Daily Business Report-April 9, 2015

 Artist’s rendering of One Paseo’s main street. Courtesy Kilroy Realty

Two Environmental Lawsuits

Filed to Stop One Paseo Project

The owner of a nearby shopping center and a trio of community groups filed lawsuits Wednesday against the controversial One Paseo mixed-use project in Carmel Valley.

Orange County-based developer Donahue Schriber, which also financed a referendum petition, filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the environmental impact report prepared for the project.

“For more than six years we have expressed our concerns, as a neighboring property owner, about the One Paseo project. We have repeatedly documented our concerns regarding the traffic that will be generated by the project and the significant impact its size and scale will have on the surrounding community,” said Elizabeth Schreiber, vice president of operations and development for Donahue Schriber.

Three community groups — the Alliance for Responsible Development, the East Bluff Community Association and Mitigate One Paseo — also filed an environmental lawsuit Wednesday against the project.

“Unfortunately, frivolous lawsuits like this have become standard for any significant project in California. One Paseo underwent extraordinarily careful analysis, and we’re completely confident that the city’s extremely thorough environmental impact report on the project will withstand the court’s scrutiny,” said Rachel Laing, spokesperson for developer Kilroy Realty.

The $750 million project includes 199,000 square feet of retail space, a movie theater, 484,000 square feet of office space and 608 residences on a vacant 23.6-acre site south of Del Mar Heights Road, between El Camino Real and High Bluff Drive.

The San Diego City Council 7-2 in February to approve the project in affluent Carmel Valley.

The issue may be headed for the ballot. Signatures on a petition calling for a citywide referendum on the project — and on cards asking for signatures to be removed — are being counted by the Registrar of Voters.

— Times of San Diego

 Rep. Davis Wants Statue of

Astronaut Sally Ride in Capitol

Rep. Susan Davis is leading a California congressional effort to have a statue of astronaut and educator Sally Ride sculpted and displayed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Davis drafted a letter  to Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, who is leading the legislative effort in the Assembly, urging the California Legislature to approve a resolution to commission a statue of Ride.

“Sally Ride personifies the California and American spirits of exploration and discovery,” said Davis. “Sally was a pioneer of space exploration and she was a tireless advocate in promoting STEM education, especially for girls. Having her presence grace the halls of the Congress would be a fitting tribute and an inspiration to the many Americans who visit the Capitol everyday.”

A long-time San Diego resident, Ride was the first American woman in space and later taught physics at UC San Diego. With her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy, she co-founded Sally Ride Science, which develops educational programs to inspire middle and high school students, particularly girls, about science.

Since 1864, each state has been allowed to display two statues in the Capitol. State Sen. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens is the author of a resolution in the state Senate to replace Spanish missionary Father Junipero Serra, whose statue was added in 1931, with a statue of Ride. In 2009, a statue of Ronald Reagan replaced one of Thomas Starr King, which was also donated in 1931.

Ride died on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61, seventeen months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Study Confirms Costs of New Stadium

Is Likely to Cost $1 Billion or More

A study released Wednesday by the National University System Institute for Policy Research confirms previous estimates that a new stadium in San Diego will cost at least $725 million — and more likely more than $1 billion.

The costs are controversial because public funds may be used to complete the project.

Last month, the chairman of a task force that’s developing a financing plan for a National Football League-quality stadium in Mission Valley estimates the price tag would be between $700 million and $1.5 billion.

“Developing a financing plan for a new stadium requires estimating the amount of money that will be required,” said National University System Institute for Policy Research President Erik Bruvold. “This report seeks to help with that effort — providing a rough estimate for what San Diego will need to spend to construct a stadium similar to those going up in other NFL-cities.”

Bruvold said the average cost of the last 20 NFL stadiums to be built was $618 million. However, when adjusted for inflation and given the reality of construction costs in Southern California, the number increases to $898 million.

Bruvold said NFL franchises are clamoring for state-of-the-art facilities that can attract fans away from their “large TVs, dedicated viewing areas in their homes and who have a multitude of viewing options available to them,” which just add to the costs.

