Daily Business Report — May 18, 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.

Downtown Hi-Rise Receives Green Certification

The San Diego office of Hines announced Monday that the 22-story office building at 525 B St. in Downtown San Diego has received Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system. Hines said the building is 46 percent more energy efficient and saves $1.77 per square foot in energy costs annually. The estimated annual greenhouse gas reductions are the equivalent to removing 295 passenger vehicles from the road, the company said.

Under Hines management, 525 B Street earned the ENERGY STAR label in 2007, 2008 and 2009.  “The business story this building tells is a compelling one for tenants, owners and investors alike,” said Hines Vice President Paul Twardowski. “Older buildings can be rehabilitated to Class A quality by applying best engineering practices and through modest investment in more sustainable building infrastructure.”

Originally constructed in 1969 and renovated in 1998 and in 2007, the property was purchased by the Hines’ US Core Office Fund in 2005 and has undertaken numerous sustainability measures, including the installation of a new cooling tower, new efficient transformers, a new electrical switch gear and upgraded building control systems; a building-wide lighting retrofit; the installation of exterior glass tinting to reduce solar gain; the replacement of exterior window gaskets to reinforce temperature barriers; the installation of low-flow restroom fixtures, submeters and a chemical-free water treatment system to minimize water consumption; a green cleaning program; and a building-wide recycling program, among others.

The building is leased to a roster of tenants that includeProcopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch; Golden Eagle Insurance Co.; Elsevier Inc.; and Navy Human Resources. Matt Carlson and JP Huntington of Cushman & Wakefield market the building for Hines.

Search Optics Inc. Moves to Larger Quarters

Search Optics Inc. has moved to larger offices in the Sunroad Corporate Centre, 444 Eastgate Mall, Suite 320, in San Diego 92121. The move to the Class A space is the result of company growth. “We doubled our number of employees over the last year and are still in a hiring mode,” said David Ponn, Search Optics’ CEO. “We ran out of room at our previous location, and needed a facility that could accommodate our people and our continued growth.”

Seymour Capital Purchases San Diego Building

Seymour Capital Inc. has purchased the 5,833-square-foot retail building at 6557-6565 El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego for $650,000. The six-unit building also includes 4834-4838 Rolando Blvd. and is currently 100 percent leased. Building tenants include Audio Design, Aztec Tattoo, San Diego Sound, Barkin’ Dales and Tribal Hut. Joel Wilson of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, Frasca Family Trust. Chris Rink of Cassidy Turley represented Seymour Capital.

New Leases

Edan Diagnostics Inc. has leased 3,152 square feet of lab and office space at Sorrento Mesa Business Center, 9833 Pacific Heights Blvd., San Diego 92121. The four-year lease is valued at $136,670. Sam Higgins of CB Richard Ellis represented the lessor, MP Sorrento Mesa LLC. Phil Linton of Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial represented Edan Diagnostics.

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Keddington & Karla Optometrists leased 2,041 square feet of retail space at Twin Peaks Plaza, 14757 Pomerado Road, Poway 92064. The six-year lease is valued at $356,440. Reg Kobzi of CB Richard Ellis represented Keddington & Karla Optometrists and the lessor, Regency Centers LP. The lease brings the 143,203-square-foot shopping center to 96 percent leased with two suites available for lease. Anchored by Albertsons and Target, other project tenants include Starbucks, Subway, U.S. Bank, Verizon Wireless, State Farm Insurance, Famous Footwear and Coldstone Creamery.

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Bath & Kitchen Town Inc. leased 3,145 square feet of showroom and office space at Activity Business Center, 9265 Activity Road, San Diego 92126. The 39-month lease is valued at $108,342. Sam Higgins of CB Richard Ellis represented Bath & Kitchen Town. Bryce Aberg, Brant Aberg and Sam Wasserstein of Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial represented the lessor, BRCP Realty Services II, LLC.

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California Credit Union has leased a 4,737-square-foot freestanding building in La Mesa Springs Shopping Center, 8002 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa 91942. The five-year lease is valued at $511,596. The credit union is relocating its current La Mesa branch from 8131 Allison Ave. to La Mesa Springs Shopping Center. Brad Jones of CB Richard Ellis represented the lessor, Auerbach Realty Group LLC. Independent real estate broker Calvin A. Pearce represented California Coast Credit Union.

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Skylight Healthcare Systems Inc. has signed a six-year, $2.4 million lease for 15,641 square feet of office space in Pacific Plaza at Torrey Hills, 10935 Vista Sorrento Pkwy., San Diego 92130.  Pacific Plaza at Torrey Hills is a three-building, 220,000-square-foot, Class A office project. Additional tenants include Qualcomm, Cisco, Rudolph & Sletten, NetApp and Tragara Pharmaceuticals. The lessor, TREA Pacific Plaza LLC, was represented by Eric A. Northbrook and Christopher High of Cushman & Wakefield. Skylight Healthcare Systems was represented by David Marino of Irving Hughes.

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Personal trainer Darnell Davis has leased 1,440 square feet of retail space at Scripps Mesa Retail Center, 9811 Mira Mesa Blvd., San Diego 92131. The five-year lease is valued at $118,019. Joel Wilson of CB Richard Ellis represented both Darnell Davis and the lessor, Scripps Mesa Central LLC.

