Daily Business Report-March 29, 2016
Artist’s rendering of the two office towers to be developed by Sunroad Enterprises in Kearny Mesa. (Courtesy Gensler)
Sunroad Enterprises to Add Two New
Office Buildings on Centrum Campus
Sunroad Enterprises announced Monday that it will develop two new, 11-story high-rises in central San Diego to meet the high demand for large blocks of Class A office space in San Diego County.
The buildings — labeled Centrum II and Centrum III — will join Centrum I, a 275,000-square-foot building completed in 2008, in the eight-acre Centrumplace office campus that it is developing as part of a master plan. The site is at the Interstate 805 and 163 freeways in Kearny Mesa.
The two new buildings will contain a total of 583,000 rentable square feet and floor plates will have the ability to go from 24,800 square feet to 59,500 square feet.
Designed by Gensler, Centrum II will contain 290,000 square feet. It is expected to break ground in 2016, and deliver finished new office space in 2017. Centrum III will follow based on market demand.
“One of the most unique things about these spectacular buildings will be their shared campus, addressing today’s tenants’ demands,” said Darrel Fullbright of Gensler. “The courtyard between the three buildings is designed with best in the industry amenities; featuring outdoor private meeting space, conference facilities, outdoor event space, lounges, a fitness center, restaurants, a bar, and parking structures with valet service. Centrumplace will also feature an outdoor sculpture, a water feature, an organic garden, and meandering paths.”
According to Aaron Feldman, president of Sunroad Enterprises, San Diego County is experiencing an increased demand for large blocks of Class A office space. “Thehe past eight quarters have seen continuous market absorption and increased office rents in central San Diego,” said Feldman.
Dave Odmark, Eric Vann, and Brian Starck from Cushman & Wakefield have been retained as the leasing team to represent Sunroad.
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Continuing Education
Student is Sewing Her Future
Maria del Mar Hinojosa enrolled at San Diego Continuing Education to learn how to sew. A little more than a year later, she is creating elaborately designed skirts and shawls at her newly opened flamenco store.
“The initial objective was to learn how to sew so I could make my own skirts for flamenco dancing,” said Hinojosa, a flamenco dancer who began formal training 25 years ago and has been teaching flamenco for the past 18. “Flamenco skirts are expensive and there are not a lot of places here where you can buy them. After I took my first class, I liked it so much and I was learning so much that I kept taking classes. I wanted to learn everything.”
Within a year, Hinojosa had earned a certificate in Sewn Product Business. In January, she opened The Pure Flamenco Store, a Liberty Station shop offering mantones, mantoncillos, flecos, skirts, and more that were stitched together by Hinojosa, who also offers flamenco classes in a nearby studio.
Hinojosa’s inspiration to take sewing classes at Continuing Education’s West City Campus came from her mother, who long ago had enrolled in community college courses while living in Houston. “She told me to look at the community colleges in the area,” Hinojosa said.
The courses she took at Continuing Education’s West City Campus include Tailoring (both classic and contemporary); Fundamentals of Pattern Making; Sewing Fundamentals; and Sewing like a Professional.
Sewing instructor Shirley Pierson is glad Hinojosa enrolled in the program.
“In the classroom I saw a woman who possessed motivation and a passionate curiosity in her endeavors,” Pierson said. “She not only followed directions and learned, but she explored beyond the required to accomplish her goals. She did this all in a balanced way, as I know she had a full schedule of commitments in her life. She rocked the classroom!”
— San Diego Community College District NewsCenter
Judge Awards $8.9 Million in Attorneys’
Fees to San Diego County Water Authority
A San Francisco Superior Court judge has ruled that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California must pay $8.9 million in attorneys’ fees to the San Diego County Water Authority as a result of losing a landmark judgment in 2015.
As the prevailing party, the Water Authority is entitled to its attorneys’ fees, according to the court order. A previous decision awarded the Water Authority more than $320,000 in court costs.
MWD now owes the Water Authority more than $243 million, including damages, costs, interest and attorneys’ fees. The bill, including the award of attorneys’ fees, accrues simple interest of 7 percent annually.
Records disclosed by MWD show that it has spent more than $20 million on its attorney’s fees.
Despite the court’s ruling in two cases spanning four years of MWD’s rates — 2011-2014 — MWD is poised to adopt two more years of illegal rates — for 2017 and 2018 — at its April 12, board meeting. The Water Authority filed suit challenging MWD’s 2015 and 2016 rates, which also use the same illegal rate allocation. That case — which raises the same issues — has been stayed pending the outcome of appeals on the prior two cases.
“MWD has a clear obligation to set rates that conform to state law and the California Constitution,” said Dan Purcell, special counsel for the Water Authority with Keker & Van Nest, San Francisco. “The law requires it, a judge has ordered it, and the ratepayers of San Diego County deserve it.”
Rady Children’s Hospital Receives $10M
For Pediatric Brain Cancer Research
City News Service
Rady Children’s Hospital announced Monday a $10 million gift for pediatric brain cancer research.
According to the hospital, the money will establish the Joseph Clayes III Research Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics within the Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine.
The gift came from the estate of Joseph Clayes III, a real-estate investor, avocado rancher and philanthropist who died in 2007.
“My uncle Joe had a passion for causes that help children — specifically those who face physical or mental challenges in their lives,” said Trulette Clayes, co-trustee of the Joseph Clayes III Charitable Trust. “This endowment has the potential to change the course of how children with cancer receive treatment.”
The money will be used to accelerate research into the genomic foundation of childhood brain cancers; help scientists to develop individualized approaches to treatment; endow a chair in neuro-oncology research; and set up a research and education fund to prepare promising young scientists.
