Daily Business Report-April 2, 2014
San Diego Employment at Record High
It took nearly four years, but San Diego County in February recovered all of the jobs that were lost during the Great Recession, surpassing that peak enough to set a record for payroll employment, the U-T San Diego reports.
In February, there were 1,331,200 people in the county receiving a paycheck from an employer, beating the old record set in July 2007 by 6,200 jobs. It also means that the county has recouped the 99,400 jobs lost due to the Great Recession.
San Diego County became the state’s eighth metropolitan statistical area — and the largest in Southern California — to recover all jobs it lost in the large economic downturn, according to an analysis by Point Loma Nazarene University. It also reached the milestone before the state and the nation as a whole. Economists say San Diego’s job market appears to be on the right track, but also warn that many of the positions that were added are low paying and the growth isn’t enough to reduce unemployment.
Capstone Advisors Acquires Office and Retail Buildings
Carlsbad-based Capstone Advisors has purchased a 34,000-square-foot office building in downtown La Jolla and a 48,000-square-foot retail center on Linda Vista Road in San Diego for a combined $16.4 million.
The three-story office building, located at 7817 Ivanhoe, was purchased for $10 million. The building sits over three levels of subterranean parking. It has a mix of small- and medium-sized tenants with suites ranging from 400 square feet to over 6,500 square feet. It currently is 98 percent leased to Keller Williams, GovX, Chicago Title and Rancho Financial, among others. Property improvements are planned.
In the second transaction, Capstone Advisors purchased Presidio Trolley Plaza at 5261-5401 Linda Vista Road, for $6.4 million. The center is best known as the original home of beer micro-brewer Ballast Point. That company’s Home Brew Mart concept has been at Presidio Trolley Plaza since 1992 and has continued to grow at the property including a planned expansion into an adjacent suite. Capstone Advisors plans various property improvements including signage, landscaping and façade enhancements.
Colliers International and Voit Real Estate Services were brokers in the transactions.
The 1,600 LPL Financial Employees
Come Together in New Office Tower
All 1,600 employees of LPL Financial — once spread out among seven buildings in the Eastgate/UTC area — are coming together into a 13-story office tower that is officially opening today at La Jolla Commons.
The office tower, located at 4707 Executive Drive, has 420,000 square feet and has been designed to obtain a LEED Platinum certification. It is believed
to be one of the largest commercial net-zero commercial building in the U.S.
Key Partners in the Project:
CresaPartners – brokerage advisory and tenant improvement project management.
Hines Interests Limited Partnership — developer and co-owner.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management — co-owner.
AECOM — architect for building core and shell.
Gensler — architect for interior improvements.
Whiting–Turner Contracting Co. — general contractor.
General Electric Lighting — lighting provider.
Bloom Energy — fuel cell provider.
Carolina Business Interiors and Workrite Ergonomics — furniture provider.
San Diego Gas & Electric — utility firm.
Officials said annual savings in electricity costs due to the use of fuel cells will be $300,000, and 88 percent of the water used will be reclaimed and reused.
Lincoln Property Co. Acquires Industrial Building
Lincoln Property Company, a real estate investment and development firm, has purchased a multi-tenant industrial building for $9.5 million in Carlsbad. The 106,311-square-foot property is located at 2270 Camino Vida Roble.
The seller is 2270 Camino Vida Roble LLC, an entity of the Gilbert J. Martin Foundation. The buyer is 2270 Camino LP, an entity of Lincoln Property Company. Cassidy Turley represented both buyer and seller in the transaction.
The building was 85 percent leased to 17 tenants at the time of sale. Lincoln Property Company owns and manages more than 11 million square feet of office, industrial and retail property in Southern California.
Water Authority Adopts Long-Term
Plan With Greater Conservation
The San Diego County Water Authority’s board of directors has adopted a water facilities master plan that will serve as a road map through 2035 and help the region meet droughts and other emergencies. The new plan calls for construction of a major pumping station in north San Diego County, but otherwise scales back capital spending because of success with conservation efforts.
