Daily Business Report-April 7, 2015
The 7.2-acre park is currently subject to a 50-year lease that runs through 2038.
Amended Belmont Park Lease
Approved Despite Lawsuit Threat
The San Diego City Council on Monday approved an amended lease for Belmont Park, the Mission Beach amusement facility that includes a wooden roller coaster, the Plunge pool, shops and eateries — despite the threat of a lawsuit.
The 7.2-acre park is currently subject to a 50-year lease that runs through 2038. The proposal amends and restates the terms with Rancho Santa Fe- based Pacifica Enterprises and includes potential extensions.
The company, doing business as Symphony Asset Pool XVI LLC, foreclosed on the previous owner in November 2012.
Chris Wahl, representing Pacifica, told the council that the company has spent around $29 million to upgrade the property. A new rooftop restaurant opened last week, and the Plunge pool and the building that houses it will undergo renovations that could cost $5.9 million.
“They really firmly believed in this facility, felt like it’s an opportunity to improve an historic site and I think, in this case, have really put their money where their mouth is,” Wahl said.
The restated lease came before the City Council last September, but it was returned to staff so they could address issues involving the Plunge.
The city will receive annual rent of $900,000 to $1.1 million, with at least $415,000 winding up in the city’s general fund — which pays for basic expenses like public safety and libraries. The deal also calls for annual rent increases of 2.5 percent.
Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, who represents the beach communities, said the final agreement is good for all sides — including residents.
“As everyone has pointed out, this isn’t just Mission Beach, this is a regional asset, an historic part of our city that people had described as seedy, dilapidated and crime-ridden,” Zapf said. “And now, it’s just blossomed into an area where people are proud to bring (visitors).”
Some opponents contended that the city wasn’t getting as much money as it could. Zapf said the bigger picture shows increases in the number of jobs and, for the city, sales tax revenue.
Earlier in the day, lawyer Cory Briggs sent a memo to Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the City Council, contending the lease violates a section of the City Charter, the California Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act. In the memo, he said an unspecified client would have no choice but to sue if the amended lease was approved.
A memo last week from the City Attorney’s Office acknowledged that the agreement carried some legal risk. During the hearing, Deputy City Attorney Leslie FitzGerald asked staff a series of questions that were designed to strengthen the city’s case.
The lease passed on a 7-2 vote. Councilman David Alvarez cited the legal risk for casting a dissenting vote, and council President Sherri Lightner voted against the lease because of objections to some other issues.
— City News Service
Mission Valley’s Doubletree Hotel Sold
The 219-room, eight story Doubletree San Diego Hotel Circle hotel has been sold for an undisclosed sum to an affiliate of Oak Coast Properties LLC, a Southern California-based real estate investment company. The property was sold by two locally based investment entities.
The buyer purchased the leasehold and land in two separate transactions that closed concurrently. The property will be managed by Portfolio Hotels & Resorts and will continue operating under the Doubletree by Hilton flag.
The property includes the Panini Restaurant, meeting and event space, outdoor pool and spa, and a five-story parking garage. Originally built in 1970, the property has undergone extensive renovations and modernization over the years.
CBRE Hotels acted as exclusive agents for the undisclosed sellers.
Trigild Takes Over Management of
Industrial and Commercial Properties
Trigild, a San Diego real estate services firm, has taken over the management of nearly 700,000 square feet of industrial and commercial property valued at $130 million, including the Genesee Executive Plaza in the Golden Triangle area of San Diego, Aero Business Center, a San Diego office/industrial complex, and the Atrium at Empire Lakes in Rancho Cucamonga.
Trigild is currently headquartered at Genesee Executive Plaza — a 3.6-acre property comprised of two, three-story office/medical buildings — and has assumed day-to-day management of the Class A complex, which spans 159,000 square feet.
The company also will manage the Aero Business Center, a 137,326-square-foot Kearny Mesa office/industrial complex at 8825 and 8875 Aero Drive, and is exploring leasing and repositioning for the property.
Trigild has taken over management of the 392,702-square-foot Atrium at Empire Lakes office campus, located at 10801 E. 6th St. in Rancho Cucamonga in Riverside County and anchored by Inland Empire Health Plans.
Each site will have a property manager and asset manager.
