Daily Business Report-Dec. 5, 2013
The Coronado Bay Club has expansive views of Downtown San Diego and San Diego Bay.
Coronado Bay Club Sold for More than $160 Million
CORONADO — The 13.9-acre Coronado Bay Club, possibly the largest oceanfront rental community in Southern California, has been sold for more than $160 million to a joint venture between Alliance Residential and a large institutional investment fund.
“There was a tremendous amount of interest in this marquee property,” said Darcy Miramontes, executive vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle, who represented the seller, LaSalle Investment Management. “We led more than 50 tours to prospective buyers, ranging from institutional investors to high-net-worth individuals and including both domestic and international entities.”
Coronado Bay Club is an 18-building, three-story, garden-style apartment community on a 13.9-acre site at 1515 Second St. It is located on the bay, across from Downtown San Diego. The development has unobstructed views of Downtown, the Coronado Bay Bridge and San Diego Bay. Amenities include tennis courts, fitness center, resort-style pool, spa, saunas and locker rooms, dog park, picnic area with barbecues, 18,000-square-foot clubhouse, meeting rooms, business center, catering kitchen, media room, on-site beauty salon and garage parking.
Alliance’s Southern California region has acquired, started construction, completed or contracted for 13 projects with a total capitalization of roughly $1 billion during the current real estate cycle, according to Drew Colquitt, Alliance’s Managing Director for acquisition, development and construction in Southern California.
La Terraza Corporate Plaza Sells for $22.3 Million
ESCONDIDO –Peregrine Realty Partners has purchased La Terraza Corporate Plaza from Cypress Office Properties for $22.3 million. Built in 2008, the 78,477 square-foot, three-story office building is located at 500 La Terraza Blvd. The building sits on a 3.65-acre lot overlooking the I-15 freeway. Cypress Office Properties acquired La Terraza for $13,075,000 in November 2011and achieved 96 percent occupancy within 18 months, according to CBRE, which represented both parties in the sale.
Reaction Design and ANSYS Announce Merger
San Diego-based Reaction Design and ANSYS, a maker of engineering simulation software, announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Reaction Design is a developer of chemistry simulation software, and the companies expect that the combination of ANSYS’ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions with Reaction Design’s chemistry solvers will provide the best combustion simulation tools available on the market. ANSYS is based in Pittsburg. Reaction Design’s flagship product is Chemkin-Pro.
‘Green’ Vessels Undergoing Maintenance and
Repairs at South Bay Boatbuilding Company
Marine Group Boat Works LLC, a boatbuilding and repair facility in the South Bay, is using both of its San Diego Bay locations to provide maintenance and repairs for two of the ocean’s best-known “green” vessels: Rainbow Warrior III and MV Brigitte Bardot. Both ships are scheduled for several weeks of work, which include structural and mechanical repairs.
Rainbow Warrior III, the newest most environmentally friendly Greenpeace flagship, is actually the first of the Rainbow vessels built specifically for the organization. She was launched at Hamburg, Germany, in October of 2011 complete with an onboard helicopter landing pad, satellite communications uplink and scientific research lab.
Marine Group Boat Works is hosting the international crew and specialists — some from as far away as the Netherlands — while the ship is undergoing various mechanical repairs and rigging refurbishment at its newest location in National City.
The work on Sea Shepherd’s trimaran Brigitte Bardot is being done at the Chula Vista facility and will include include paint, electrical, plumbing, fire system, hydraulics and other miscellaneous mechanical repairs. She is expected to remain with Marine Group for several weeks to complete the overhaul.
Supervisors Push for All-Mail Voting in Special Elections
County supervisors are pushing for a change in state law that would allow Solana Beach, Encinitas and other general law cities to hold all-mail voting in special elections. Solana Beach could save up to $100,000 or more if such a law were in place before the Feb. 11 special election on the future use of the Fletcher Cove Community Center. City officials say voting on the initiative seeking to loosen rules on alcohol and private parties at the renovated blufftop center will cost $200,000 or more.
The county Board of Supervisors was set to lobby the state Legislature to allow for mail balloting on legislative and congressional seats. Under an amendment made by Supervisor Dave Roberts, a former Solana Beach mayor, the board now will ask the state to also allow mail balloting on voter initiatives in general law cities. Most cities in the county are general law, rather than charter, cities. Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously agreed to expand their lobbying effort.
“Clearly, this is a more fiscally responsible and efficient way to conduct an election,” Roberts said in a statement. “It is a huge savings to the taxpayer. Additionally, mail ballot elections make it easier for citizens to vote.”
— Reported by Scoop San Diego
Leading Economic Indicators Mixed
The USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County fell 0.4 percent in October after a solid gain of 0.5 percent in September. (The federal government shutdown in October delayed the availability of some data which in turn affected the release of the USD Index.)
October’s decline was due primarily to a huge surge in initial claims for unemployment insurance, which is a negative for the Index. Also down in October were help wanted advertising and building permits, the latter only slightly. These overwhelmed small gains in local stock prices, consumer confidence, and the outlook for the national economy to push the USD Index to its first loss since August 2012.
The last two months’ results were distorted by unusual activity in initial claims for unemployment insurance. September saw initial claims hitting their lowest levels since February 2007, but it was then followed by the highest number in three years. While there is no explanation for the low September numbers, the surge in October was likely related to the two-week federal government shutdown.
UC San Diego Joins Efforts to Curb Phone Use While Driving
UC San Diego’s Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) program is launching a new distracted driving education project called Just Drive – Take Action Against Distraction, a one hour class free of charge offered to businesses in San Diego. The decision followed a recent survey by the research team, which found that 83 percent of adults who participated reported texting, talking or using a smartphone application while driving.
TREDS, with funding provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, will partner with the California Highway Patrol to offer San Diego businesses and organizations distracted driving education for their employees as part of safety and wellness programs. Classes include the latest research from national safety experts, information on cell phone laws, real-life examples of individuals affected by cell phone use while driving and resources to help drivers change distracted driving behaviors.
Pathfinder Partners Acquires Seattle Residential Units
San Diego-based Pathfinder Partners LLC has acquired the remaining unsold inventory of the Florera Condominiums, a four-story, 37,000-square-foot mixed use condominium project five miles north of downtown Seattle.
According to Lorne Polger, managing director of Pathfinder Partners, Florera is a 64-unit property comprised of 59 residential units and five ground floor commercial units. “Pathfinder acquired 45 residential units in a lender-approved, third party-facilitated short sale,” Polger said. “We plan to keep the units as rentals and may sell individual condominiums in the future.”
