Daily Business Report-Aug. 11, 2015
Stadium rendering from design firm Populous
San Diego Presents Stadium
Plans to NFL Team Owners
San Diego officials advanced their pursuit of a new Chargers stadium on Monday by unveiling a financing plan, releasing a 6,000-page environmental analysis of the project and presenting both to a group of NFL owners in Chicago.
As San Diego’s negotiators met with National Football League owners in Chicago on Monday, city and county officials said everything is now in place to build a new stadium — if the Chargers return to the table.
Mayor Kevin Falconer and other city and county officials announced that a 6,000-page draft environmental impact report was ready, along with a conceptual design from a top architectural firm and a detailed public-private financing plan.
“If the NFL wants a franchise in the nation’s 8th largest city, we have demonstrated we can move quickly,” said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. “But, at this point, the ball is in the NFL’s court.”
Faulconer, Goldsmith, Supervisor Ron Roberts and other city and county officials spoke with the press from a vantage point overlooking Qualcomm Stadium to outline the latest developments in efforts to keep the Chargers in town.
They said cited three key developments that put stadium plans on track for a public vote late this year:
• A 6,000-age draft environmental impact report.
• A conceptual plan for a new 68,000-seat stadium by the global architectural firm Populous, which has worked with NFL team owners on other stadiums.
• A financing plan that calls for $350 million in public funds, but no new taxes.
“The financing concept is comprised of four main elements — no new taxes on San Diegans, two dollars of private money for every dollar in public funds, and it will require voter approval,” Faulconer said.
The financing proposal calls for the Chargers to contribute $362.5 million and the NFL $200 million, and for $187.5 million in personal seat licenses to be sold. Some $350 million in public money would be needed, with the county contributing its share in cash and the city issuing bonds.
— Times of San Diego and San Diego Union-Tribune
Two San Diego Startup Accelerators Take
Home Top Awards in SBA Competition
Hera Labs and UC San Diego’s mystartupXX have won $50,000 each from the U.S. Small Business Administration as winners in the second annual Growth Accelerator Fund competition. A total of 80 winners from across the nation will share $4.4 million in prize money.
More than 40 judges evaluated more than 400 applications and selected winners from a pool of 180 finalists.
“We are overjoyed to be part of the SBA network of innovation hubs that support small business in our local communities,” said Dr. Silvia Mah, founder of Hera Labs. “It is an incredible honor to be part of the young life of San Diego female startup businesses and to watch them thrive.”
In exchange for prize money, each incubator is required to report quarterly metrics on topics such as jobs created, funds raised, startups launched and corporate sponsors obtained. This data helps SBA to build its accelerator database, measure the organizations’ impact, develop relationships with innovative communities and draw attention and funding to parts of the country where there are gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
HERA Labs, which stands for Helping Entrepreneurs Rapidly Accelerate, is a female-focused accelerator responsible for helping startups form, educating entrepreneurs, taking businesses to the next level and creating new jobs. Hera Fund, a division of Hera Labs, is a group for female angel investors who want to fund and support female founders. According to Forbes, only 20 percent of angel-funded startups in 2012 were led by women.
Hera Fund recently hosted a “Fast Pitch” event, awarding four small businesses with cash and in kind services. Bermudez was the “Hera Fast Pitch” first place winner as well as the audience choice with her pitch for TAGit, a TV commerce or “T-Commerce” platform.
The mystartupXX accelerator program, a collaboration of the California Institute for Innovation and Development at the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego and the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, was chosen for a second time as one of the winners.
“Increasing the number of women entrepreneurs is critically important to the growth of U.S. economy,” said Lada Rasochova, executive director of the California Institute for Innovation and Development at the Rady School of Management and mystartupXX program director. “Winning this prestigious award from the SBA will enable the work of the mystartupXX program to grow and expand to include UC San Diego alumni. We have already had many successful outcomes from program participants and this award will help us continue to provide the tools female-led technology startups need to excel in the innovation economy.
USD Selects New Dean of the
School of Business Administration
The University of San Diego announced the selection of Dr. Jaime Alonso Gómez as dean of the School of Business Administration. He will begin his new role on Aug. 17.
