Daily Business Report-June 9, 2015
Mayor Kevin Faulconer, flanked by experts hired to negotiate with the Chargers, announcing special elections can occur for the stadium vote to keep the Chargers in town. (Photo: Alexander Nguyen)
Mayor: Special Election on Stadium
Possible Before NFL Decision
The city of San Diego can hold a special election on Dec. 15 for the stadium vote, ahead of the NFL relocation vote, the mayor announced Monday.
The election would only be held if the Chargers and city “can reach an agreement,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said at a news conference downtown.
The NFL has said it will allow teams to apply to relocated to Los Angeles as early as January 2016.
The announcement is the latest in a series of steps the city and county have taken to keep the team in San Diego. Early this year, the mayor announced a special nine-member task force to find a location to build a new stadium and coming up with a plan to pay for its construction.
In May, the advisory group came back with a $1.1-billion proposal for a new stadium in Mission Valley — the current site of Qualcomm Stadium — that calls for a combination of public and private funding sources but does not call for new taxes.
Because no new taxes were needed to fund the stadium, a public vote was not necessary but Faulconer said a public vote would put some finality in the matter.
“A council vote can be referendum,” he said. “It’s very easy to reverse the council vote, we have seen it happened twice already.”
The mayor was referring the contentious One Paseo zoning and minimum wage vote. Business interests collected enough signatures to successful block the council’s vote on both issues.
There were talks earlier this year of a public vote involving residents outside of the city’s limit because the county committed some money for a stadium, but an after a meeting with the Chargers on Monday, Faulconer said only a citywide vote was needed.
The City Council would have to approve any ballot measures by Sept. 18 for the Registrar of Voters to put the issue to the voters by the end of the year. The vote would be a mail-in only ballot, which would save the city money. The county does not allow mail-in only ballot — another reason why the county voters will not have a say in this issue.
— Times of San Diego, with City News Service
Port of San Diego Chooses First Female CEO
Randa Coniglio, executive vice president of operations for the San Diego Unified Port District, is expected to be named president and chief executive officer on Thursday —
making her the first female CEO in the port’s 52-year history.
The previous CEO, Wayne Darbeau, was ousted a year ago after asking port tenants for help finding his son a summer job.
Coniglio was selected as the top candidate after a nationwide executive search that began last December. Coniglio currently oversees the departments of Real Estate, Maritime, Environmental and Land Use Management, Strategy and Business Development, Government and Community Relations, and Marketing and Communications.
Coniglio was hired in 2000 by the Port District after a 13-year private sector career in real estate development and real estate portfolio management. During her tenure at the Port, she has been promoted six times, having started in the Real Estate Department as a senior asset manager. “Randa is a focused, diligent and highly creative leader who consistently delivers strong outcomes,” explained Port Chairman Dan Malcolm. “This, combined with her track record in gaining the trust of stakeholders, achieving consensus and maintaining long-term, mutually beneficial relationships truly set her apart as the best candidate for this position.”
Port staff’s accomplishments under Coniglio’s leadership include entitling the 500-acre Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan in 2012; successfully obtaining a unanimous approval vote from the California Coastal Commission for a $700 million San Diego Convention Center expansion; and facilitating the opening of The Headquarters shopping center, which transformed the old San Diego Police Headquarters into a retail center.
Cal State San Marcos Names New Dean
Of College of Business Administration
Jim Hamerly has been named the new dean of the College of Business Administration at California State University San Marcos. Hamerly previously was interim dean of the
college since fall 2014.
Over a three-decade career in business, Hamerly served as corporate vice president of AOL Time-Warner, Netscape Communications Corporation and Pages Software, and as
the founder, president and CEO of numerous companies. Hamerly also has 10 years of corporate research experience at Xerox Webster Research Center and Palo Alto Research Center.
Hamerly joined CSUSM in 2002 as an adjunct faculty member in CoBA, teaching entrepreneurship, corporate venturing, customer analysis, management information systems and operations management. In 2007, he became the director of business community relations, overseeing the signature program Senior Experience, organizing events and mentoring students.
Hamerly holds a Bachelor of Science from MIT, a Master of Science from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Renovation Completed
At Enclave Sorrento
McCarthy Cook and partner AllianceBernstein have completed the renovation of Enclave Sorrento, a two-building office technology property located at 9808 and 9868 Scranton Road in San Diego. The upgrade elevated the property from Class B to Class A.
The $38 million renovation included a new, five-story parking structure, two-story glass enclosed lobbies, new hotel-grade restrooms, a café and tenant lounge with a fold-away glass wall system and large screen televisions and a fitness and yoga center with locker rooms. Enclave Sorrento tenants will also have access to a shuttle service from the Coaster and a shared free bicycle program.
Gensler provided architectural design for Enclave Sorrento and DPR Construction provided construction services.
The property is being marketed by JLL.
O’Toole Breast Cancer Center Opens
At Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest
The Scripps Mercy O’Toole Breast Care Center has opened on the campus of Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego. The center is a $5.3 million facility where patients can receive comprehensive breast health services in a convenient and comforting environment.
