Daily Business Report — April 17, 2012
County Home Sales Jump in March
San Diego County home sales shot up last month from February and registered a 5.7 percent increase over March 2011, according to San Diego-based DataQuick, a real estate information service.
Total home sales for March: 3,237
Total home Sales for February: 2,709. Increase of 528
Home sales March 2011: 3,063
The median price paid for a home in the county in March was $320,000, up from February’s median of $305,000, but down from $325,000 in March 2011.
Southern California
DataQuick said Southern California home increased last month from February amid the usual surge in late-winter shopping, but the gain over a year earlier was modest. Sales of $500,000-plus homes, though a bit lower than last year, jumped 36 percent from February, helping to lift the region’s overall median sale price to a six-month high – and to about where it was in March 2011. A total of 19,953 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 28.1 percent from 15,573 in February, and up 2.8 percent from 19,412 in March 2011. The median price paid for a Southland home last month was $280,000, up 5.8 percent from $264,750 in February but down 0.2 percent from $280,500 in March 2011.
Navy to Bring More Carriers and Surface Ships to San Diego
The Navy plans to homeport at least one and perhaps two additional aircraft carriers and several more surface ships in San Diego by 2017, the commander of Navy Region Southwest told the City Council Monday. The Pentagon recently announced a shift of focus for U.S. military forces toward Asia and the Pacific Ocean, making bases in San Diego ripe for expansion, Rear Adm. Dixon Smith said. “We anticipate the return of a second aircraft carrier, and we will maintain — we do maintain — the capability for three,’” Smith said. The number of aircraft carriers based in San Diego has fluctuated in recent weeks as ships have been transferred and gone into yearlong retrofitting. Only the USS Carl Vinson, currently deployed off Pakistan, is based locally. Littoral combat ships, a new class of vessel designed to operate in coastal waters, are also set to be based in San Diego..A Navy report submitted to the city says two additional aircraft carriers and 10 more surface ships might come to the region, but Smith cautioned that those estimates were by no means firm.
The Navy has 58 surface ships based in San Diego, plus a half-dozen submarines. Smith said the Navy has a $30.5 billion annual economic impact on San Diego, and that 26 percent of all jobs in the region are Defense Department-related. The Navy report estimates that growth could result in 8,100 more sailors stationed in San Diego in the future, bringing with them 6,700 family members. “We are extremely fortunate to have the impact of the Navy that we do, and cannot, nor will we, take that for granted,” Councilman Kevin Faulconer said. — City News Service
USS San Diego to be Commissioned on May 19
The USS SAN DIEGO (LPD-22) will be commissioned at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 19, at the Navy Pier at 910 North Harbor Drive in San Diego, across from the USS Midway Museum. She is a San Antonio Amphibious Transport Dock class ship. She is the fourth ship of the Navy to bear the name of the city of San Diego but the first to be home ported in her namesake city.
April 30 is Deadline for Requesting Property Assessment Review
County Assessor Ernie Dronenburg reminds property owners that April 30 is the deadline to request a review of their property’s assessed value. The application for an assessment review can be submitted online at www.sdarcc.com. Property owners who believe their property’s market value as of Jan. 1, 2012 has dropped below its current assessed value, can file an application online to request the assessor to review their property’s assessment before this year’s bill is issued. Property owners wanting a paper version of the application form can call the Assessor’s Office at (858) 505-6262.
Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination to be Formed at UCSD
UC San Diego and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation are partnering to establish the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination on campus, whose mission is to become a global resource for innovative research and education. An agreement was signed on April 12 in Washington, D.C. Sandra A. Brown, vice chancellor for research at UC San Diego, and Sheldon Brown, professor of media arts, represented the campus at the formal signing ceremony with Tedson Meyers, chairman of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. The Clarke Center, the parties said, will span a wide range of disciplines and collaborations among institutions and individuals across communities and continents in fields such as technology, education, engineering, health, science, industry, environment, entertainment and the arts. Clarke is considered one of the most inspiring and engaging science fiction writers of all time for such classics as “Childhood’s End,” “Rendezvous with Rama” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Two Large Apartment Communities Planned for Chula Vista
Construction has started on two large apartment projects in Chula Vista under a joint venture between Resmark Apartment Living, a division of The Resmark Companies, and ColRich. A total of 427 units are planned for a 19.6-acre development in the Eastlake area. On the 9.5-acre western portion of the property, 209 residences will be configured as 170 three-story townhomes and 39 residences in a triplex plan. On the eastern 10.1 acres, 218 residences will be developed as 158 two-story townhomes and 60 units in a triplex plan. Construction of the development began in January and is expected to be complete in October 2013. Lincoln Property Company has been engaged to manage the apartment communities.
PERSONNEL MOVES ____________________________________
San Diego — Jonathan Speight, Jason Dean, Mandy Brown and Shannon McQuade have been added to the staff of Arrangements Unlimited, a San Diego-based destination management and special event company. Speight joins the team from Palm Springs, where he has worked in fundraising, marketing and event production at Girls Scouts of San Gorgonio Council and ABLAC Media Group. Dean has a background in restaurant and event management as well as event production. Brown was previously with Pacific Event Productions. McQuade previously worked at Preferred Public Relations, BNC PR and Nordstrom in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego.
San Diego — Erin Miserlis and Kathleen Stoughton have joined Girl Scouts San Diego — Miserlis as development director and Stoughton as centennial arts initiative director. Miserlis will oversee donor relations, grant writing and other efforts to fund Girl Scouting activities ranging from camp to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) career path programs. She has over 16 years of experience in the local nonprofit fundraising sector, most recently with Kids’ Turn San Diego. Stoughton is developing a new visual and performing arts program to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting. Stoughton has worked at some of the country’s most noted museums, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art.
SCORE Small Business Workshops
• April 18 – Business Basics 101 – 9 to 11 a.m. at National University – Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Rd., Carlsbad 92011; no charge – please pre-register).
• April 20 – Financing Your Business – 9 a.m. to noon at National University – Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Rd., Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).
• April 20 – Buying and Selling a Business – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University – Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
• April 24 – Internet Marketing 304 – Cost-Effective Internet Marketing Tools (LinkedIn) – 9 a.m. to noon at National University – Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).
• April 25 – Internet Marketing 201 – Build Your Business through Search Engine Optimization – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University – Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Rd., Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
• April 26 – Leasing Strategies – 9 a.m. to noon at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).
• April 27 – Business Basics 101 – 9 to 11 a.m. at National University – Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; no charge – please pre-register).
• April 28 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Winning Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University – Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Rd., Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).
The Daily Business Report is produced by SD METRO. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865. manny@sandiegometro.com.
