Daily Business Report-May 5, 2015
Rendering of ‘The Block’ in Downtown San Diego, where Zephyr will build a 600-plus residential and retail project. The site is on Broadway, between Seventh and Eighth avenues.
‘The Block’ Residential Project to Add
Two Big Towers to Downtown Skyline
Two companion residential towers — one 41 stories tall, the other 21 stories — form the heart of The Block, a massive mixed-use project that will be built on a 60,000-square-foot site on Broadway, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, in Downtown San Diego.
Zephyr, a San Diego-based real estate development and investment company, has selected Joseph Wong Design Associates as the lead architect for the project, which will feature condos for sale and retail space. It is slated to break ground later this year.
The residential portion will total 600-plus units of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom condos. There will be 20,000 square feet of retail space.
The development will include a seventh floor pool and roof deck in addition to top-end amenities.
Zoning of the site allows for development of up to 720,000 square feet.
“This project will add vitality to the city core, enhancing the Downtown community and serving as an iconic place in the heart of San Diego,” said Wong, who has worked in architecture and interior design for nearly 40 years. “Based on the impact it will have on Downtown, this is a milestone project for us.”
“Joseph’s work is distinctive and elegant,” said Brad Termini, co-CEO of Zephyr. “For a project of this scale, we wanted someone who had both the vision and skillset to create a San Diego landmark.”
Zephyr acquired the property last June in an off-market deal. It will be the city’s first high-rise, mixed-use project since the recession.
Some of Joseph Wong Design Associates’ other projects include Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, Hotel Indigo, San Diego Convention Center Sails Pavilion Enclosure and the San Diego North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.
Zephyr was founded in 2008 by Termini and Dane Chapin.
Tri-City Healthcare District to Buy $3 Million
Advanced CT Scanner for Patient Diagnoses
OCEANSIDE — The Tri-City Healthcare District Board of Directors has approved the $3 million purchase and installation of the most advanced computed tomography (CT) scanner on the market that will enable radiologists to make the quickest, most accurate diagnoses possible for their patients.
The GE Healthcare Revolution CT scanner is expected to be operational as early as December 2015, which would make Tri-City Medical Center the first provider to offer this medical imaging technology in San Diego County. It can create a full, three-dimensional image of an organ in just one pass and will provide more options for the hospital’s radiology program.
“This device can take a full cardiac image in a heartbeat — literally. It will be of tremendous value to cardiac patients as well as many other patients being cared for on an inpatient, outpatient or emergency basis,” said Dr. Donald J. Ponec, medical director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Radiology Services at Tri-City Medical Center. “Our emergency room is the third busiest in San Diego County. We see over 70,000 people per year of which approximately 14,000 require CT procedures. This machine will achieve a significant improvement in turnaround times for patients waiting for CT scan results as well as immediately rule out cardiac disease in those arriving with chest paint.”
Funds for the acquisition were from contributions raised by the Tri-City Hospital Foundation and Tri-City Hospital Auxiliary.
As a designated stroke and heart attack receiving center, the GE Revolution CT will dramatically enhance a physician’s ability to quickly diagnose and treat patients.
A CT scan is a noninvasive and expedient way to look inside the body at organs, soft tissues, vascular structures and bones using X-rays to generate very high-resolution images of the body. It does this by rotating an X-ray source and detector around the patient as the patient is moved through the device.
The GE Revolution CT will allow Tri-City Medical Center physicians to scan entire organs such as the brain, heart, liver and pancreas in a single, 0.28-second rotation, reducing breath-hold times and radiation doses for patients.
Rady School of Management Launches
Minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has launched a new undergraduate minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation that will begin in the fall. It will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to obtain a breadth of understanding of business and entrepreneurship theory, practice and applications.
Students will develop a comprehensive view of innovation and operations of both established businesses and startups, gain hands-on experience through projects and case studies, collaborate with peers to foster leadership and conflict resolution skills and have the opportunity to cultivate and expand their existing business ideas.
No other UC school has a similar program at the undergraduate level.
