Daily Business Report-Nov. 13, 2013
Rendering of the Basketball Performance Center planned for San Diego State University
SDSU Basketball Performance Center
To Break Ground in Spring 2014
San Diego State University President Elliot Hirshman and Athletic Director Jim Sterk announced Tuesday that plans for a 23,500-square-foot Basketball Performance Center are in design, with a plan to break ground on the project in late spring 2014.
The $14.5-million facility, which will be located just south of the Fowler Athletics Center and east of the football practice fields, will include two full-length courts, eight baskets, locker rooms, film rooms, team lounges, athletic training room and coaches locker rooms to help support the Aztec men’s and women’s championship basketball programs.
Although a majority of the funds have been pledged, fundraising continues for the project, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2015.
“This is an exciting day to be able to announce this project is moving forward,” Sterk said. “It is a project that will greatly benefit our already successful men’s and women’s basketball programs. It is also an important day because we are going public with our drive to raise funds for the project and hope that the community that has enjoyed SDSU basketball will get behind this project.”
The seven-time Mountain West champion men’s basketball program has been to the NCAA tournament a school-record four consecutive seasons. The women’s basketball team has won five Mountain West championships and advanced to postseason play in four of the past five seasons.
“This has been a priority for the basketball programs for some time and will help both basketball programs immensely,” said men’s coach Steve Fisher. “This will be another showcase facility for the athletic department as well as the university as a whole.”
“The basketball performance center is more than just a building, it is our classroom,” women’s basketball head coach Stacie Terry said. “The facility will provide an opportunity for our student-athletes to enhance their individual games, which will in turn benefit our program. It also keeps San Diego State competing at the highest level, not only in basketball, but in recruiting as well.”
For more information: Aztec Club, (619) 594-6444.
El Cajon Council Chooses A New Mayor
EL CAJON — Councilman Bill Wells was sworn in Tuesday as the new mayor of El Cajon. Wells had been filling the mayoral duties on an interim basis. The current term runs through next year. Former Mayor Mark Lewis stepped down on Oct. 24 after a magazine published statements he made, which were considered offensive by the city’s substantial Chaldean population. Lewis, the mayor of El Cajon since 1998, cited health reasons in leaving office. He had a minor stroke in 2010 and has suffered from cancer and a dislocated shoulder.
The council decided against ordering a special election, which would have been costly and resulted in the winner serving only a few months before having to run for reelection.
The council could make decisions on filling Wells’ council seat at its Dec. 10 meeting, said city spokeswoman Monica Zech. The city will accept applications that will be made available on its website next week. Zech said Wells was reelected last year, so the term for the now-vacant position runs through 2016. (City News Service)
Former Aircraft Parts Factory Sold to Steel Company
JAMUL — A 59.85-acre site at 3552 Fowler Canyon Road in Jamul, which includes a 38,000-square-foot industrial building where airplane parts were made during World War II, has been sold for $1.7 million. The buyer was Property Evolution LLC with Michael and Jacqueline Hancock of Jamul as managing partners. The Hancock family operates Mike’s Metal Works, a steel fabrication firm operating in El Cajon. The company plans to relocate to Jamul. The company specializes in stainless steel and aluminum fabrication, including structural steel architectural railings and stairs.
The seller of the property was Fowler Canyon Limited Partnership, with James and Judith Asbury of El Cajon as managing partners. About 25.79 acres of the site will remain as open space.
Pacific Coast Commercial represented both the seller and buyer.
In the 1940s, the property was the site of airplane parts manufactured by the Fowler Aircraft Co., founded by Harlan D. Fowler (1895-1982). An adobe house where the Fowler family lived still stands on the property.
Schools Receive State Funding to Implement Common Core
Schools in San Diego County received a combined $50.4 million from the state Tuesday to implement the new Common Core standards, City News Service reports. The money is the second round of funding, boosting the regional total to $100.4 million. Schools districts can use the money to train teachers, buy new materials or improve technology.
The state adopted the Common Core standards in 2010 and implementation began with the new academic year. The new standards seek to improve students’ critical thinking.
Cindy Marten, the superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, said Common Core isn’t about getting students ready to take a test, but about developing them so that they’re ready for the workplace and can contribute to society.