Gómez served as founding dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (EGADE) at Tec de Monterrey campuses in Mexico City, Monterrey, and at the national level for the EGADEs of the Tec de Monterrey System.
The new dean has been working in various capacities at USD for more than 20 years as a visiting faculty member, executive education instructor, co-designer of multiple joint international initiatives, commencement speaker, and board member of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies. In 2005, he was recognized as “Dean of the Year” by the Academy of International Business for his leadership in international education.
Gómez succeeds David Pyke, who led the School of Business Administration for more than seven years. Pyke decided to step down earlier this summer and will continue as a professor in the SBA after a year-long sabbatical. Under Pyke’s leadership, the SBA hired 33 new faculty, received an extension of its accreditation, achieved national rankings, and launched two new master’s degrees, among other accomplishments.
State Agency Asks to Overturn
San Onofre Plant Settlement
City News Service
A second signatory to an agreement that assigns costs of shutting down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station asked the California Public Utilities Commission Monday to overturn the deal.
The director of the Office of Ratepayer Advocates — a state agency — said he would now prefer to litigate the matter in court. His statement followed an announcement last month by The Utility Reform Network consumer group, which wants the settlement overturned.
Ron Nichols, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for Rosemead-based Edison, responded that it is counter-productive for the ORA to “to risk raising customer utility bills” because it doesn’t like certain CPUC rules.
The deal was reached last year by the ORA, TURN, Southern California Edison — the plant’s operator and majority owner, and San Diego Gas & Electric, which owns 20 percent of the idle plant, and was approved by the CPUC.
Since then, numerous unreported contacts between CPUC Commissioner Michael Peevey and Edison officials have been revealed.
ORA Director Joe Como said he made his decision following a ruling last week by a CPUC administrative law judge, who found 10 of the communications violated the agency’s rules and could lead to massive fines.
Como said he was “repudiating” the settlement “with much regret.”
“The ALJ ruling identifies problems with a small fraction of the unreported communications that Edison representatives had with CPUC commissioners and their advisors,” Como said.
“The ruling amounts to a slap on the wrist for Edison for only a limited set of ex parte violations, and completely overlooks the bigger issue — how those private communications between former CPUC President Michael Peevey and Edison could have affected the outcome of settlement discussions involving ORA and TURN,” Como said.
CaseyGerry Opens Second North County Office
CaseyGerry has expanded its North County presence, opening new offices in Cardiff-by-the-Sea at 120 Birmingham Drive.
According to Thomas Penfield, the CaseyGerry partner who will be based there, the new office enables his firm to be more easily accessible to clients throughout San Diego — especially the North County area. The firm also has an office in Carlsbad.
“This new space complements our current offices in the Bankers Hill neighborhood of San Diego and allows our firm to better accommodate both North County-based clients and referring attorneys,” said Penfield, a Cardiff resident and past president of the North County Bar Association.
CNL Healthcare Properties Purchases
2 Buildings at Doctors Park in Eastlake
CNL Healthcare Properties, based in Orlando, Fla., has purchased two buildings at Doctors Park at Eastlake, totaling 31,000 square feet of rentable space, for $15 million. The seller was Otay Lakes Partners LLC.
The buildings are located at 959 and 971 Lane Avenue at the intersection with Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista. Both buildings are 100 percent leased.
The 10,000-square-foot building at 959 Lane Avenue is leased to Cancer Treatment Services San Diego, in partnership with UC San Diego, and the 21,000-square-foot building at 971 Lane Avenue is leased to Scripps Health. The entire Doctors Park at Eastlake campus contains five buildings on 5.33 acres. The seller was represented by JLL.
According to JLL’s first quarter 2015 Medical Office Snapshot, at least four new medical office buildings are expected to break ground this year in all of San Diego County.
NFL Owners to Hear Carson Stadium Proposal
City News Service
National Football League owners are set to meet today regarding possibly relocating one or more teams to Los Angeles, just one day after local negotiators pitched a stadium proposal designed to keep the Chargers in San Diego.
