Daily Business Report — Oct. 21, 2010

Vote for the Most Admired Company

San Diego Metropolitan Magazine is soliciting nominations for the 15 Most Admired Companies in San Diego County. The winning companies will be profiled in the December issue of the magazine. To nominate a company, fill out the form on our Website: sandiegometro.com. The deadline is Oct. 30. For more information, call Rebeca Page at (619) 906-4104 or send an e-mail to her at rebecapage@sandiegometro.com.

Raintree Partners Acquires Apartment Projects for $65 Million

Raintree Partners, a Laguna Niguel-based real estate investment and development company, has completed the acquisition of the Flower Fields Apartments in Carlsbad and Canyon Hills Apartments in Rancho Peñasquitos for a total purchase price of $65 million. The seller, a private individual, was not identified.  Flower Fields Apartments is a 132‐unit multifamily property consisting of 19 buildings located at 2666 Flower Fields Way and was purchased for $31.5 million. The property has one- and two-bedroom units. Canyon Hills Apartments is a 128‐unit multifamily property consisting of 17 buildings located at 9870 Mercy Road and was purchased for $33.5 million. The property consists of two- and three-bedroom units. Each unit has its own washer and dryer, fireplace, central air conditioning and heating and garage. With the acquisitions, Raintree Partners holds $130 milliion in multifamily properties in San Diego, according to Jason Check, development director.

Hillcrest Apartments Sold for $5.3 Million

The Hillcrest Place apartments, a two-story, 41-unit complex at 3955 Seventh Ave. in Hillcrest, has been sold to Curtis Capital Group LLC for $5,345,000. The property has 19,410 rentable square feet with a unit mix of 19 studios; 20 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units; and two two-bedroom, one-bathroom units. Eric Comer, Jim Neil and Merrick Matricardi of CB Richard Ellis represented both Curtis Capital Group and the seller, Deborah Brant, a private, multi-housing investor. Curtis Capital is based in Seattle. The acquisition is its first in San Diego.

Forum Invites Public Input on Waterfront Development

Local planning and civic groups are inviting the public to a Saturday forum to give their ideas on how the Downtown waterfront should be developed. The “visioning” session will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Embarcadero Planning Center, 585 Harbor Lane (by Seaport Village) and will be followed by a guided waterfront walk beginning at 2 a.m. The coalition of urban planning and civic action groups that are coordinating event include Citizens Coordinate for Century 3, Navy Broadway Complex Coalition, League of Women Voters San Diego, Public Trust Alliance, NewSchool of Architecture & Design, Partners for Livable Spaces San Diego, Urban Land Institute San Diego/Tijuana District Council, San Diego Council of Design Professionals and the Ilan Lael Foundation. Representatives from San Diego Council of Design Professionals will lead the workshop, which will focus on six major issues: Identification of planning issues for a North Embarcadero plan amendment and EIR; pending projects and their relationship to the North Embarcadero Plan and its vision; restating the importance of the waterfront; identification of opportunities and constraints for future redevelopment; preparation of a phasing plan; and how to implement and fund a North Embarcadero vision through an appropriate governmental structure.

H.G. Fenton Co. Installs Solar System at Headquarters

H.G. Fenton Co. says it has implemented retrofits at its San Diego corporate headquarters in Mission Valley that will bring the building to “zero net energy” status. The company installed a new solar photovoltaic system, and implemented other equipment and operations updates as part of a pilot program to test the new technologies and prove their benefits before recommending them to their commercial building tenants. Home Energy Systems was the solar contractor on the corporate office photovoltaic project.

CCDC Sound Bites Program Set for Nov. 2

Centre City Development Corp.’s next Sound Bites event will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Nov. 2 and will feature a talk by Gary Shaw, community relations director of the San Diego Convention Center Corp. Shaw will discuss brief history of the convention center, its current status, challenges that it faces and vision for the future. The event will be at the Downtown Information Center on level 1 of Horton Plaza.

New County Counsel to Take Office on Jan. 10

Thomas Montgomery, assistant county counsel since 2003, will succeed outgoing County Counsel John Sansone when Sansone retires in January. Montgomery joined the county’s legal team in 1984, became chief deputy in 2000 and then assistant county counsel. He will assume the office on Jan. 10. Montgomery graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1983.Upon his retirement, Sansone has announced he will become a professor-in-residence at the same law school.

Scripps Clinic Nurse Wins National Honor

Elizabeth A. Brunton, a registered nurse at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, is the recipient of the 2010 Nurse Excellence Award from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The award is presented annually to a registered nurse who goes above and beyond the normal standards of nursing practice. Brunton will receive the award, a $1,000 grant, during the nurse’s welcome and orientation luncheon Oct. 31 as a part of ASTRO’s 52nd annual meeting in San Diego. Brunton received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UCLA and her master’s degree in nursing from Case Western University in Cleveland. She is the lead nurse and primary nurse in the radiation oncology department at Scripps Clinic and Scripps Green Hospital where she has worked since 1986.

Altera Corp. to Locate in Sorrento Valley

Altera Corp., a Silicon Valley-based technology company, has signed a six-year, $1.9 million lease for 10,724 square feet of office space in the Sorrento South Corporate Center, 9330 Scranton Road, Suite 400, in San Diego. Other  tenants include Texas Instruments, Wells Fargo Bank and The Nielsen Co. The lessor, TRIZEC Sorrento Towers LLC, was represented by Eric A. Northbrook and Christopher P. High of Cushman & Wakefield. The lessee was represented by Ron Kilby of CB Richard Ellis.

Rainy San Diego Still Popular

San Diego is the second most popular city for folks who would like to live in or near — behind New York — according to a new Harris poll. The next most popular cities are Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, Denver and Boston.

Gubernatorial Appointments

San Diegans Benjamin Clay, Ann Haddad and Andrew Poat have been reappointed to the San Diego River Conservancy governing board by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Gary Strawn of Santee was appointed to the San Diego REgional Water Quality Control Board.

Clay, 65, has been a member of the River Conservancy board since 2008. He was partner with Carpi and Clay Government Relations from 1984 to 2008. Haddad, 47, has been a member since 2006. She served as director of community relations and events for Salk Institute for Biological Studies from 2003 to 2006. Poat, 50, has been a member since 2006. He has also served as vice president of public policy for the San Diego Economic Development Corporation since 2006. All three are Republicans. The appointments do not need Senate confirmation.

Strawn, 64, has served as an engineering consultant for Gary Strawn Consulting since 2007. Previously, Strawn was a program manager for Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems from 1988 to 2006. The position requires Senate confirmation. Strawn is a Republican.

SCORE San Diego Small Business Workshops

Fees range from $29 to $109 depending on the program.

• Oct. 22 – Internet Marketing 302: E-mail Strategy – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Oct. 22 – Business Basics 101 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; FREE! Please pre-register).

• Oct. 23 – Effective Marketing – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 25 – Internet Marketing 201: SEO – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 26 – How to Start and Manage Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 27 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).

• Oct. 28 – Financial Statements – Carlsbad – 9:30-11:30 a.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Oct. 29 – Marketing for Non-Profits – 9-11:30 a.m. at San Diego Foundation – Liberty Station (2508 Historic Decatur Rd #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).

For more information, call (619) 557-7272 or visit score-sandiego.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.