Daily Business Report-April 30, 2013
Sempra Energy
Sempra on Verge of Signing Lease for New Downtown Headquarters Next to Petco Park
Sempra Energy, parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric, has formally advised the ownership of its current headquarters building at 101 Ash St. that it will be relocating out of the Downtown building upon its lease expiration in July 2015, according to Jason Hughes, president and CEO of Hughes Marino. Sempra is on the verge of signing a letter of intent with Cisterra Development to build a new 300,000-square-foot corporate headquarters located adjacent to Petco Park bounded by Seventh and Eighth avenues, Island and J Street. Sandor Shapery’s Shapery Enterprises is owner of the building occupied by Sempra.
According to City Consulting Group, Sempra Energy is considering a move to the East Village that would convert a surface parking lot into a 15-story glass and metal office building complete with public plazas. The site proposted for the office tower is a 55,000-square-foot parcel near Petco Park. If approved, the project could begin as early as fall 2013. The proposed project will be Silver LEED certified and will incorporate two historical buildings on site, the Unicorn building and the Pack Loft building, both of which will be rehabilitated as part of the project, according to City Consulting Group. It said the proposal also provides for 499 parking spaces.
San Diego’s International Trade Rebounds
Economists see the rebound in San Diego’s international trade as another sign of an improving local economy, KPBS reports. San Diego trade that crossed international borders was valued at $56.5 billion in 2012. A new National University System Institute for Policy Research report found that’s up 7.2 percent from the year before. The amount of cross border trade is now higher than it was before the Great Recession. Most of that trade involves San Diego’s closest neighbor. “The big news for San Diego is always that Mexico is such a big part of our international trade, both in imports and exports,” said Kelly Cunningham, institute economist. 86 percent of international trade is with Mexico. Much of it involves products designed here, said Cunningham. Those products are sent to Mexico for assembly, and then returned to the U.S. to be sold. Companies do that to be cost competitive with Asian manufacturers. Cunningham said he expects San Diego’s international trade to continue growing.
Local Concept Opens Office In Madrid
Local Concept, an international marketing and translation services firm based in San Diego, has opened an office in Madrid, Spain, the company’s third office after opening an office in Taipei, Taiwan in 2011. The Madrid office will focus on European-based clients, said Michael Cardenas, company president. The office opening follows the company’s recent announcement that it was selected by Harvard Business Publishing of Watertown, Mass., to translate 42 web-based courses for business executives who speak Chinese, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Services provided to Harvard Business Publish will include translation from English to the other languages as well as testing, which refers to verifying the technical proficiency of each course as a hands-on user. Completion of the contract with Harvard Business Publishing is scheduled for September. Financial terms of the initial contract were not disclosed.
Budget Analyst Says Filner’s Budget Proposal Generally Accurate
The $2.75 billion budget proposed by Mayor Bob Filner two weeks ago is generally accurate in anticipated revenues and expenses, San Diego’s Independent Budget Analyst reported Monday. However, IBA Andrea Tevlin warned that the use of one-time income to close a $38.4 million shortfall in the fiscal year starting July 1 and reductions in infrastructure spending are causes for concern. The overall budget proposal is 0.1 percent smaller than the current fiscal year, but general fund spending, which includes basic city services such as public safety and libraries, would be increased by 3.1 percent to $1.2 billion. The mayor expects general fund revenue to increase by 3.9 percent, which is “appropriate” given trends on sales, property and hotel room tax income, the IBA report said. (City News Service)
San Diego, Tijuana Hope for First Binational Olympics
San Diego and Tijuana are submitting a joint bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. News of a joint bid emerged late last week, when the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee confirmed to the Associated Press that San Diego and Tijuana want to co-host the summer games. Scott Blackmun said the Olympic Committee had just learned of the bid. And he said it would have its challenges. The Olympics have never been hosted by two countries at the same time, and it’s unclear whether such a bid would be seriously considered. But the effort is in keeping with Mayor Bob Filner’s recent interest in promoting the cities of San Diego and Tijuana as a single region, despite being separated by a fence and long border waits. The host of the 2024 Summer Games won’t be chosen until 2017. Over the weekend, Filner told U-T San Diego he’d like Mitt Romney to lead the binational effort. Romney led Salt Lake City’s successful 2002 Winter Olympics, and he owns a house in San Diego.
Balfour Beatty Construction Names Director of Business Development
Balfour Beatty Construction has named Cecilia Kucharski director of business development for the Southwest Division. Kucharski will lead the division’s effort in identifying and pursuing new business opportunities within all San Diego market sectors. Kucharski has more than 17 years of experience in the industry. Previously she was preconstruction director for Webcor Builders. Before that she oversaw projects for Webcor and DPR Construction. Kucharski holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University.
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Prepped, Primed and Painted
La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary members give a fresh coat of paint to 28 classrooms at the Preuss School
La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary joined thousands of Rotarians around the world participating in an annual “Rotarians at Work Day” on April 27 — choosing to focus the club’s people power and resources to benefit The Preuss School at UC San Diego. In just over seven hours, volunteers prepped, primed and painted 28 classrooms and exterior doors spanning six buildings on the Preuss campus. Managed by Rotarians Stanley Faer, Jim Davies and Tony Grillo, the project included 100 volunteers (club members, family, friends, Preuss faculty, and student Rotaract Club members from UCSD and USD), and donations of 54 gallons of paint, 14 gallons of primer, painting equipment, over 350 bottles of water and a barbeque lunch party.
“The day had a feel of military precision,” said Faer. “Volunteers were divided into teams, led by captains, and assigned to specific project areas. Everyone involved was energized by the collaboration, the group’s enthusiasm and the positive impact of the work.”
The Preuss School UCSD is a nationally recognized charter middle and high school for low income, highly motivated students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college.
