Daily Business Report — July 14, 2011
Hughes Marino Acquires Tax Credit Consulting Firm
Hughes Marino Inc., a commercial real estate company specializing in tenant representation, has acquired Cal Tax Group, a tax credit consulting firm, and added Brendan Foote as senior vice president of Hughes Marino Tax Credit Services, a new division. The new division will be focused on securing tax refunds and savings for businesses and business owners eligible for economic development programs such as the California Enterprise Zone Program. Cal Tax Group was co-founded in 2006 by Foote. In the nearly five years prior to being acquired by Hughes Marino, Cal Tax Group saved its clients in excess of $20 million in income taxes, according to Jason Hughes, president of Hughes Marino. “With over 150 existing San Diego-based clients, Brendan and Cal Tax Group add a significant new division to our growing company,” said Hughes. “This will allow us to further exploit cost-saving opportunities for our business-owner clients.” He said his own company has benefited by more than $50,000 over the last several years as a direct result of this service. The majority of businesses located in Downtown San Diego and the South Bay are eligible to participate in California’s Enterprise Zone Program. The program offers tax savings and refund opportunities to companies who are creating qualified jobs and purchasing certain equipment. The acquisition cost for Cal Tax Group was not disclosed.
Schubach Aviation Moves to Larger Headquarters
Private air charter firm Schubach Aviation is relocating to a new, 40,000-square-foot hangar and a 5,000-square-foot corporate office suite at 2026 Palomar Airport in Carlsbad. The new headquarters are 100 yards west of its current location, which contained a 30,000-square-foot hanger and 3,000-square-foot office space. Schubach signed a 10-year lease agreement for the new headquarters. Henry Schubach, company founder and president, said the move was necessary because of the company’s addition of more large-sized, luxury aircraft to its fleet, including another Challenger 601 and, most recently, a Gulfstream IV. The new space will accommodate the firm’s present plans to acquire more aircraft, including another Hawker 800XP, in the near future. The new hangar is completely solar-powered, which will help offset operating costs while being more environmentally friendly, said Schubach.
Landscape Architects Win Honors
Landscape architects Kelly G. Broughton and Laura Burnett of San Diego have been inducted to the 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows. They and other inductees will be publicly recognized at the 2011 ALSA annual meeting and expo Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at the San Diego Convention Center. The honor recognizes individuals for excellence over an extended period of time to the design profession. Broughton was nominated by the San Diego chapter in the Leadership/Management category. As San Diego’s principal landscape architect since 1989, he is a strong proponent of small-business development, affordable housing, government efficiency and sustainability in San Diego’s policies, regulations, and operations. Burnett, of Burnett Land & Water, was nominated by the San Diego chapter in the Works Category. In practice, she has worked with a broad, complex range of clients and constituents to transform cities, campuses, communities, and habitats into better places. She leads teams of scientists, architects, engineers, public artists, and citizens to realize collaborative, creative solutions that combine the values of people and place. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and her master’s degree from the Harvard GSD.
Mike Erwin Joins Collier’s Carlsbad Brokerage Office
Mike Erwin has joined Colliers International’s brokerage office in Carlsbad as a senior vice president. Erwin previously was with Cassidy Turley/BRE Commercial for 12 years. He served at the U. S. Treasury Department as a bank regulator for the Comptroller of the Currency from 1992 to 1998. Erwin later joined Grubb&Ellis/BRE Commercial (now Cassidy Turley/BRE Commercial) and earned Rookie of the Year with the highest rookie production in the company’s history. Erwin also earned the Grubb&Ellis Circle of Excellence Award — awarded to the top 30 agents in the nation — for eight consecutive years. He was awarded SDCCAR Industrial Deal Maker of the Year for San Diego County in 2002, and was selected for the Charles Lamden Rising Stars of Business.
Bond Oversight Panel Gets 2 New Members
Two new members have joined the volunteer citizens group overseeing the Grossmont Healthcare District’s $247 million construction bond program for Sharp Grossmont Hospital. They are La Mesa resident Glen Sparrow, a retired San Diego State University professor, and Lakeside resident Kenneth Lavigne, training director with the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local 206. Sparrow and Lavigne will replace two ICBOC members who recently completed their terms: Walter Heiser, law professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, who represented the San Diego County Taxpayers Association; and, Joseph Powell, business manager of Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, Local 206, who represented the San Diego County Labor Council.
Eran Bermudez Joins GCR Law Firm
Eran Bermudez, an education, public agency and labor attorney, has joined GCR LLP as a senior associate in the firm’s San Diego office. Bermudez has more than five years experience in education, public agency and labor law, and will join her sister, Nadia Bermudez, a labor and public litigation attorney, at GCR. Nadia Bermudez is a partner in GCR’s San Diego office and has been with the firm for two years. Eran Bermudez has worked with numerous education institutions across the state on matters of employment law and grievance processing. She has also advised clients on issues related to the collective bargaining process, including unfair labor practice allegations. Along with GCR’s San Diego clients, Eran Bermudez will serve the firm’s public agency clients in Imperial Valley.
Small Business Workshops
SCORE San Diego continues its series of low-cost workshops. Fees range from $29 to $109, depending on the program. To register online, visit score-sandiego.org. For more information, call (619) 557-7272.
• July 15 – Women’s Networking Breakfast and Exhibits – 8 to 11 a.m. at Morgan Run Resort & Club in Rancho Santa Fe (5690 Cancha de Golf, Rancho Santa Fe 92091; attendees: $30 by July 12, $40 after; exhibitors: $80 by July 12, $90 after).
• July 16 – Introduction to Starting Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
• July 16 – Internet Marketing 101: Use the Internet to Successfully Market Your Business – 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).
• July 18 – Restaurant 101 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).
• July 19 – Internet Marketing 301: Increase Sales through Pay-Per-Click – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).
• July 20 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Winning Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).
• July 21 – Hot to Start a Non-Profit – 9 to 11:30 a.m. at The San Diego Foundation in Point Loma (2508 Historic Decatur Rd., #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).
• July 22 – Intellectual Property: Promise and Practicalities – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Avenue, San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).
• July 25 – Customer Service: The Key to Business Success – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).
The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of SD METRO, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865.
