Daily Business Report-Aug. 5, 2015
The property is situated across 29 acres and include tenants such as Wal-Mart, LA Fitness, McDonald’s, Food 4 Less, Starbucks, Verizon and Chipotle, among others.
HP Investors and Clarion Acquire
29-Acre Retail Center for $107 Million
Kearny Mesa property includes a Wal-Mart and LA Fitness
HP Investors LLC announced that it has completed the acquisition with Clarion Partners of a 294,428-square-foot retail property in Kearny Mesa for $107 million.
The portfolio, which was marketed by Voit on behalf of the McGrath family, is located along Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Interstate 805. It is the first time these properties have changed ownership since being developed by the McGrath family in the early 1990s.
The property is situated across 29 acres and include tenants such as Wal-Mart, LA Fitness, McDonald’s, Food 4 Less, Starbucks, Verizon and Chipotle, among others.
The transaction marks the second investment that HP Investors has completed with Clarion Partners, a real estate investment manager headquartered in New York. In late 2013, the partnership acquired Gaslamp Square, a full-city block retail property and parking garage located along Fifth Avenue in Downtown San Diego.
The acquisition represents one of the largest retail sales transactions in San Diego in the past seven years. It is HP Investors Seventh property acquisition in the past six months.
Clarion Partners and HP Investors have hired John Jennings and Aaron Hill of Cushman Wakefield to market the portfolio for lease.
Costly Blow to UCSD: Eli Lilly
Cuts Ties on Alzheimer’s Study
Times of San Diego
In the latest setback to UC San Diego in its battle with the University of Southern California, Eli Lilly and Co. on Tuesday notified the La Jolla school of plans to end its contract with the university for management of a landmark Alzheimer’s study. UCSD could lose tens of millions of dollars, said a Union-Tribune report.
The so-called A4 study is a clinical trial testing solanezumab in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease in older individuals who have evidence of amyloid in their brains on a PET scan, but do not show symptoms of memory impairment.
A4 has been managed by the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at UCSD. Lilly, the National Institutes of Health and multiple philanthropic organizations fund the study.
Dr. Paul Aisen, who had been director of ADCS, and many members of the ADCS staff left UCSD this summer to join the USC — sparking a UCSD lawsuit.
Last month, Judge Judith Hayes ruled that UCSD controlled the nationwide study, indicating that UCSD likely would prevail if the case went to trial.
Last week, USC filed a countersuit against UCSD to try to regain control of the study.
Phyllis Ferrell, Alzheimer’s Platform Leader for Lilly, said: “Lilly continues to be committed to the continuation and completion of this landmark study. We are extremely grateful for the ongoing efforts of the A4 study participants, study investigators and the NIH. We wish to thank UCSD for its work to date and cooperation as the A4 study transitions.
“Lilly has many ongoing collaborations with researchers at UCSD and within the UC system more broadly, and nothing in our decision concerning the A4 study should be read to reflect any diminished enthusiasm in working with UCSD on these other important projects.”
In a statement noting the lawsuit, the company said: “From the outset of this unfortunate dispute, Lilly has publicly stated that the company’s objectives are to maintain the safety of the A4 participants, ensure scientific and data integrity for the study and maintain our obligations as the regulatory sponsor.”
Lilly said it found it in the best interest of the A4 study and its participants to end UCSD’s management of the study.
— City News Service contributed to this report.
Illumina Makes Second Round
Of Investments in Genomic Startups
GenomeWeb
San Diego-based Illumina has made a second round of investments in genomics start-up companies through its accelerator programs, the company said Tuesday. The three startups are focused on healthcare, agriculture, and winemaking.
PathoGn is a California-based infectious disease platform company using genomics and machine learning to build diagnostics and forecasting products for agriculture applications.
Biome Makers was founded by The Wine Guys in Castile and Leon, Spain and will use genomics as quality control in winemaking.
Oregon-based Urology Diagnostics is developing noninvasive diagnostics based on sequencing urine to screen for and monitor cancer.
The three startups will each receive a seed investment, a subscription to Illumina’s NextBio translational genomics database, access to match funding through the $40 million Illumina Accelerator Boost Capital, and sequencing systems and reagents. The companies will also gain access to lab space in the San Francisco Bay area during the six-month funding cycle.