San Diego Unified received $11.4 million in the latest round of funding, bringing its total to $22.6 million. The Sweetwater Union High School District got the second largest amount — $4.1 million, for a total of $8.3 million. The Poway Unified School District was given $3.6 million, for a total of $7.1 million
Urban Land Institute Hosts New Program
The Urban Land Institute San Diego-Tijuana District Council is partnering with Sandagto host Complete Communities Marketplace on Friday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Jacobs Center at the Village at Market Creek in San Diego. The new program will market and encourage economic growth through the creation of complete community development within the San Diego region with case studies and an interactive forum featuring several local projects.
The case study showcase will include Chula Vista’s Otay Ranch, National City’s Paradise Creek, El Cajon’s Solterra, Escondido’s Latitude 33 Apartments, Lemon Grove’s Main Street Promenade and Vista’s Vista Village. To register call (800)321-5011.
CBRE San Diego Adds Associate
Sean Fitzmaurice has joined CBRE San Diego’s occupier group as an associate. Fitzmaurice will assist companies in negotiating lease renewals or finding and relocating to new commercial space throughout San Diego County. Fitzmaurice joins CBRE from OfficePlanIt, a San Diego-based office furniture company, where he worked with a variety of companies during relocations and expansions of their office space. He is a graduate of San Diego State University. Fitzmaurice will be based in CBRE San Diego’s main office at 4365 Executive Drive in UTC.
Park Vista Apartments in Vista Sold for $4.23 Million
VISTA — Park Vista Apartments, a 31-unit apartment building at 700 Alta Vista Drive in Vista has been sold for $4,230,000 to William and Katherine Loveland. The sellers were Laurence and Carla Lusvardi. The complex is situated on a 1.13-acre lot and consists of 26,980 rentable square feet. Originally constructed in 1964, the property features nine one-bedroom/one-bath units and 22 two-bedroom/one-bath units. The transaction was purchased all cash and completed the buyer’s 1031 exchange. Marcus & Millichap represented the sellers and buyers.
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UC San Diego Bestows Roger Revelle
Medal on Scripps Icon Walter Munk
Just because he turned 96 last month doesn’t mean that Walter Munk and his life of learning and adventure will slow down anytime soon.
Acclaimed across the globe as the “world’s greatest living oceanographer,” Munk stubbornly refuses to lessen his pace or activities in these nonagenarian days, whether it’s regularly coming into his Scripps office for research, attending scientific lectures, or sharing a story and a smile at the UC San Diego events he attends regularly with his wife Mary Coakley Munk and university friends and colleagues.
His expeditions at sea may not be as numerous as in his younger days, but Munk’s travels to points near and far continue unabated.
Last November he flew by helicopter 70 miles off the Japanese coast for a stay aboard the Japanese deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu. The trip culminated with a celebration of Chikyu’s science room being christened as the “Walter Munk Library,” the latest in a long, jaw-dropping list of the esteemed geophysics professor’s awards and achievements On the flipside, there is a medal bestowed in his honor; since 1993 The Oceanography Society, the Office of Naval Research, and the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy have given the “Walter Munk Award” for notable achievementsin oceanography.
Ever humble, ever sharing the limelight with others, Munk will be thrust squarely into the spotlight on Nov. 16 during UC San Diego’s Founders’ Celebration Dinner, where Munk will receive the prestigious Roger Revelle Medal, an honor that stands apart from his previous awards.
Officially, the Roger Revelle Medal will be given to Munk “in honor of his achievements and impact advancing the UC San Diego mission.” But privately the award touches upon Munk’s personal camaraderie and collegiality with Revelle that blossomed over decades, an era in which Scripps similarly prospered in the “golden age of oceanography.” Long before Revelle founded UC San Diego, he spent countless hours alongside Munk at sea and at Scripps as a trusted colleague and close friend.
“Roger was my best friend and the person who had the greatest influence on my career,” said Munk, who received his Ph.D. from Scripps in 1947 and is celebrating his 75th year at the institution.
“Walter Munk is a shining example of Scripps Oceanography’s leadership in ocean and earth science,” said Margaret Leinen, director of Scripps. “Whether it was contributions to predicting surf conditions for Allied landings in World War II, or making groundbreaking contributions to the science of tides and currents, Walter is a true living treasure of Scripps’s history.”
The Revelle Medal, which has not been awarded in more than a decade, is the highest honor given by the UC San Diego chancellor to members of the university’s faculty. Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla recently revived the medal to recognize “sustained, distinguished, and extraordinary service to the campus.”
— Mario C. Aguilera
