Daily Business Report — March 25, 2013
Nominations Now Open For 20
Women Who Impact San Diego
Now’s the time to submit your nominations for the 20 Women Who Impact San Diego. Tell us what your nominee has done in her career and in the community that makes her an outstanding leader or role model. We will publish the winners in May. Email your nominations to: rebecapage@sandiegometro.com.
Viejas Hotel Grand Opening Draws Hundreds
Several hundred guests attended the March 21 grand opening of the five-story, $36 million luxury Viejas Hotel on the east side of Viejas Casino in Alpine. The Viejas tribe said construction of the hotel created more than 400 local jobs and more than 60 ongoing local operations jobs. The hotel has 99 rooms and 29 luxurious suites; a pool and hot tub, with an expansive patio area and cabanas; a business center; fitness room and room service. The project also includes a lobby area that connects to Viejas Casino and an expansion of the buffet. The hotel was designed by JCI, a company that specializes in the design of gaming, hospitality and entertainment venues. Project management was by Cumming and the general contractor was Swinerton.
Medicare Stakes Its Multimillion-Dollar
Claim in San Diego Hospice Bankruptcy
For the first time, the United States government has confirmed it is owed millions of dollars by San Diego Hospice, KPBS reports. In court documents filed Friday, the U.S. Attorney, on behalf of Medicare, joined a motion to appoint a trustee, a third party, to take over the remaining assets of San Diego Hospice. The government also declared intent to file a claim against the hospice for at what could be $50 million. “As the committee notes, debtor itself has estimated its liability to the United States at $50 million,” the documents state. Medicare will also “hold the single largest unsecured claim in this case by a substantial factor,” according to court documents. A hearing to decide whether a trustee will be appointed is scheduled for March 27.
Cumming Selected for Construction Management
Services for Cal State San Marcos Building
San Diego-based Cumming has been awarded a contract for construction management services for the new 20,000-square-foot Student Health & Counseling Services Building at Cal State San Marcos. Cumming, in association with fs3|Hodges, was selected in October 2012 as one of two approved construction managers to provide services on future worked planned for the San Marcos campus over the next three to five years. The new Student Health & Counseling Services Building is Cumming’s first assigned project to be competitively awarded. Slated to break ground on campus in June, the proposed two-story building will include student examination rooms, medical offices, counseling spaces as well as provide a home base for the health and wellness program. Cumming’s team partner, Fred Saldana of fs3 PM/CM, is serving as the on-the-ground project manager overseeing all project operations and development from design to occupancy. C.W. Driver is serving as the project’s design/builder with its design partner, HMC Architects.
Council Panel Asks for Staff Report On
Implementing Recycled Drinking Water
City News Service — The San Diego City Council’s Natural Resources and Culture Committee has asked city staff to begin planning for a system to recycle used water into drinking water, and report back in three months. The panel’s action comes after a one-year “indirect potable reuse” pilot project found that the product that would go into the city’s water supply would be of higher quality than what is currently available. The data was derived from 9,000 laboratory tests. Staff will look into two concepts — an indirect method in which water is purified and delivered by pipeline into the San Vicente Reservoir, and an alternative that would send converted water directly into city pipes. Legislation is being circulated in Sacramento that would allow for the direct route, which would cost the city far less money since the 22-mile pipeline wouldn’t have to be built. “The general public I think has recognized that indirect potable reuse is now something that is not only possible but is the right way to go,” committee Chairman David Alvarez told reporters. He said polling shows nearly two-thirds of San Diegans opposed IPR nine years ago, but now about three-quarters support the idea.
NewSchool of Architecture and Design
Announces Creation of Design Advisory Board
The NewSchool of Architecture and Design announced the formation of the Domus Academy School of Design Advisory Board, which will provide guidance to the school’s bachelor of interior design program. The board members are: Viveca Bissonnette, design principal and vice president at Hollander Design Group in San Diego; Robin Wilson Carrier, president of the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers and principal of Robin Wilson Interior Design in San Diego; Dante Donegani, director of the design department at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano in Milan, Italy; John Mills Davies, who established the design program at Marrokal Design & Remodeling; Ezequiel Farca, chief creative and executive officer of EZEQUIELFARCA, an international design firm in Mexico City; Paolo Giachi, an Italian architect and interior designer; Claudia Salazar, design director of the San Diego office of Gensler, a global design firm.
Village Grove Apartments Sold for $15.7 Million
The Village Grove Apartments at 660 North Quince St. in Escondido has been sold for $15.7 million to Wasatch Advantage Group LLC. The seller was MG Properties Group. The 161-unit property was 97 percent occupied at the time of sale. Built on 3.81 acres in 1987, Village Grove Apartments consists of eight two-story buildings totaling 96,000 square feet. The gated community has a mix of 160 one-bedroom units and onw two-bedroom unit and features a swimming pool, clubhouse and private yards and patios. CBRE San Diego represented the buyer.
Higgs Fletcher & Mack Adds Partner
Karl A. Rand has joined Higgs Fletcher & Mack as partner. Rand previouslywas special counsel to McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP and Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP for nearly seven years. Rand’s practice will focus on all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation. He serves as an expert witness in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation, is published in a number of journals and has given multiple presentations and seminars related to his practice area. Rand is a past chairman of the taxation section of the San Diego County Bar Association and was an adjunct professor for the University of San Diego School of Law from 2008-2011. Rand received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his Juris Doctorate and LL.M. (Diploma in Taxation Law) from University of San Diego.
Rady Students Make Second
Investment for Venture Fund
Students at the UC San Diego Rady School of Management have made a $25,000 investment in an Austin-based pharmaceutical company. They’re part of a class leading the school’s venture capital fund, KPBS reports. Around 20 students take part in leading the Rady Venture Fund. In its three-year history, the group has invested $100,000 in start-up companies. Students hear pitches from companies looking for investors and then do extensive reviews of each one. When they find a company they believe is worthy of investment, they take it to a board of venture capital professionals for approval. Rady students often have science and technology backgrounds and are interested in starting their own companies, according to Lada Rasochova, who leads the class and is the fund’s managing director. Students joined several traditional venture capital firms in investing a total of $16 million in the Austin, Texas-based pharmaceutical company, Savara Pharmaceuticals.
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The Daily Business Report is produced by SD METRO.
Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865. manny@sandiegometro.com.
