Daily Business Report-Nov. 3, 2015
The Peter C. Farrell Sleep Center of Excellence is located in Chancellor Park, on Executive Drive, close to UTC.
ResMed Gifts $5 Million to UC San Diego
To Establish Center for Sleep Medicine Research
ResMed Inc., a San Diego-based medical device company, has made a $5 million gift to UC San Diego to support sleep medicine research and care at the university’s School of Medicine.
The funds will establish the Peter C. Farrell Sleep Center of Excellence in honor of ResMed’s founder and chairman of the board. The funds also will establish the Peter C. Farrell Presidential Chair in Pulmonary Medicine. The university contributed $500,000 toward the endowed chair.
The Peter C. Farrell Sleep Center of Excellence, located in Chancellor Park on Executive Drive, will focus on research, clinical trials and patient care for sleep disorders — an area of treatment that is expanding with technological advancements that allow for home sleep testing and monitoring.
Sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, plague at least an estimated 30 million people in the United States, according to figures released by the university. While most cases go undiagnosed, the effects of sleep disorders go far beyond a restless night of sleep. Studies link sleep apnea to serious conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, atrial fibrillation and COPD. A growing body of evidence also shows an association between sleep disorders and cancer risk.
“Sleep disorders make up a critical area of medicine that needs further investigation and increased awareness,” said Mick Farrell, CEO of ResMed. “Sleep apnea and COPD are two of the most expensive and undertreated diseases in the world.”
The Peter C. Farrell Sleep Center of Excellence will also include teleconference technology to train physicians and scientists around the globe in the diagnosis and treatment of such disorders.
“At the UC San Diego School of Medicine, our vision is to create a world-class center for the evaluation and care of patients with sleep disorders,” said David A. Brenner, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. “This is a gift with both local and international impact. The center will not only enhance sleep medicine care for more local patients, but it will also help build knowledge and understanding of this important field of medicine around the globe.”
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Charles Black Chosen to Lead Development
Of $1 Billion Aviation-Commercial Project
Real estate executive Charles E. Black, former Padres president who was instrumental in the construction of Petco Park, has been chosen to lead the development team overseeing the construction of the $1 billion Metropolitan Airpark mixed aviation and commercial project at Brown Field in Otay Mesa.
The Metropolitan Airpark consists of nearly 3 million square feet of new construction on 331 acres, phased over 20 years. The development team said the project will generate more than 11,000 full-time, part-time and sole proprietorship employment positions and will have a total economic impact exceeding $1.3 billion and indirect business taxes of $51.6 billion — all financed by the private sector.
Black will join Richard Sax, Robert Pippin and other members of the Metropolitan Airpark development team, and will report to Samuel Belzberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Gibralt US Inc., Metropolitan Airpark’s principal investor.
Black ha more than three decades of major real estate project development experience, having led some of the region’s largest and most complex real estate projects. From 2002 through 2006, he led the Petco Park development team through the completion of the baseball park and 4 million square feet of private development in the surrounding 26-block Ballpark District.
Black also served as the lead negotiator and project manager for the Port District’s 500-acre Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan, and the proposed San Diego Civic Center Redevelopment and San Diego Convention Center Phase III Expansion for the City of San Diego.
The imminent opening of the SR11 border crossing and theCross Border Xpress facility serving Tijuana International Airport will place Brown Field at the center of international trade and commerce in San Diego County, according to the development team. Other members of the team include Richard Szx and Robert Pippin.
Council to Consider Installing
Solar Panels at 25 Properties
City News Service
A plan to install solar power panels at 25 city-owned properties over the next 20 years is scheduled to be considered by the San Diego City Council today.
A city staff report said the sites could be used for nine rooftop solar systems and 19 parking lot canopy arrays.
Among the proposed locations are seven police stations, four libraries, the City Administration Building and surrounding structures, and the parking lots at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center and Inspiration Point in Balboa Park.
Under terms of the proposed deal, SunEdison Government Solutions LLC would install, operate, own and maintain the solar photovoltaic systems over two decades. The city would buy the power supplied by the systems from SunEdison, replacing electricity that otherwise would have been purchased from San Diego Gas & Electric.