Although no decisions will be made at today’s meeting in Chicago, the group is expected to hear presentations on St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s planned stadium project at the former Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood, and a proposal for a Carson stadium that could be shared by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. The presentations are expected to cover each proposal’s design, cost and financing plans.
Returning a team to Los Angeles is a major priority for the NFL. The Los Angeles area has not had an NFL team since 1995, when the Rams moved to St. Louis and the Raiders returned to Oakland.
The NFL owners are also set to hear updates on efforts being made in San Diego, Oakland and St. Louis to keep their teams from moving.
Personnel Announcements
Director of Security Named for
Metropolitan Transit System
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has named Manuel Guaderrama as the organization’s new director of security. In a subsequent move, MTS promoted Ed Musgrove, manager of field operations, to deputy director.
Guaderrama, the current deputy director of transit security at MTS, is taking over for former MTS Chief of Police Bill Burke, died on June 29. Guaderrama is a 30-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, where he led many different teams including SWAT, Traffic and K-9 units. He was raised in San Diego and graduated from San Diego State University. He is also a recent graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Guaderrama will have oversight of 185 security officers from Transit Systems Security, a contracted security agency that provides security and patrol services for MTS. Guaderrama will also directly manage 35 code compliance inspectors who check for proper fares, maintain a safe environment at transit stations and issue citations.
Zephyr New Hires and Promotion
San Diego-based real estate development company Zephyr has hired Dean Loisel as senior vice president of real estate finance, Mike Lake as vice president of land development, Russel Kaup as senior project manager and Amber Frankhuizen as sales manager. Jeff Schieferstein has been promoted to vice president of construction.
Loisel is a real estate development and finance executive with more than 15 years’ experience in executing complex projects.
Mike Lake previously worked as vice president of land development for California West Communities and as project manager for Ryland Homes. In his new role, Lake will coordinate all phases of project development for Zephyr’s Signature Homes.
Russel Kaup is a development and procurement executive with more than 15 years of industry leadership experience, and previously worked as the regional vice president of procurement and supply chain for MDC Holdings.
Frankhuizen will oversee sales and marketing of Zephyr’s Signature.
Schieferstein has a 15-year history in construction management. He’ll oversee purchasing, supervision and management of all construction for Signature Homes, as well as Zephyr’s multi-family projects.
Cavignac & Associates Hires
Personal Lines Account Manager
Cavignac & Associates has hired Briana Toia to serve as a personal lines account manager. Toia will report to Carolyn Konecki, who was recruited by Cavignac & Associates to establish the agency’s Personal Lines Division last April. In her new position, Toia will serve as clients’ primary contact person and provide service to her assigned accounts. Specifically, she will process new and renewal policies and review them for accuracy, provide quotes, submit endorsement requests to insurance companies, issue auto identification cards, and process daily and renewal certificates.
Toia has six years of experience in the insurance industry. Most recently, she was a personal lines account manager for Leavitt Insurance Group in La Jolla, where she assisted personal lines clients with policy servicing and coverage questions, and helped develop standard operating procedures. For two years prior to that, she was a customer service representative for Fifth Avenue Insurance in San Diego.
Architectural Firm Unveils
Designs for New Stadium
— Times of San Diego
San Diego has hired the global architectural firm Populous to design a new football facility to replace the 48-year Qualcomm Stadium.
Populous has designed or renovated stadiums for five of the six National Football League team owners serving on the all-important Los Angeles relocation committee.
Architectural renderings released Monday show a venue that could also be used for college holiday-bowl games, soccer tournaments, concerts and civic events. It is designed for 68,000 seats, but could be expanded to 72,000 for a major event like the Super Bowl.
Jon Knight, senior principal at Populous, said the stadium design “incorporates San Diego’s ocean and harbor experience, proud Naval and marine heritage, and the dynamic look and feel of the ocean’s waves.”
The three-decade-old, Kansas City-based firm has designed and renovated sports venues around the world, from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Angels Stadium in Anaheim, to Wembley Stadium and the 2012 Olympic Stadium in London, to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