26th Annual Mexport Opens April 23
Ruben Garcia, director of the San Diego district office of the Small Business Administration, will provide opening remarks at the 26th annual Mexport, the industrial business-to-business trade show for the Southern California/Baja California region, on April 23.
A total of 160 companies engaged in cross-border business will exhibit at Mexport 2015 and more than 2,000 business leaders are expected to attend. An inauguration ceremony will be held from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and the trade show will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 8863 Siempre Viva, in San Diego.
The trade show is organized by the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit www.mexport.org.
Domestic Estate Management Association
To Hold San Diego Regional Conference
The Domestic Estate Management Association, an educational organization for the private service community, will hold its San Diego Regional Leadership Conference on April 18 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $150 for DEMA members and $200 for nonmembers.
Alex Montoya, manager of Latino affairs for the Padres, is one of several speakers featured at the conference. Montoya oversees the team’s outreach and charitable programs to benefit the Latino communities in San Diego and Mexico.
Other speakers are Ron Poindexter, senior learning and development specialist at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Joe Moore, director of information technology at Watermark Estate Management Services; Felena Hanson, founder of Hera Hub-Workspace for Women; David Spinelli, senior enterprise architect at Enterprise Strateby and Architecture; and Kim Ward and Hilary Stokes, founders of Authenticity Associates.
Janice Brown Appointed to Diversity Task Force
Janice Brown, founder of Brown Law Group, has been appointed to the Insurance Diversity Task Force of the California Department of Insurance for 2015-2016. The task force is headed by Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. It considers and makes recommendations about diversity in the insurance industry.
Bike Group Wants Mayor to Emphasize Bicycling,
Pedestrian and Mass Transit in Budget Proposal
A group of alternative transportation advocates called Monday on San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to emphasize bicycling, pedestrian and mass transit infrastructure in his upcoming budget proposal.
They said the city should take steps now in order to begin working toward the goals of the city’s Climate Action Plan. The plan has not been fully enacted, but the mayor and City Council have agreed on a basic framework.
Andy Hanshaw of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition said the city has done a lot to encourage bicycling, by allowing the installation of stations where bikes can be rented, and adding bike lanes to some streets.
“There is so much more that we need to do to reach our climate action plan goals, and to get more people biking and walking,” Hanshaw said. “Safer streets with bicycle infrastructure is what is needed, and needed now, to get more people riding, save lives, and reach our climate action plan goals.”
The climate plan envisions 6 percent of commuters riding their bikes to work by 2020. He said only 1 percent do so now, though it’s an option being taken up more frequently by younger people.
Hanshaw said ridership is up on Fourth and Fifth avenues north of Downtown, which now offer wider, safer bike lanes. With the mayor planning to resurface 1,000 miles of San Diego roadways in the next five years, the streets should also be “repurposed” with bikers and pedestrians in mind, he said.
Kathleen Farrier, of Circulate San Diego, said three pedestrians or bicyclists are struck by cars daily in the region, and the collisions mainly happen on the same streets and in the same neighborhoods.
“Our streets should be safe, no matter where we go or how we get there,” Farrier said.
She said the city should prioritize roadways with higher accident rates and repurpose them at the same time, to spend money efficiently.
The mayor is expected to release his proposed 2015-16 budget early next week.
— City News Service
Rady Family Gives $100 Million
To UC San Diego Business School
UC San Diego announced Tuesday that San Diego businessman and philanthropist Ernest Rady has committted $100 million to help recruit faculty and fund continued growth of the Rady School of Management.
“What a magnificent first 10 years — and the school is just getting started,” said Ernest Rady. “Dean Sullivan and other leaders within the community held a vision of a business school in a symbiotic relationship with the innovative culture of our region. The school is already exceeding expectations and there is so much more to come.”
Dean Robert S. Sullivan described the gift as “the largest single commitment in history to a business school of Rady’s size and youth” and said it will enable recruitment of world-class faculty.
— Times of San Diego
City, County Consider Splitting
Cost for Stadium Project
A tentative agreement between the city and county of San Diego to split the cost of retaining lawyers and other consultants necessary for a stadium project will be considered Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors and City Council.
The deal calls for each governmental body to evenly share expenses for the experts who will be needed to pound out the details of a stadium construction project with the Chargers. City and county funding would be capped at $250,000 each, according to a memorandum of understanding.
The deal also designates the city as the lead agency for any environmental reports required under the California Environmental Quality Act.
— City News Service
