real estate sector. The internship will place the students in San Diego for the first three months and in CBRE’s Sao Paolo office for the second stint. “We selected Sao Paolo because Brazil is an ideal location from which we can look at carbon markets, particularly forestry and clean development mechanism markets,” Ellis said. The internship is funded by a Department of Education grant.
“As a leader in sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction programs, this is a great opportunity for CBRE to leverage the government grant to expand our market coverage. As a UCSD alumnus, I’m thrilled to work with world class talent at my alma mater,” Ellis said. “Our program emphasizes the global roles of policy and business, so the chance to help build CBRE’s carbon program within a dynamic market like Brazil will be absolutely priceless professional development,” added graduate student Shiraishi.
SDSU Opens Applications for Speedy Nursing Degree
San Diego State is accepting applications for admission to its 12-month accelerated online Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which the university intends to begin offering in July. The degree program is primarily geared towards career-changers or recent graduates who already have obtained a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing discipline. The state faces a shortage of nurses. Gov. Schwarzenegger has announced a $90 million initiative to address a shortage of 14,000 registered nurses, which amounts to almost 40 registered nurse vacancies at each California hospital. “With SDSU’s new accelerated BSN program, prospective students have another nursing degree option and can enter the nursing profession in as few as 12 months,” said Catherine Todero, director of the SDSU School of Nursing. Interested prospective students are encouraged to contact a program adviser directly at (877) 505-2276, or they can visit online.sdsunursing.com for more information. Applications for admission into the new program are being accepted through May 1.
David Walters Joins First Business Bank
David Walters has joined First Business Bank as a senior vice president, responsible for business development and relationship management.
The bank operates offices in Del Mar, Carlsbad and Ramona. Walters is a 35-year veteran of the San Diego banking industry. During his career he has held positions at several area institutions, working in the areas of corporate banking, middle-market lending, syndicated national credits, international trade finance and real estate/construction lending. Walters received a degree in finance from San Diego State. He also graduated from the National School of Real Estate Finance in Madison, Wisc., and the Export-Import Bank Trade Finance School in Washington, D.C., and has a master’s degree in banking from the LSU-Sheshunoff Graduate School of Banking. Walters was appointed to the City of San Diego Funds Commission by Mayor Sanders and is chair of the commission.
Phil’s BBQ Leases Space in Creekside Marketplace
Phil’s BBQ has signed a lease for 6,842 square feet of restaurant space at Creekside Marketplace in San Marcos. The five-year lease is valued at $821,000. Phil’s will be taking over a location previously occupied by Johnny Carno’s. Michael Spilky of Location Matters, Restaurant & Retail Brokerage represented Phil’s BBQ and Bill Thaxton of Flocke & Avoyer represented the landlord, the city o f San Marcos.
Workshop to Examine New Green Building Standards Code
The Wood Product Council’s WoodWorks program will hold a free technical workshop May 11 in San Diego to focus on the recently adopted California Green Building Standards Code. The workshop will examine the implications of the code for wood use and materials selection along with the growing role of sustainable forest certification. The workshop will be held at the Embassy Suites San Diego Bay Downtown at 601 Pacific Highway. Registration and breakfast are from 7:45 to 8:30 a.m. The program runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon. To register, visit woodworks.org or call (925) 984-5108.
Workshop leaders will be Jim Bowyer, professor emeritus of the University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering and director of the Sustainable Materials Program at Dovetail Partners Inc., and Kathryn Fernholz, also with Dovetail Partners.
Business Datebook
April 9
SEMINAR: National Association of Women Business Owners San Diego continues its monthly seminar series. Angie Swartz of Square Martini Media will present “Using LinkedIn as a Marketing Tool.” Noon to 1 p.m., Brandman University, 7460 Mission Valley Road, San Diego. NAWBO San Diego members free, nonmembers $25. Box lunches provided. Online reservations at nawbo-sd.org.
CONGRESSIONAL LUNCHEON: San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce to host its annual Congressional Luncheon, presented by BAE Systems, at the Holiday Inn on the Bay, 1355 N. Harbor Drive, in Downtown San Diego. Registration at 11 a.m., luncheon and program noon to 1 p.m. Confirmed representatives include Congresswoman Susan Davis and Congressmen Bob Filner, Duncan D. Hunter and Darrell Issa. Moderator, Dennis Morgigno of Channel 4 San Diego.
April 13
PANEL PROGRAM: The cost and legal ramifications of the proposed California High Speed Rail system will be discussed at a program sponsored by the Urban Land Institute San Diego/Tijuana. 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the University Club, 750 B St., in Downtown San Diego. Panelists: John Chalker, member of the California Transit Commission; Steve DeBaum, partner with Best Best & Krieger; and Job Nelson, director of intergovernmental relations for the San Diego Mayor’s Office. Moderator: Jose Martinez, regional program manager for the California High Speed Rail Authority. $40 for ULI members, $50 for nonmembers. To register, call (800) 321-5011 or visit ulisd.org.
April 14
CONFERENCE: San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts tri-national conference to discuss competitiveness, innovation and clean energy. Principals include U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Canada Minister of Industry Tony Clement and Mexico Secretary of Economy Gerardo Ruiz Mateos. Invited participants: Gov. Schwarzanegger and Baja California Gov. Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos will participate. 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., main theater, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, 5998 Alcala Park, on the campus of University of san Diego. Conference and luncheon cost, $35 ($20 for students). To reserve, call (619) 296-0605, Ext. 234, or visit sdchamber-members.org/MBC2.htm.
April 17
FREE WORKSHOP: Entrepreneurial Excellence Workshop sponsored by the Universiy of Phoenix Kearny Mesa Learning Center, 3870/3890 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego. 9 a.m. to noon. Topics include outllook for small business in San Diego, business opportunities, legal issues for small businesses, search engine marketing, among others. Sports psychologist Casey Cooper to talk on “Home Run Leadership Styles.” To sign up, contact Gray Miller at (858) 650-4612.
April 20
PRESENTATION: Juval Aviv, president and CEO of Interfor Inc., will discuss some of the major financial fraud cases he has investigated during 30 years in the corporate investigations field, including personal anecdotes. Sponsor: Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) San Diego. 7 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. program, Doubletree Hotel Hazard Center, 7450 Hazard Center Drive, SanDiego. Free for ACG members, $50 for nonmembers. Make reservations at acteva.com.
April 21
LUNCHEON: Joon Han, founder and strategy specialist with Better San Diego, to speak on “Getting Ahead by Giving Back” at the luncheon meeting of the National Association of Women Business Owners San Diego. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Sheraton La Jolla, 3299 Holiday Court, La Jolla. Early bird pricing for members and guests available through April 15. For more information and online registration, visit nawbo-sd.org.
The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. (619) 906-4104.