Located on the second floor of the Scripps Medical Building at 550 Washington St., the multidisciplinary center offers sophisticated screening and diagnostic mammography services. The center opened June 3 and its hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The O’Toole Breast Care Center — named after lead donor, the Theresa and Edward O’Toole Foundation — features an array of specialized medical rooms, a lobby with comfortable seating, three changing rooms and a patient-friendly resource center.
William Stanton, M.D., medical oncologist, is medical director of the center.
The 3,612-square-foot facility has several specialized rooms for services such as mammography,gynecologic and obstetric imaging, pre-surgery needle localization using mammography and Dexa scans for bone density measuring.
The new center replaces the temporary breast health facility that opened last year near Scripps Mercy Hospital.
Pascal Lorange Set to Open CRUDO in North County
Pascal Lorange, executive chef of Fig & Olive Restaurants, will open CRUDO at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch in October. It is the latest tenant announced for North County’s new residential, shopping and dining destination, which is nearing completion of its first phase of development.
CRUDO will feature brunch, lunch and dinner menus with a collection of Mediterranean Riviera flavors.
“I have been imagining this concept for years and I needed the right location to bring CRUDO to life. When I came across The Village, I knew it was the perfect place for my next venture,” said Lorange. “I am excited to introduce new creative, fresh and affordable dishes to the neighborhood.”
Lorange has cooked his way through some of the world’s most distinguished restaurants. At 19, he was cooking for world-renowned, three-star Michelin Chef Georges Blanc in Vonnas, France. Lorange later went on to serve as the private chef for hit singer and songwriter Julio Iglesias, and has cooked for countless world leaders and influencers, including the Clintons, Princess Stephanie of Monaco, Oscar De la Renta and President Obama.
CRUDO, which means “raw”, will stay true to its name by offering a variety of raw plates, such as sashimi and carpaccio, utilizing San Diego’s local seafood and produce.
Current operating tenants at the center include Trader Joes, Panera Bread and Starbucks Coffee, which will be joined by Crunch Fitness, Pure Barre, Revive Salon and Spa, RiteAid Pharmacy, Total Vision Care, Coast Pediatrics, Pacific Dental Services, Mabel’s, Urban Girl, Overload, Elite, Lemongrass & Ginger, Dolce, Vitalitytap, Baked Bear and more.
San Diego River Conservancy Awarded
$20,000 Grant for Del Mar River Path
The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy (SDRVC) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the William Hall Tippett and Ruth Rathell Tippett Foundation toward construction of the Del Mar River Path.
The River Path provides a scenic overlook of the San Dieguito Lagoon and River, complete with interpretive signage of the flora and fauna of the River and Lagoon. The existing trail goes from Jimmy Durante Blvd. westwards to the coast and parallels the south edge of the River, providing beautiful water views and information regarding this important wetland and natural resource.
This grant will help fund the construction of the portion of Del Mar’s River Path from Jimmy Durante Boulevard east to the Old Grand Avenue Bridge, providing scenic vistas of the lagoon wetlands and interpretive information of the flora and fauna.
The total project cost is estimated at $475,000. This cost includes project design, entitlements and easement acquisition, environmental review and mitigation, and construction.
San Diego’s $3.2 Million Budget
Approved by the City Council
The City Council unanimously adopted a $3.2 billion budget Monday for the fiscal year that starts July 1, while adding funding for arts and culture programs and Saturday hours at libraries.
The budget proposal issued by Mayor Kevin Faulconer almost two months ago already boosted the operating hours at the city’s 16 busiest recreation centers from 45 to 60. A subsequent amendment increased the number of affected centers to 36, thanks to improving revenue projections.
The mayor proposed $11.1 million in arts and culture funding, but last week Councilman David Alvarez called for an additional $1 million to get the city closer to meeting a funding formula the council agreed to three years ago.
The funding will now be $12.1 million — still short of the $16.7 million amount called for in the “Penny for the Arts” blueprint.
“I think it’s really important that we keep that commitment,” Alvarez said.
For libraries, 23 branches will receive funding needed to operate longer on Saturdays.
Council President Sherri Lightner said the budget “responsibly restores public safety and neighborhood services, and funds additional infrastructure while fully funding reserves.”
When Faulconer issued his so-called “May Revise” last month, he called for the establishment of a $15 million reserve fund to stabilize the way the city contributes to its employee retirement fund.
Sometimes, depending in part on the performance of the investment portfolio held by the San Diego City Employees Retirement System, the city has to contribute far more to the pension fund than it did the year before. The mayor said his plan was to smooth out those spikes.
The council members didn’t adopt his plan, but agreed to hold the money as excess equity until they can establish a pension reserve policy. Councilman Todd Gloria promised to have the proposal on the agenda of the Budget Committee, which he chairs, later this month.
The council also included in the budget $625,000 to design and conduct an environmental analysis on a proposed project to install sidewalks on a stretch of Market Street in Valencia that doesn’t have any, even though it’s close to a city library. The project, which will have a total cost of $4 million to complete, is a top priority for Councilwoman Myrtle Cole.
Another $453,000 will be spent to hire seven mechanics for the city’s vehicle fleet.
— City News Service