Illumina launched its accelerator program last year. In July, the first three companies — Encoded Genomics, EpiBiome, and Xcell Biosciences –graduated from the program.
In a statement, Amanda Cashin, who leads Illumina Accelerator, said that Illumina’s goal is to help the startups “create significant value, generate terabases of sequencing data, and advance their genomics applications.”
Illumina plans accept startups to its accelerator program twice per year. The next set of applications are due Sept. 1.
Illumina Acquires GenoLogics Life Sciences Software
Illumina has signed an agreement to acquire GenoLogics Life Sciences Software, a developer of laboratory information management systems for life science organizations, for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of August. Following the close of purchase, GenoLogics will become part of Illumina’s enterprise informatics business and will be under the purview of Sanjay Chikarmane, senior vice president and general manager of enterprise informatics.
The company developed and sells the GenoLogics’ Clarity LIMS software, a LIM system tailored for the needs of clinical and research laboratories. Clarity LIMS, which is optimized for use with Illumina sequencing instruments, offers improved sample throughput, increased accuracy, and fast turnaround, among other benefits, according to GenoLogics.
Illumina President Francis deSouza said in a statement that the acquisition demonstrates his firm’s “commitment to drive the adoption of sequencing in new markets and improve the genomic information workflow.”
NAPA Auto Parts Corporate Owner
Must Pay $338,000 for Overcharging
The corporate owner and operator of many NAPA Auto Parts stores in California will pay $338,000 in a settlement of a lawsuit alleging customers were overcharged, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced Tuesday.
The case arose when inspectors in several counties, including those with the County’s Department of Weights and Measures, found a continuing pattern of instances where the prices charged at the cash register were not the lowest posted price displayed at the NAPA Auto Parts retailer in violation of California law, the district attorney’s office reported.
Dumanis said her Consumer Protection Unit worked with the Merced and Alameda District Attorneys’ Office and Weights & Measures officials throughout the state to reach the settlement between the consumers and Genuine Parts Company, a Georgia-based corporation that owns and operates many of the NAPA Auto Parts stores in the state.
The settlement binds only Genuine Parts Company and does not apply to independently owned NAPA Auto Parts stores. Under the terms of the judgment, which was entered without an admission of liability, Genuine Parts Company is required to comply with California’s pricing accuracy laws and must implement an internal compliance program aimed at improving pricing procedures for the next three years.
County Supervisors Allocate $500,00
For Continued Advice on Stadium
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to allocate $500,000 to continue retaining experts who can provide advice on different issues for a possible football stadium in Mission Valley.
The county and city of San Diego are developing a plan to entice the Chargers to remain in San Diego rather than pursue another stadium project proposed for Carson in Los Angeles County, and have retained consultants to handle financial, environmental and legal issues. City News Service
Kitchen 4140’s Garden Rated
One of Top 50 in the Country
The garden of San Diego farm-to-table restaurant Kitchen 4140 has been named as one of the Top 50 restaurant gardens in the country by USA Today.
Owner-chef Kurt Metzger said he and his team have spent countless hours toiling in the 1,200-square-foot organic garden, which recently expanded to include six eco-friendly hydroponic towers used to grow produce quickly and with minimal water, as well as new tables added to a secluded back corner of the garden. Metzger works to incorporate his garden’s produce into nearly all of Kitchen 4140’s dishes, from his Summer Harvest Salad to the long-time favorite, Mixed Berry Cobbler.
Guests can visit the restaurant for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Upcoming restaurant events include Wheatless, a gluten-free prix fixe dinner on Aug. 27 in collaboration with Duck Foot Brewing, and SoundBite, a music-oriented supper club event that will see Metzger collaborate with like-minded Chef Nick Brune of Eco-Caters.
Kitchen 4140 is located in San Diego’s Bay Ho neighborhood at 4140 Morena Blvd.
UC San Diego School to Launch
New Master’s Degree in Public Policy
The School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego has expanded its roster of global degree programs with the launch of a new Master of Public Policy. Students in the program will learn how to do analysis of such pressing issues as economic growth and opportunity, energy, the environment, public health, public finance and security and will also learn from best practices around the world.
