Daily Business Report-Sept. 1, 2015

Rendering of the Alexan apartment/mixed use neighborhood planned for Millenia.

Construction Beginning at 210-Acre

Millenia Project in South County

Times of San Diego

Major construction is beginning at Millenia, the 210-acre urban hub at the center of future development of Otay Ranch in South San Diego County.

“Grading is complete and major roads and most infrastructure are in place for the first phase of development,” said Todd Galarneau, executive vice president of Meridian Development, which is managing the project for property owner Stratford Land.

Construction of a gateway shopping center, hotel and condominium neighborhoods is set to start next year. The project will ultimately comprise 3,000 residences, 2 million square feet of office space, 1.5 million square feet of retail, hospitality, civic and mixed-use projects, and six themed urban parks.

Millenia’s first apartment neighborhood, Pulse by Fairfield Residential with 273 luxury units, is nearing completion at Birch Avenue and Eastlake Parkway with the first move-ins scheduled for September.

Among the projects underway are:

Stylus Park, a 1.9-acre public park just south of Pulse, is under construction with completion slated for this year. The urban-style park, one of six park planned for Millenia, is set to open in 2017 once the landscaping sufficiently matures.

Meridian Communities, the home building arm of Meridian Development, has started site development on three attached residential condo neighborhoods in Millenia, all designed by the award-winning Woodley Architectural Group.

San Diego developer Sudberry Properties is set to start construction in mid-2016 on an 11-acre gateway retail center located directly south of Otay Ranch Town Center and adjacent to SR125.

Trammell Crow Residential is currently seeking entitlements from the city of Chula Vista on a 309-unit apartment/mixed-use development in Millenia.

The Ayres Hotel chain, known for European-inspired hotels throughout Southern California, is under contract with Millenia with plans to build a four-story, 135-room hotel.  Construction is expected to start by mid-2016.

Shea Homes San Diego is set to start construction on 176 urban-style townhomes and detached single-family residences in the first quarter next year.

Chelsea Investment Corp. is also scheduled to start construction in the first quarter on a 210-unit, five-story affordable housing neighborhood that includes 87 rental apartments for families and 123 apartments for seniors.

Designed with a proliferation of pedestrian pathways, bicycle lanes, public transportation options, and a 20-foot wide promenade that links all planned parks, Millenia received Circulate San Diego’s “Complete Street’s” Project Award in 2014 and is a LEED-certified community. It has also been designated a Smart Growth Urban Center by the San Diego Association of Governments.

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Urban Discovery Academy

Grand Opening on Wednesday

The Urban Discovery Academy, San Diego’s first Downtown K-8 charter school, will be formally opened on Wednesday in a ceremony marked by students and teachers ringing the 100-year-old bronze bell in the four-story Angels Bell Tower.

The school, located at 840 14th St. in East Village, has three founding areas of distinction: strengthening project-based education; offering rich visual and performing arts education; and providing opportunities for families to live and work Downtown.

Urban Discovery Academy’s new 37,000-square-foot building contains 18 brightly colored classrooms for 415 students and 24 teachers, a rooftop pavilion for special events, a two-story atrium lobby, a performing arts

venue, and a visual arts studio with a kiln and a darkroom.

Located within the I.D.E.A. (Innovation Design Education Arts) District, the school brings San Diego into the global ranks of major cities that boast a distinctive primary school inside the urban core.

Cubic Awarded $12.6 Million to Update

Revenue System for Bay Area Rapid Transit

Cubic Transportation Systems, a business unit of Cubic Corporation, has been awarded a $12.6 million contract from the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) to update its revenue management system. The state-of-good-repair project includes ticket vending machines, add fare machines, fare gates and parking validator devices to extend the equipment life while providing new payment functionality that can be used in the future.

Updating an existing revenue management system is a cost-effective and timely solution to ensure quality performance of systems that are used on a daily basis. In addition, the new readers for BART’s equipment will have Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV)-compliant open payment capabilities for possible future use of contactless bankcard and mobile payments.

“The time and money it takes to procure a new revenue management system is significant and Cubic was able to demonstrate the millions of dollars in savings to BART riders and taxpayers by updating our current system,” said Paul Oversier, assistant general manager, operations for BART. “We will also be well-positioned to transition to next-generation payment technologies in partnership with the region.”

“Cubic’s equipment and systems, which have been validated throughout the world, help move more than 400,000 BART riders on a daily basis,” said Matt Newsome, senior vice president and general manager of Cubic Transportation Systems. “We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with BART and supporting them to maximize the full use of their system while continuing to offer riders a convenient and seamless travel experience.

Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

Hosts Candidate Academy 

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is looking for people who have always wanted to run for elected office to participate in the inaugural class of the Candidate Academy, a new program that seeks to boost civic participation in North County.

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Candidate Academy will educate, inform and prepare potential candidates on the realities of running for and serving in public office. The nonpartisan, four-session seminar will provide training and resources and allow participants to interact with business and civic leaders.  Participants are being sought throughout North County–they need not be Chamber members to participate.

The academy will train participants on how t: develop a platform, set up a campaign team, develop a message, secure endorsements and identify important regional issues

“Those who wish to run for office need to know what it really takes to do that successfully,” said Toni Padron, the chamber’s chief operating officer and executive vice president. “We want them to be prepared.”

Featured speakers have been selected to bring perspectives from across the political spectrum to provide balanced and informative information, as well as real-life experience in campaigning.

Sessions will take place from 4-6:30 p.m. at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, 5934 Priestly Drive.

The topics will be:

Oct. 8: Developing the passion.

Oct. 15: Nuts & Bolts.

Oct. 22: Messaging, Marketing and the Media.

Oct. 29: Today’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities — Issues you should know.

The applications are due by Sept. 8 at noon. Application materials can be obtained by visiting www.carlsbad.org.

‘Money Club’ Starts New Location in September

A community of women teaching and learning about finances has a new location starting in September. The San Diego Money Club will move to Mira Costa College, San Elijo campus, starting Sept. 12.

Money Clubs are a nationally recognized educational curriculum created to help women from all walks of life to prosper, live independently and feel good about money, in a community of like-minded women. The clubs were created by nationally recognized financial experts/advocates, Candace Bahr and Ginita Wall, who also co-founded The Women’s Institute for Financial Education, WIFE.org.

“There is such a great need to help women at all levels understand their finances,” said Bahr, a financial adviser. “I am proud that WIFE.org has earned a place of recognition and trust nationally, and that we can continue to do so right here in San Diego.”

The San Diego Money Club meets the second Saturday of each month at Mira Costa College, San Elijo campus from 9 to 10:30 a.m.