Daily Business Report-Aug. 6, 2015
An artist’s rendering of the 118-unit apartment project that Alliance Residential will build at 4220 Arizona St. in North Park.
Alliance Residential Pays $7.1 Million
To Develop 118-Unit Apartment Complex
Alliance Residential has purchased property at 4220 Arizona St. in North Park from Community Housing Works to build a 118-unit multifamily apartment community.
The property — which currently has a 49,500-square-foot office building that was previously used as an AT&T administrative office — was sold to Alliance for $7.1 million.
CBRE, which announced the sale, said the multifamily site will feature high-quality, urban contemporary design with stucco exterior and select accents. The apartments will include studio, one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 550 to 1,300 square feet.
Skyport Studio completed the conceptual design and architectural renderings. 4220 Arizona was designed to emphasize pedestrian activity with a blending of the public and private amenities through landscaped plazas and community serving areas.
The apartments will feature private balconies, washer/dryer units and community amenities including a roof deck, bike storage, elevator services, storage units as well as large common amenities space.
Community HousingWorks entitled the site jointly with a 76-unit proposed affordable senior development that will be immediately west of 4220 Arizona Street. Community HousingWorks is developing the senior site into a complex of seven studios, 66 one-bedroom, and three two-bedroom apartments.
Community HousingWorks is partnering with the San Diego LGBT Community Center to design the senior apartments as an affirming and supportive environment for LGBT seniors, with The Center’s Senior Services staff providing services welcoming to the entire senior community of residents.
Qualcomm Powers Wireless
Charging of Some Phones
San Diego Union-Tribune
Qualcomm said it has engineered a way to enable wireless charging of electronic devices with metal exteriors — claiming to be the first company to offer this technology.
The San Diego wireless firm’s advance could allow more mobile gadget makers to build devices with metal exteriors while including wireless charging as a feature.
Until now, devices with metal cases could not be charged wirelessly, according to Qualcomm. Its WiPower system complies with the Rezence wireless charging standard and is available today to WiPower licensees. There are rival standards for wireless device charging of consumer electronics.
A concentration at the top of the smartphone market — with Samsung leading in Android and Apple gaining market share with its latest iPhones –has other phone makers looking for ways to make their devices stand out. Wireless charging through metal exteriors could be an avenue to offer something different.
Chamber Report:
San Diego Pays Highest Electricity Rates
City News Service
San Diegans pay the highest electric rates among big cities in California, according to a report issued by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“San Diego Illustrated-A Visual Guide to Taxes & The Economy” uses a series of graphs to show how San Diego stacks up against Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Fresno in a series of categories, including numbers of workers employed by companies, wages and tax rates.
San Diego residents paid nearly 18 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity in 2013, while industrial users paid over 13 cents, both the highest among the five cities, according to the report. The commercial rate of 16 cents per kilowatt hour was third-highest.
Among other findings:
• The city of San Diego’s sales tax rate of 8 percent is the lowest of the five cities.
• Government’s share of San Diego’s economy is 21 percent, well above the U.S. average of 12.2 percent, because of the large military presence.
• The local economy is also far more reliant on real estate, and the professional, scientific and technical sector than the national norm.
• 74 percent of area businesses employ fewer than 10 people, and 5 percent have 50 or more workers
• Wages in San Diego surpassed the national average in 2000 and are now 8 percent above the U.S. norm.
The report also concluded that California has one of the worst tax climates for businesses, and a higher tax burden overall than other the U.S. average.
“San Diego businesses suffer under the burdensome tax codes levied by our state,” said Jerry Sanders, the chamber’s president and CEO. “The more we can educate business owners and policymakers on the economic landscape of our region, the better equipped we all are to make sound policy decisions that will continue to drive San Diego business forward.”
The report is available online at http://interactive.taxfoundation.org/san-diego-illustrated.
History Made With 3-Carrier Swap
San Diego Union-Tribune
In a historic game of naval musical chairs, sailors from San Diego’s aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will serve on three different flattops over the next six months.
The Navy is saving $41 million by doing a massive, complicated crew swap involving 9,000 sailors and the carriers George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt, in addition to the Reagan.
At the end, the U.S. Navy will have a new face in Asia, and an American aircraft carrier will enter a mid-life nuclear overhaul that was at one time uncertain.
Also, San Diego will have a new hull number on its skyline — CVN 71, affectionately known as “The Big Stick” as an homage to the 26th U.S. president, namesake Theodore Roosevelt.
It’s the first time ever that three of the Navy’s 10 active-duty carriers have changed home ports all at once.
“It’s pretty hard to do something that’s never been done before in the history of the Navy,” said Spike Call, the Reagan’s command master chief. “We’re getting an opportunity to do that, and that’s special in itself.”
Lenders Host Financing Program
For Small Business Owners
San Diego-area financing organizations will gather at the Farnham Training Center on Aug. 27, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., to discuss lending options for small business owners. Sponsored by California Bank & Trust and Accion, this event features a panel-style discussion on what to look for when choosing a lender. The Training Center is at 9444 Farnham St.