“The Master of Public Policy degree offers specializations in internationally relevant areas, including energy and the environment, global public health and security policy,” said Wendy Hunter Barker, assistant dean of academic programs at GPS.
The degree program will be taught in collaboration with UC San Diego’s departments of political science and economics, both within the Division of Social Sciences.
The Master of Public Policy is accepting applications for fall 2016. The 92-unit degree program can be completed in two years. For more information, visit gps.ucsd.edu.
Grand Opening Aug. 15 for Luxury
Beach Condo Community in Carlsbad
SummerHouse Carlsbad, a new, 35-unit luxury beach condo community in Carlsbad, will hold a grand opening Aug. 15.
Zephyr, the builder, said each of the 35 floor plans, featuring California Coastal architecture, vary from building to building, with eight different styles. The single-story condominiums range from 1,787 to 2,702 square feet with two bedrooms, two bedrooms with a den, or three bedrooms.
Features include disappearing La Cantina doors on to the large lanais, large kitchen islands, designer selected cabinets and detailed interior finishes. Each will feature a water view from a large private balcony, and two gated, underground parking spaces are provided for each home. Prices range from $1.3 million to $2.4 million.
The grand opening — including light refreshments — will take place at the SummerHouse Sales Center, 2303 Ocean St., Carlsbad, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Board Backs Bills to Penalize
Drone Interference in Fires
City News Service
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support state and federal bills creating penalties for flying hobby drones where they could interfere with aerial firefighting operations.
Chairman Bill Horn proposed the item to express support for State Bill 167 and House Resolution 3025, which define who is authorized to fly in a wildfire zone and would establish fines and imprisonment for operating the unmanned vehicles.
Horn said the temporary grounding of firefighting aircraft during the recent fire at Cajon Pass because several drones were being flown in the area showed the need for the penalties.
The board item states that this issue is of concern in San Diego County because it is prone to wildfires and any interference from drones in a firefight could result in further fire damage and exacerbate an already dangerous situation for firefighters and for those on the ground as well.
Judge Rejects Group’s Legal Challenge
To San Diego Water Authority Plans
San Diego Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Pollack has rejected all objections raised by San Diego Coastkeeper to the San Diego County Water Authority’s 2014 adoption of its Regional Water Facilities Optimization and Master Plan Update and Climate Action Plan, finding the Water Authority followed all applicable laws and procedures when the agency adopted them last year.
“The ruling confirms that the Water Authority’s Board of Directors properly considered all relevant factors in approving the Master Plan Update and Climate Action Plan,” said Bob Yamada, director of water resources for the Water Authority. “It also confirms that Coastkeeper has been improperly attacking critical water supply choices the Water Authority has made in order to ensure that the San Diego region has a safe and reliable water supply, including its prior decision to pursue the Carlsbad Desalination Project, which will come on line later this year.”
Pollack reflected that point in ruling against Coastkeeper’s argument that the Water Authority’s environmental impact report didn’t comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.
Personnel Announcements
San Diegan Appointed to State
Teacher Credentialing Commission
Amy Reising, 52, of San Diego, has been appointed as a deputy director at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Reising has been director of credentialing and teacher development at High Tech High since 2008. She was deputy director at the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality from 2006 to 2008 and worked at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing as an administrator for examinations, research and teacher development from 1998 to 2006.
She was project manager and consultant at Educational Testing Service from 1997 to 1998 and a research consultant at WestEd from 1990 to 1997. Reising earned a Master of Arts degree in educational psychology from the University of Connecticut. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $125,004. Reising is a Democrat.
Attorney Melissa Deleon Joins CaseyGerry Law Firm
CaseyGerry, a San Diego-based plaintiffs law firm, has added attorney Melissa Deleon to its legal team. Deleon, immediate past president of the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego, is a San Diego native and graduate of California Western School of Law. She has concentrated her practice on serious personal injury and civil rights litigation, and has advocated on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities who have been the victims of caretaker abuse and neglect.
Deleon continues to be active in the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego and was recently elected to the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce as a 2015 director. In 2014, she was one of seven Filipino community leaders appointed by the Philippine Honorary Consul of San Diego, Audie de Castro, as a member of San Diego’s Philippine Consulate Advisory Council. She is currently the vice chair of San Diego County Bar Association’s Ethnic Relations and Diversity Committee.
