Daily Business Report-April 30, 2015
One of the units in the 250-unit Celadon apartment tower .
Celadon, a 17-Story Apartment Tower
Will Hold Grand Opening on Friday
Celadon, a 250-unit, 17-story “affordable” apartment building that will charge rents ranging from $533 to $879 a month, will officially open on Friday at Ninth Avenue and Broadway in Downtown San Diego.
Developer BRIDGE Housing along with SVA Architects in partnership with Studio E, the project designer, will preside at the opening.
The developer said Celadon will offer a mix of micro-units, studios and 1-bedroom apartments affordable to residents with annual incomes of up to $37,920 for a two-person household. Eighty-eight of the apartments will be reserved for special needs populations — frail seniors and youths getting out of the foster care system.
Celadon features on-site shared amenities including a great room, two laundry rooms, a supportive services office, a meeting room, and numerous outdoor spaces that includes barbeques and a resident garden. Green features include a photovoltaic system to cover house electric loads, highly efficient mechanical systems, limited parking, and natural ventilation. Two of the ground-floor spaces are for commercial uses.
Wermers Awarded Contract for 302-Unit
Apartment Building in Kearny Mesa
Wermers Multi-Family Corporation has been awarded a contract for the construction of Ariva 4, a 302-unit apartment community to be located on Spectrum Center Boulevard in Kearny Mesa.
Construction of the one- and two-bedroom apartment units is scheduled to start on May 26.
Ariva 4 is the fourth phase of the Ariva Apartment Community. The five-story apartment project includes a leasing center, business center, fitness center and rooftop pool and lounge area. Occupancy and substantial completion is scheduled for late 2017.
“This is a complicated project. Wermers’ experience and expertise are perfectly suited to deliver the project on time, within budget and with the highest level of quality,” said Jeff Bunker, president of Wermers Multi-Family Corporation.
Wermers’ project team will be led by 26-year veteran Vice President Richard Wood and Project Manager Ken Maskevich.
Civic San Diego to Consider
Neighborhood Impact of Projects
The Civic San Diego Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a Community Benefits Policy, which establishes guidelines that staff will consider when working on publicly funded projects to make sure the projects have positive impacts on their neighborhoods.
(The board’s action comes amid allegations the nonprofit agency operates without proper government oversight and after Chief Operating Officer Andrew Phillips and board director Cynthia Morgan-Reed announced they would leave the agency on Friday.)
Civic San Diego staff will use the policy, developed after several months of public meetings, to evaluate projects proposed for downtown San Diego, City Heights, Encanto, Southeast San Diego and other communities included in former redevelopment areas.
The policy calls for promoting the development of mixed-income housing; helping the recruitment, training and retention of local residents to work on projects; contracting with local businesses; expanding, retaining and relocating local businesses; developing the youth workforce; sustainability; and arts and culture.
Civic San Diego was created three years ago to replace the Centre City Development Corp. and Southeastern Development Corp. when the state abolished the redevelopment process. The agency handles design issues and permitting in certain neighborhoods of the city.
“Our core mission is creating positive economic activity in our neighborhoods,” said Civic San Diego President Reese Jarrett.
“This new policy assures all publicly funded projects going forward are evaluated to ensure we maximize opportunities that respect San Diego’s diverse communities and priorities, foster job growth and create housing and public infrastructure improvements that promote a strong quality of life for residents and businesses.”
Agency staff will present the policy to the City Council’s Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee in June.
— City News Service
Pacific Building Group Completes
Outpatient Imaging Center Work
San Diego general contractor Pacific Building Group has converted a 25,000-square-foot vacant building into a full-service outpatient imaging center at 150 W. Washington St. in San Diego.
The San Diego-based general contractor along with architect Raymond Fox and Associates completed a full renovation of the 25,000-square-foot space for Imaging Healthcare Specialists, a San Diego firm offering outpatient diagnostic imaging.
The new two-story building features the latest technology in medical imaging, patient parking, improved patient convenience and comfort along with associated administrative and support spaces.
“With the growing healthcare demands in San Diego, Imaging Healthcare Specialists had the need to consolidate two Hillcrest locations,” said Jon M. Robins, chairman and CEO of Imaging Healthcare Specialists. “With this consolidation, Imaging Healthcare Specialists will be better positioned to serve the Hillcrest community by delivery of high quality, effective, patient-focused care.”
Pacific Building Group team members that completed this project include Chief Estimator Mark Irish, Project Manager Jordan Rubino, Superintendent Jim Entwisle and Project Engineer Frank Torres.
Cal-BRAIN Selects 16 California
Research Projects for Seed Grants
Cal-BRAIN, a California research grants program that aims to revolutionize our understanding of the brain, has selected 16 projects to receive inaugural seed grants of $120,000 each.
The projects represent efforts around the state to create new technologies capable of measuring brain activity in greater depth, breadth and detail than is currently possible.
An initiative led jointly by UC San Diego and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cal-BRAIN is short for California Blueprint for Research to Advance Innovations in Neuroscience.
The program was signed into law in June 2014 and is the California complement to the federal BRAIN Initiative announced by President Barack Obama in 2013.
Deals on Wheels:
County Holds Online Auction
Hundreds of surplus vehicles, including automobiles and heavy equipment from the county and other local agencies, are going on the auction block. Many bids start at just $100.
Check out what’s available at www.tntauction.com. Register for the auction at 8 a.m. May 4.