“There are so many options that business owners are faced with when looking for financing,” said, Valery Belloso, Accion’s chief officer of strategy and business development. “It’s important for potential borrowers to be well-versed on the different products that lenders have to offer as well as what lender is best for their new or growing business.”
The panel will be moderated by California Bank & Trust’s Vice President of Community Reinvestment Lisa Brooks and will include a question-and-answer portion. Participating organizations include Accion, California Bank & Trust, CDC Small Business Finance and the Small Business Administration.
Lenders will also be available after the event to speak one-on-one and answer any questions related to product offerings.
The event is free to the public. Register at www.accionsandiego.org/bizsuccess.html or by calling (619) 795-7250.
CSUSM Receives $1.4 Million
Grant Renewal for TRiO Program
The U.S. Department of Education awarded California State University San Marcos a five-year renewal grant totaling over $1.4 million to continue funding academic support for underrepresented students in higher education through the university’s TRiO Student Support Services program.
Serving 200 students from first-generation, low-income, and/or disability backgrounds, the goal of TRiO SSS is to increase the retention and graduation rates of college students traditionally at a higher risk for dropping out. Research has continually shown that college students facing great financial hardship or lacking strong academic support are more likely to quit or fail at a higher rate than students without those disadvantages.
TRiO SSS has been hosted uninterruptedly on campus since 1993. The program’s recent five-year grant renewal was one of only 968 TRiO programs funded nationally — 58 fewer than in 2010.
“Since 2008, our annual retention rate for student participants has been over 90 percent,” said Heather Northway, TRiO SSS director. “In addition, our six-year graduation rate was 74 percent for students who enrolled in fall 2008 and 71 percent for students who enrolled in 2009. We are very proud of the success of the program and congratulate all of the work of our staff who have made our students’ academic dreams possible.”
ResMed to Purchase Curative Medical
Sleep disorder device supplier ResMed says it will purchase Curative Medical, a private provider of non-invasive ventilation and sleep-disordered breathing devices and accessories, to target the Chinese market. ResMed did not release terms of the deal but noted it does not include Curative’s vascular catheter business.
The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. ResMed China and Curative will retain their operational independence and continue to invest in the China market.
ResMed employs more than 4,000 employees and has a presence in more than 100 countries and has focused on devices and treatments for sleep-disordered breathing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic diseases for more than 25 years.
Founded in 2008, Curative’s manufacturing base is in Suzhou, China, and it has offices in Beijing, Germany and the U.S.
ResMed also said it will expand in China and says it remains on track to meet its 2020 goals after a lift in its fourth quarte revenues and dividend.
Sequenom Posts 18 Percent
Revenue Drop in 2nd Quarter
GenomeWeb
Sequenom reported after the close of the market Wednesday that its second quarter revenues fell 18 percent year over year on lower diagnostic services revenue. The San Diego-based molecular diagnostics firm reported revenues of $32.8 million for the three months ended June 30, down from $39.8 million for the second quarter of 2014. It fell short of the average Wall Street estimate of $36.1 million.
Its diagnostic services revenue declined to $30.9 million from $39.4 million year over year. Sequenom attributed the drop to approximately $6.1 million of incremental “catch-up” payments from payors for services performed in prior periods reported in Q2 2014 that were not repeated in Q2 2015, “as the timeliness of collections has improved with additional payor contracts.”
The firm’s license revenue climbed to $1.9 million from $402,000, reflecting fees collected under a pooled patent agreement with Illumina signed in December 2014.
Jack in the Box Earnings Rise
Times of San Diego
San Diego-based Jack in the Box on Wednesday reported higher profits in its third fiscal quarter as its sales and margins improved.
The fast-foot restaurant chain reported net income of $26.8 million, or 71 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 5, compared to $24.7 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenues increased to $359.5 million from $348.5 million.
“We’re pleased with our third quarter performance, which culminated in a 17 percent increase in operating earnings per share resulting from solid same-store sales growth and margin expansion at both Jack in the Box and Qdoba Mexican Grill,” said Chairman and CEO Lenny Comma.
The company noted that its operating margins increased to 21.8 percent of sales in the third quarter compared with 19.1 percent of sales in the year-ago quarter.
Jack in the Box shares were up marginally at $97.15 near their 52-week high in after-hours trading.
Personnel Announcements
Civic San Diego veteran joins JLL
Andrew Phillips, an 11-year veteran of Civic San Diego, has joined JLL’s Public Institutions team in California as a vice president.
In his new role and based in San Diego, Phillips will provide real estate development, financial and market analysis, and neighborhood revitalization advisory services to public sector and higher education clients in the western United States.
Phillips worked for over a decade with Civic San Diego and was appointed chief financial and operating officer in November 2011. Phillips also served as interim president from March 2014 to November 2014.
During his tenure at Civic San Diego, Phillips participated in various public-private partnership negotiations.