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation minor differs from the existing business minor in that it focuses on entrepreneurship rather than general business management. The cornerstone of the minor is a required two-course entrepreneurship practicum sequence entitled “Innovation to Market,” in which students will pitch their ideas to classmates, form teams around the most viable ideas, walk through the new venture process including a professional business plan, present a short “elevator pitch” and a comprehensive presentation tailored to target investors, clients, key customers and employees.
In addition, students are required to take New Venture Finance, a course which examines how innovation is funded and the life cycle of a new venture, from development to exit.
Port Schedules Activities
For May Maritime Month
The Port of San Diego will honor the role and impact of San Diego’s maritime industry during May, Maritime Month, by holding free events that recognize and thank the men and women of San Diego Bay’s working waterfront.
Maritime Month is the Port’s extended celebration of National Maritime Day on May 22, which pays special tribute to merchant marines and to the benefits that the maritime industry provides to the country.
Festivities throughout the month will highlight the commercial and cargo business activity of the Port, including its economic impact, its cargo capability, its designation as a strategic military port, its cruise ship industry and its environmental stewardship. Events include:
• Bus tours on May 21 and May 28 to explore the Port’s cargo terminals. Buses depart from Pepper Park at 10 a.m
• Boat tours on May 9 and May 30 will highlight the working waterfront. Boats depart from Broadway Pier at 10 am. and 1 p.m.
• Movie night at Pepper Park showing “Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water.” Free music and activities begin at 6:30 p.m. with the film proceeding at dusk.
For more information on Maritime Month or to register for an event, visit www.portofsandiego.org/maritimemonth.
Drought’s Impact Limited To Select
Sectors of San Diego’s Economy
A new study from the National University System Institute of Policy Research finds that drought-related water cut backs are likely to have only a limited and localized impact on the San Diego economy.
Analyzing a unique dataset on the water consumed by different industries in the region, institute researchers found that, on average, non-agricultural businesses annually use 54,000 gallons of water per employee. Most of this is for outdoor landscaping, health, and hygienic uses. While cutbacks and restrictions are likely to pose inconveniences to certain businesses, the institute does not see these as having region-wide impacts on employment.
Instead,
researchers identified five industries, employing approximately 50,000 San Diegans that could have impacts that are more pronounced.
Of chief concern is the region’s agricultural sector, which consumes an average of 34 times more water per worker than the rest of the private sectors. Employing 10,400 San Diegans as of March 2015, it is likely that cut backs in acreage under production could negatively impact employment in the sector.
Four other industries were identified as consuming more than double the amount of water on a per employee basis than the average private sector firm: Soft drink manufacturers and brewers, dry cleaners and laundry services, food manufacturers, and construction firms. These industries are likely to experience the greatest impact if restrictions tighten and continue.
“The data would seem to indicate that area businesses already use water efficiently and that further restrictions would not impose significant downward pressure on regional employment,” said Erik Bruvold, institute president. Restrictions are likely to be felt among a handful of industries, which use water in core processes. First among these will be agriculture but we could see negative impacts on a half dozen other industries based upon this data.”
Click here to read the full report.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to Speak At
North San Diego Business Chamber Event
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will speak on a myriad of topics — water, energy, innovation, our economic future — during an appearance Friday at the Leaders of Change program sponsored by the North San Diego Business Chamber.
Shortly after being elected lieutenant governor in 2010, Newsom gathered the ideas of key stakeholders around the state to develop an economic growth and job creation strategy. This comprehensive economic blueprint, a top priority of his administration, ensures that California remains one of the top 10 economies in the world.
Newsom continues his environmental work as a member of the State Lands Commission, protecting California’s most precious natural resources while balancing use of lands, waterways and ports.
Check in for Friday’s program is at 10 a.m. The presentation is at 10:30 p.m. The location is Sony Electronics, 16535 Via Esprillo, San Diego.
Business Chamber members pay $25; nonmembers $45. Click here to register.
(858) 487-1767. www.sdbusinesschamber.com
Ambulance Companies Pay $11.5M
To Settle Kickback Allegations
In a lawsuit unsealed in federal court in San Diego on Monday, five ambulance companies have entered into civil settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice, requiring them to collectively pay more than $11.5 million in payments to the federal government to resolve kickback allegations.