City officials estimated the cost of purchasing power for the 25 facilities from SDG&E over the next 20 years would be $48 million, compared to a $26 million price tag for solar from SunEdison.
The total savings would be $22 million, ranging from a projected $500,000 in the first year of operation to more than $1.7 million annually by the end of the term, according to the staff report.
Committee Chairman Mark Kersey said at a previous hearing on the proposal that the savings projections are “fairly conservative,” with costs of traditional energy sources expected to climb in the future.
Mario Sierra, director of the city’s Environmental Services Department, said construction could begin around March or April next year and be completed by August.
The project could become more ambitious in the future. Sierra said 40 other municipal properties were identified as good candidates for solar systems, and they could be brought before the committee in about four months.
The plan was given its initial go-ahead last month by the council’s Infrastructure Committee.
Dempsey Construction Renovating
168-Unit, 15-Story Grace Tower
Dempsey Construction is currently handling the renovation of the 15-story, 168-unit Grace Tower residential complex at 3955 Park Boulevard in Hillcrest. The Grace Tower project is a federally-funded project through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to Dempsey Construction’s Senior Project Manager, Bob Milch, the scope of work includes the complete interior renovation of all of the residential units, lobbies and common corridors. Exterior improvements include new concrete walls, ramps and landscaping.
The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2016.
Lawsuit Aims to Revoke Permit for Storing
Nuclear Waste Near San Onofre State Park
The law firm of Aguirre & Severson has scheduled a press conference for this afternoon to announce that it is suing the California Coastal Commission in Superior Court to revoke what it said is an unlawfully issued permit to store hot nuclear waste fewer than 100 feet from the public beach at San Onofre State Park.
“Today’s action argues that the Coastal Commission’s Oct. 6 vote approving the dump violates the Coastal Act of 1976, and the Coastal Commission’s mission statement, which is to ‘Protect, conserve, restore, and enhance environmental and human-based resources of the California coast and ocean for environmentally sustainable and prudent use by current and future generations,’” the law firm said in announcing the lawsuit.
The announcement was made by attorneys Maria Severson and Mike Aguirre of Aguirre & Severson and plaintiff Ray Lutz of Citizen’s Oversight.
New Study Reveals How Specialized Cells
Help Each Other Survive During Times of Stress
A team led by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the University of Pittsburgh has shown for the first time how one set of specialized cells survives under stress by manipulating the behavior of key immune system cells.
The new study, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, involved mesenchymal stem cells — which live in bone marrow and can differentiate into several different cell types used in bone and connective tissue — and macrophages — immune cells that usually respond to infectious agents or damaged cells by engulfing and devouring them.
“This is the first time anyone has shown how mesenchymal stem cells provide for their own survival by recruiting and then suppressing normal macrophage activity,” said TSRI Professor Donald G. Phinney, who led the study with University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor Luis A. Ortiz. “This finally puts the crosstalk between these cells into the context of cell survival.”
Personnel Announcements
CDC Small Business Finance
Names Senior Vice President
CDC Small Business Finance, a leader in SBA 504 lending, has announced the addition of Allison Kelly in the new role of senior vice president of strategy and innovation.
Kelly will be responsible for introducing new, non-SBA small business products and services to meet the needs of the small business owners CDC serves while continuing to build upon its collaborative culture.
Kelly has more than 20 years of experience building, managing and growing new programs and products in the private and nonprofit sectors.
Prior to joining CDC, Kelly was an executive leader at Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization that through advice and capital helped small businesses succeed and revitalize low-income inner city areas.
Cavignac & Associates Hires Account Administrator
Marisa Dunfee has been hired by Cavignac & Associates to serve as an account administrator. In her new post, Dunfee will provide support and assistance to the agency’s commercial insurance account managers and ensure the firm’s clients are well served.
Dunfee has several years of insurance industry and administrative experience.Most recently, she served as a project coordinator for Lockton Companies in San Diego, where she was employed for two-and-a-half years. Previous experience includes having served as an audit associate for ICW Group Inc. in Del Mar, program support assistant for the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and work study coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