“The San Diego region has made significant investments in infrastructure and a serious commitment to water conservation,” said Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the water authority. “Those efforts have allowed us to scale back construction projects in coming years without endangering water supply reliability, saving ratepayers a significant amount of money.”
The water authority predicts a savings of $653 million through 2025 by deferring construction of a new pipeline to bring water into the county as wells as other capital projects.
The water authority said it plans to continue evaluating the feasibility of a seawater desalination facility at Camp Pendleton, but a plant was not included among the projects approved last week.
— Times of San Diego report
J.D. Power to Speak at University of San Diego
The University of San Diego will host “A Conversation with J.D. Power” — the founder of J.D. Power and Associates — on Thursday from 12:45 to 2 p.m. in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theatre at the University of San Diego. Power will participate in a Q&A about his career and new book, “Power: How J.D. Power III Became the Auto Industry’s Adviser, Confessor and Eyewitness to History.” He will also be available to sign copies of the book after the event, which will be available for purchase. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the School of Business.
Power founded one of the most recognized information companies in the world, J.D. Power and Associates, in 1968. He has traveled around the world presenting information and awards to auto industry CEOs, engineers, and assembly line workers.
Diversity Forum on Friday
The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) will host an East County Diversity Forum featuring participation from public officials and business and community leaders from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday at the PSAR East County Service Center, 1150 Broadway, El Cajon. Cost is free to attend. The forum’s purpose is to dialogue about changing needs and interests of East County’s diverse neighborhoods, as well as identify key issues and discover collaboration that will improve homeownership and quality of life for local residents.
Participants are expected to include California Assemblyman Brian Jones, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, El Cajon City Council member Star Bales, El Cajon City Manager Doug Williford, El Cajon Police Chief Jim Redmond and El Cajon Police Captain Jeff Arvan.
For more information, call PSAR at (619) 579-0333 or visit www.psar.org.
San Diegan Appointed to Chiropractic Board
Corey Lichtman, 37, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Gov. Jerry Brown. Lichtman has been team chiropractor and medical coordinator for the San Diego Sockers since 2009 and owner and president of Lichtman Chiropractic Inc. since 2006. He was associate chiropractor at Reiley Chiropractic Inc. from 2003 to 2005. Lichtman earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from the Southern California University of Health Sciences. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lichtman is registered without party preference.
Local Hospitals Honored by Becker’s Hospital Review
The UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla have been listed in the “100 Great Hospitals in America” by Becker’s Hospital Review, a publishing group that conducts hospital and health care news and analyses, which described the honorees as “some of the most prominent, forward-thinking and focused health care facilities in the nation.” Becker’s created the list through original research, nominations and evaluations of reputable hospital ranking sources.
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla was established in 1924 by American philanthropist and journalist Ellen Browning Scripps. It is now part of San Diego-based Scripps Health, a private, nonprofit health system with four hospitals and more than 2,600 affiliated physicians.
The history of the 392-bed UC San Diego Medical Center traces back to 1966, when the University of California assumed the lease of the former county hospital and began operating the hospital as University Hospital. By 1968, the first class entered the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Obama Nominates Carrier Commander to be Rear Admiral
Three local Navy captains — including the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson — were among 29 nominated Tuesday for promotion to rear admiral by President Barack Obama, the Defense Department announced.
The San Diego three are Capt. Collin P. Green, staff operations and planning officer of the Naval Special Warfare Command; Capt. Roy I. Kitchener, vice commander of the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command; and Capt. Kent “Torch” Whalen, the Vinson commander.
Navy officers generally have to serve three years as a captain before they are considered for an appointment to flag rank. The number of nominees in a given year is dependent on vacancies.
Nominations for any rank from lieutenant commander through rear admiral require Senate confirmation.