Gafcon Names Director of Human Resources

Kimberly Villanueva, a 20-year veteran in the human resources field, has been hired as director of human resources for Gafcon Inc., a construction management and consulting firm. Prior to joining Gafcon, Villanueva served as director of human resources for Super Warehouse, a San Diego-based e-commerce company, where she created a new human resources infrastructure that helped reduce employee turnover by 20 percent within the first year, the company said. She also served as human resources director for West Coast Property Consultants, where she held a seat on the board of directors and directed the human resources function across multiple business units. Prior to this position, she was the human resources manager for Brawn of California, doing business as International Male, where she worked for 14 years. Villanueva holds a bachelor of science degree in human resources from the University of Phoenix. She also earned a certificate in the basics of employment law from the Council on Education in Management.

Southwest Strategies Promotes Jessica Luternauer

Jessica Luternauer has been promoted to senior account executive at Southwest Strategies, a San Diego-based public affairs and public relations firm. A member of the Public Relations Society of America and the San Diego Press Club, Luternauer graduated Phi Beta Kappa with high honors from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in English. She subsequently earned a master’s degree in literature from UCSD.

SAIC Receives $24 Million Air Force Contract

Science Applications International Corp. has been awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Air Force to deliver deployable tactical air navigation systems to the Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems program office at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. The new contract has a three year period of performance and is valued at more than $24 million. Work will be performed in San Diego.

Air and Space Museum Images Go Online

More than 44,000 images from the San Diego Air and Space Museum archives have been launched on FlickR.com, making the museum owner of one of the largest online collections of aviation images in the world, according to the Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC). “We have already seen impressive engagement from the public interacting with the images on Flickr, and it’s really just the tip of the iceberg when you consider the fact that the San Diego Air & Space Museum counts over 1 million images in its library collection,” said BPOC Director Rich Cherry. “ I applaud the museum for being proactive in this arena and jumping on board with us for such an ambitious project.”

Granting public access to the collection online with Flickr.com allows anyone from researchers and school students to aviation enthusiasts, veterans and the general public to view, tag and comment on the images, thereby adding valuable content and context to the collection. SDASM plans to have over 100,000 images digitized and posted online by the end of the year, including foreign and domestic military and civilian aircraft, the Flying Tigers, the Ryan Aeronautical Archive and the entire Pacific Southwest Airline (PSA) archive.

The Air and Space Museum is one of several cultural institutions within Balboa Park currently working with BPOC’s rapid capture stations to digitize archival images and publish their collection data online.

San Diego The Best Dog-Friendly City in the Nation

San Diego was ranked the No. 1 dog-friendly destination cities in the country by DogFriendly.com, a Website that provides dog travel information to the public. The rankings are based on the quality of dog-friendly accommodations, transportation, beaches, parks, attractions, stores and dining. San Diego has “The best dog beaches anywhere. Boutique hotels. Many trails and parks to hike and great weather year-round for outdoor dining,” according to DogFriendly.com. The other nine dog-friendly areas behind San Diego, in descending order: Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, Northern Virginia, San Francisco, Boston, Orlando, Fla., Salt Lake City, Charleston, S.C., and New York.

San Diego Floral Association Historic Garden Tour

San Diego Floral Association’s Historic garden tour will be held in the community of Kensington on May 22 in honor of the community’s centennial.  Six private gardens will be open to the public for the first time and may be viewed  from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Three of the homes are  a Richard Requa design with garden landscapes by Milton Sessions. Selected horticultural vendors will be located at Adams and Marlborough avenues.  Tickets are $15 prior to the event and $20 the day of event.  DJ’s Home and Garden Shop in Kensington, Walter Andersen Nursery in Point Loma,  Mission Hills Nursery are selling the tickets, or phone the Floral Association office at (619) 232-5762.

Datebook

May 19

WORKSHOP: San Diego Press Club sponsors “Life After Journalism,” a program presented by Joe Ames, former editor of the Orange County Register. Ames spent 30 years as a reporter and editor in radio, TV and newspapers and will discuss career options after journalism. 6 to 8 p.m., KGTV Studio, 4600 Air Way, San Diego. Free to Press Club members, $10 for nonmembers. To reserve, call Terry Williams, executive director, at (619) 231-4340 or visit sdpressclub.org.

May 20

CLEANTECH PANEL: CONNECT presents a panel talk on “Cleantech & Renewable Energy Financing: From the Public to the Private and Beyond,” 9 to 11 a.m., AMN Healthcare, 12400 High Bluff Drive, No. 100, San Diego 92130. Panelists will discuss federal and state programs and incentives for the renewable and cleantech industry as well as the private marketplace. Panelists: Nick Leibham, of counsel, Dirk Michels, partner, Sue Hodges, administrative partner and Greg Brucia, senior associate, all of K&L Gates LLP; and Andrew McAllister, program director, California Center for Sustainable Energy. Cost is $45 for CONNECT members, $65 for nonmembers. For more information, call Bethany Kraynack at (858) 964-1312. Register at connect.org.

May 27

WORKSHOP: San Diego Metropolitan Credit Union will present an identity protection workshop, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., credit union offices at 9212 Balboa Ave., San Diego 92123. Free admission. For more information or reserve a seat, call (619) 278-5724 or send e-mail to: workshops@sdmcu.org

June 15

PRESENTATION: Michael Bergthold of Odyssey Strategic Advisory Services and J. Barrett Marum of San Diego Sheppard Mullin will cover legal issues faced by buyers and sellers of distressed businesses or assets; cover Section 363 bankruptcy purchases and sales; and buying and selling out-of-state and federal receiverships in a program sponsored by the Association for Corporate Growth San Diego. Doubletree Hotel Hazard Center, 7450 Hazard Center Drive, San Diego 92108. 7 a.m. registration. 7:40 to 9 a.m., breakfast and program. Free for ACG members, $50 for nonmembers. Make reservations at acteva.com/go/acgsd or acgsd@acgsd.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.