Amenity-heavy stadiums built in Dallas, New Jersey and Santa Clara — and under construction in Atlanta and Minneapolis — would cost $1.7 billion if built in Southern California, he said. The five most recently built facilities — excluding Dallas and New Jersey — would cost $1.4 billion in 2020, according to Bruivold.

He said the San Diego price tag by 2020 could reach $1.7 billion.

The financing plan from the task force is expected to be made public next month.

— City News Service

Scripps Health Acquires North County Oncology Centers

San Diego-based Scripps Clinic Medical Group, part of Scripps Health, has acquired CyberKnife of Southern California in Vista, Oncology Therapies of Vista and Pacific Radiation Oncology in Encinitas. The agreement expands Scripss’ radiation oncology services in North County and adds CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery, a highly specialized treatment option, to Scripps Health’s comprehensive cancer treatment offerings.

CyberKnife surgery is a non-invasive alternative to traditional surgery and conventional radiotherapy. It delivers high doses of radiation, and is established as an effective treatment for cancers and tumors located in the brain, head and neck, lung, pancreas, prostate, spine, liver and kidneys. Under the agreement, Scripps has acquired the assets of the centers, including two buildings at the Vista site. Current patients will not experience a change in their care. The physicians and staff at the centers will continue to practice at their current locations, which will be renamed.

Cubic Corp. Awarded Contract

For New Zealand Defence Force

Cubic Corp. announced that Cubic Range Design Solutions, a business unit of Cubic Global Defense, was awarded a contract valued at more than $6 million to design, supply and install a specialist ballistic fit-out package to result in a world-class training facility for the New Zealand Defence Force. As part of the new contract, CRDS will provide an integrated ballistic design and fit-out capability to enable a safe and realistic live-fire training environment. Enhancements include urban, maritime and aviation capabilities in a facility specifically designed to international safety standards.

San Diego Home Sales Up

Sales of previously owned homes in San Diego in March increased more than 25 percent compared to February, according to new housing statistics from the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors.

Overall, sales are about 4 percent higher than they were a year ago. Home prices also are climbing. Median prices increased 4 percent across the board from February to March. Compared to March of 2014, prices of single-family homes were 6 percent higher ($519,540 currently), and condos/townhomes were 15 percent higher ($348,825 currently).

Active listings on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have increased to just over 6,100, while the housing stock is hovering around 2.8 months. (Five to six months is considered a healthy inventory level.) Homes are being purchased quickly, demonstrated by the fact that the average number of days that homes remained on the market declined to about a month and a half, about 17 percent less than just one month ago.

Karen Jensen joins Scripps Health

Longtime Mayo Clinic executive Karen Jensen has joined Scripps Health as director of the oncology clinical care line for the health system’s integrated cancer program.

For the past 21 years, Jensen held a variety of leadership roles in Mayo Clinic’s southwest Minnesota region. Most recently, she was Mayo Clinic’s vice president of quality and director of clinical outcomes. She was responsible for improving quality and safety of patient care, including implementation of a regional medical staff quality program. With Scripps, Jensen will be responsible for the oncology clinical care line and developing and improving Scripps’ care and services for oncology patients.

Butterfly Festival Returns on May 9

The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon will present the annual Butterfly Festival on May 9, which celebrates the return of butterfly season and the re-opening of the Dorcas E. Utter Memorial Butterfly Pavilion.

The festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the college, 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West. General admission is $5. Youth 3 to 17 years of age are $1.

The event will highlight the important role that the insects play in the ecosystem and how visitors can attract and support butterflies in their home gardens using drought-tolerant plants.

Activities will include:

• Butterfly pavilion tours and “Butterfly Discovery Lab.”

• Butterfly habitat plant sale and workshops by local experts.

• “Pollinator Party” with Ms. Smarty-Plands and Miss Metamorphosis.

• Musical entertainment, food, crafts and jewelry by local artisans.