Among the vehicles: a 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid, a 2007 Honda Odyssey Van, a 2008 Toyota Tundra, 2008 Ford Taurus sedans, a 2007 Dodge Charger, a 2008 Toyota Camry, 2008 Ford Fusion Sedans, a 2007 Ford Expedition Patrol 4X4, 2008 Ford E250 and E350 cargo vans, a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid and 2002 through 2009 Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars.
Plus: a 2003 Apple utility trailer, 2000 Freightliner FL70 dump truck/PB loader, a 2007 BMW motorcycle, a 2001 Ford F550 utility truck and Ford Pierce fire trucks.
TNT Auction Company will run the online event. While the auction starts at 8 a.m. Monday, May 4, and ends at 1 p.m. the following Monday, May 11, you can look under the hood of these vehicles at two public previews between the opening and closing dates. One runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 9 and the other 8 a.m. to noon on May 11 at 369 Main St., Ramona.
Nerve Cells and Blood Vessels in
Eye ‘Talk’ to Prevent Disease
A new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) shows that nerve cells and blood vessels in the eye constantly “talk” to each other to maintain healthy blood flow and prevent disease.
“It turns out these neurons produce a chemical critical for the survival of blood vessels and the survival and function of photoreceptors — the most important cells for maintaining sight,” said TSRI Professor Martin Friedlander, senior author of the new study.
The study, published online ahead of print in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, has implications for treating diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration — the leading causes of vision loss in adults. Since the eye is often a good model for understanding the workings of the brain, the findings also provide clues to major neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Click here to read more.
Port of San Diego Board
Reverses Parking Charges
In order to receive additional feedback from stakeholders, the Port of San Diego Board of Commissioners has reversed its recent decisions approving the purchase and installation of new solar-powered Smart Meters, the authorization of market-based parking rate adjustments, and changes to hours and days of parking-meter enforcement.
The board on April 14 approved the purchase and installation of 520 solar-powered Smart Meters and established a new per-hour range of rates as part of efforts to facilitate public access to the waterfront. The board also authorized the port’s CEO to adjust parking rates based on market demand at port public parking lots and garages. The goal was to allow rates to be adjusted at parking lots and garages with excess vacancy to increase demand.
The board, however, reversed those approvals in order to provide more time for port staff to work with government stakeholders to resolve various questions about the initiative. The item is expected to return to the board at a future meeting.
Northrop Grumman Ranked 35th
On List of Top 50 Companies for Diversity
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been ranked 35th on DiversityInc’s annual list for the Top 50 Companies for Diversity.
The company remained the top rated aerospace and defense company in the overall rankings and was ranked number one in the support to veterans specialty list.
Each company’s rank is based on objective analysis of 183 separate factors, using data from a 300-question survey. The four equally weighted areas of measurement include talent pipeline, equitable talent development, CEO/leadership commitment and supplier diversity.
In describing the veterans support ranking, DiversityInc said, “A focus on veterans in the workplace has become increasingly common at companies on this list as they understand the valuable skills and diversity former military bring to corporations. In its second year, this list showcases the diversity-management initiatives that are having the best results in recruiting and promoting veterans, as well as success in using veterans with disabilities as vendors.”
Why Do Obese Men Get Weight-Loss
Surgery Far Less Than Females?
A new study by researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine has identified demographic, socioeconomic and cultural factors that contribute to a major gender disparity among U.S. men and women undergoing weight loss surgeries. Men undergo the surgeries in far lower numbers than women. The study is published in the March issue of the Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques.
Eighty percent of patients who undergo bariatric surgery — which involve procedures that either limit the amount of food that can be consumed or reduce food absorption — are female, despite equal rates of obesity among American men and women.
“The results of this study should raise awareness in men about the complications that obesity brings to their health,” said senior author Santiago Horgan, chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery at UC San Diego Health System. “Even though we have a 50-50 percent split in obesity rates among U.S. men and women, women get 80 percent of the bariatric surgeries and men only 20 percent. That’s a very uneven distribution.”
“We think some of it is cultural,” said Horgan. “Women seem to be more aware of the problems obesity brings to health. They are much more willing to look at surgical weight loss earlier in life, whereas men tend to wait until they have more co-morbidities (adverse health conditions).”
Health Care Group Gives 4 Hospitals an ‘A’Grade
Four hospitals in San Diego County received top scores in annual safety rankings released Wednesday by the Leapfrog Group, but others were found lacking in some areas.
The four to gain an A grade from the nonprofit organization that focus on health care safety were the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Grantville, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside and UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.
The hospitals were judged in a variety of areas, including efforts to make surgery safer, infection-control, adequate staffing to deal with safety issues, and the use of standard safety procedures.
In other San Diego region grades, Alvarado Hospital in the College Area, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and Sharp Grossmont Hospital received a B.
Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, Pomerado Hospital in Poway, Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, Scripps Memorial Hospital Chula Vista, Sharp Coronado Hospital and Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego received a C.
No San Diego area hospitals were among the 17 in the state that were given a D, or among the four statewide getting an F.
The grades are available online at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
— City News Service
Program to Explore Human Trafficking Issue
The Ambassadorial Roundtable will host a program on human trafficking — a $2 billion industry and a huge problem in San Diego — during a May 7 Thai Cultural dinner reception.
The program also will include a report by the San Diego Workforce Partnership on “Hot Jobs in San Diego.”
Speaking on the human trafficking topic will be Marisa Ugarte, executive director of the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition. Tina Bartel of San Diego Workforce Partnership will speak on San Diego jobs.
The dinner program will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Cost is $35 for Ambassadorial Roundtable members, $40 for nonmembers. Register via email at info@ambassadorialroundtable.org. Location confirmation will be sent out once registration is completed.