The settling defendants include two San Diego-based companies, Balboa Ambulance Service and E.R. Ambulance, and three Orange County companies, Care Ambulance Service, Pacific Ambulance and Bowers Companies.
The latter two companies were acquired by Rural/Metro Corp. after the alleged misconduct occurred.
The settlements resolve allegations that the defendants engaged in kickback schemes by providing deeply discounted — and often below-cost — ambulance services to hospitals or skilled-nursing facilities in exchange for exclusive rights to the facilities’ more lucrative Medicare patient referrals.
Such “swapping” arrangements can lead to overuse of medical services and inflated charges to the Medicare program. In this case, the deals allegedly resulted in false claims that essentially subsidized the discounted trips.
Anti-kickback legislation prohibits payment arrangements that are intended to influence health-care referrals.
The settlements resolve a False Claims Act lawsuit filed in the Southern District of California by Kelvin Carlisle, a competitor in the San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles County ambulance marketplaces.
— City News Service
Schubach Aviation Forms Partnership
With San Diego Aviators Tennis Team
CARLSBAD — Schubach Aviation has formed a partnership with the San Diego Aviators of Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT), and will sponsor the team’s 2015 season in July, the company announced.
The 40th season of Mylan WTT will run July 12-29, with the conference championships set for Thursday, July 30. This season, the second season here for the Aviators, is set to take San Diego North County in style, with all seven home matches taking place at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, one of California’s premiere tennis facilities located in Carlsbad, Schubach’s home base. ESPN 3 will broadcast a number of matches throughout the summer.
“Having Schubach Aviation as a partner of the San Diego Aviators validates our quest to be a premier event sports property in North County and greater San Diego,” said Billy Berger, CEO and minority-owner of the San Diego Aviators. “Schubach’s management team is comprised of like-minded people who fully support our mission to celebrate the energy that first ignited tennis in the 80s in a city where sports, outdoor activities, music and arts are intrinsic to its lifestyle.”
The 2015 lineup includes Coach John Lloyd; Assistant Coach Jim Ault; and players Madison Keys of Boca Raaton, Fla.; Kveta Peschke of Sarasota, Fla.; Taylor Fritz from Rancho Santa Fe ; Chani Scheepers from Pretoria, South Africa; and Raven Klaasen of Cape Town, South Africa.
Fritz is a junior out of Torrey Pines High School who won the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) singles title as a freshman and took off on the junior circuit. Still an amateur, he’s the top-ranked American junior, 12-1 this year, third in the world, and has played in his age group at the Australian, French and U.S. opens, and Wimbledon.
Personnel Announcements
Cavignac & Associates Hires Account Manager
Arielle Chalfant has been hired by Cavignac & Associates as account manager within the agency’s Employee Benefits department. Chalfant will serve as the primary point of contact for the agency’s clients. She is also charged with ensuring client retention, providing sales support, and corresponding with carriers.
For the past 11 years, Chalfant was employed by The Strathmore Group in San Diego, where she last held the position of senior account executive. She holds a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University
NextLevel Internet Hires COO
NextLevel Internet Inc. announced the expansion of its executive management team with the hiring of Bill Green as chief operating officer.
An industry veteran with more than 20 years in IT services, Green will lead all NextLevel operations teams, including installations, support and engineering.
Most recently, Green served as CIO and global director of technology for Shearman and Sterling. In this position, Green oversaw the global IT department as well as other non-technology related business areas.
Previously, Green served as manager of Americas Application Development for Arthur Andersen & Co.
First Change of Command Ceremony
For Assault Ship USS America
The first change of command for the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship USS America will take place Thursday, as Capt. Michael Baze replaces Capt. Robert Hall, the Navy announced Monday.
The 844-foot America, commissioned last October, is the first in a new class of aviation-focused amphibious assault ships that are coming into service. They’re replacing Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships, which are being decommissioned.
They can carry up to 1,700 Marines and support operations of the tilt- rotor MV-22 Osprey aircraft and F-35B Joint Strike Fighter jet, according to the Navy.
Baze, currently the America’s executive officer, has served in San Diego-based helicopter squadrons in a variety of command positions and with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C.
Hall was previously the commanding officer of the destroyer USS Porter, and has also held a variety of staff positions.
— City News Service