“By accelerating research, investing in top talent and training future leaders in genomic medicine, this generous gift has the very real potential to benefit generations of children,” said Dr. Donald Kearns, the hospital’s president and CEO.
San Diego philanthropists Ernest and Evelyn Rady gave $120 million in August 2014 to establish the institute.
Recycled Tires to be used
To Repair San Diego Roads
City News Service
CalRecycle has approved nearly $5.3 million to help fund road repairs in San Diego County and elsewhere around the state, using rubberized pavement from recycled tires, it was announced Monday.
The state Department Resources Recycling and Recovery — CalRecycle — approved the funding to improve roads in 43 communities, including Del Mar, Oceanside and unincorporated areas of San Diego County.
Del Mar will receive funding of nearly $124,700, Oceanside will get almost $400,000, and the county will gain $250,000, according to the agency.
The projects will make use of rubberized pavement, which combines crumb rubber from recycled tires with traditional materials to create safer, longer- lasting, and more cost-effective road material.
“CalRecycle’s Rubberized Pavement Grant Program is a crucial part of California’s strategy to keep waste tires out of landfills and make use of these materials right here in our state,” CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline said.
“As more communities realize the benefits of this environmentally sustainable option for road resurfacing and repair, California will be able to close the loop within our state and turn millions of additional waste tires into a resource that keeps our people safe, reduces costs, and protects our environment for future generations,” he said.
The legislature created the program in 2002 to promote recycling of the roughly 44 million waste tires generated in California each year. With the help of CalRecycle’s tire recycling programs and grants, 38 million of those tires are diverted from landfills — with many being used for things like road surfacing and civil engineering projects.
Carlsbad Chamber
Honors Local Businesses
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, city leaders and the business community, celebrated the best and brightest in local business at the annual Business Awards Dinner on March 18 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa.
The awards ceremony, which had “Hooray for Business” as its theme, honored businesses for their innovation, celebrated their vision, and publicly appreciated their contributions to the quality of life in the community and at their workplace.
During the evening, the chamber presented awards in eight categories:
• Businessperson of the Year: Sue Loftin, The Loftin Firm P.C.
and Rick Davis, Arbor Scientia (tie).
• Young Entrepreneur Award: Ryan Alexeev, Hanscom Alexeev & McDaniel LLP.
• Technology & Innovation Award: Solutions for Change Inc.
• Growing Business of the Year: Stellar Solar.
• Brand Building Award: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa.
• Health and Wellness Award: Scripps Health.
• “Made in Carlsbad” Award: ViaSat.
• Community Impact Award: AKT, LLP.
Scientists Discover Enzymes That Could
Offer New Targets to Treat Diabetes
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has discovered two enzymes that appear to play a role in metabolism and inflammation — and might someday be targeted with drugs to treat type 2 diabetes and inflammatory disorders.
The discovery is unusual because the enzymes do not bear a resemblance –in their structures or amino-acid sequences — to any known class of enzymes. The team of scientists nevertheless identified them as “outlier” members of the serine/threonine hydrolase class, using newer techniques that detect biochemical activity.
“A huge fraction of the human ‘proteome’ remains uncharacterized, and this paper shows how chemical approaches can be used to uncover proteins of a given functionality that have eluded classification based on sequence or predicted structure,” said co-senior author Benjamin F. Cravatt, chair of TSRI’s Department of Chemical Physiology.
“In this study, we found two genes that control levels of lipids with anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory activity, suggesting exciting targets for diabetes and inflammatory diseases,” said co-senior author Alan Saghatelian, who holds the Dr. Frederik Paulsen Chair at the Salk Institute.
The study appeared as a Nature Chemical Biology Advance Online Publication.
New Forms of Plant Virus
Useful in Human Therapeutics
Scripps Research Institute scientists report that new forms of a plant virus are useful in human therapeutics. Scientists, it reports, can harness the capabilities of some viruses for good — modifying the viruses to carry drug molecules, for example.
One useful virus has been cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), a plant pathogen that can be modified to aid in tumor detection and even chemotherapy.
In a new study, published online ahead of print in the journal Structure, Scripps researchers report that, based on its structure, a hollowed-out version of CPMV could also be effective in human therapies.
“By studying the structure of the viral particles, we can get important information for transforming this plant virus into a useful therapeutic,” said TSRI Associate Professor Vijay Reddy, senior author of the study.
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San Diego is One of Top Metro Areas
For Computer Software Industry
City News Service
San Diego ranks seventh among 50 top U.S. metropolitan areas for its computer software industry, according to a report scheduled to be released today by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.
The study looks at venture capital, talent retention and acquisition and other metrics that detail San Diego’s competitive advantages for local companies that are looking to expand or move into the region, according to the Economic Development Corporation.
San Diego ranks ahead of Austin, New York City and Portland, Oregon, among others, the report shows.
The study, scheduled to be released at a lunchtime news conference at a software firm in the East Village, also said more than 100,000 jobs in the region depend on the area’s software industry.
A survey of employers found that employment is expected to rise around 18 percent this year, according to the Economic Development Corporation. The report noted that many local software employees work for local defense contractors and biotech firms, rather than on consumer applications, so the local industry flies somewhat under the radar.
Software workers in San Diego are two times more likely to work in research and development than in the rest of California, according to the study.
Personnel Announcements
AT&T Names San Diego
Mobility Markets Director
AT&T has named Amanda Harris to oversee business in the San Diego market. As assistant vice president-AT&T mobility markets, Harris will manage 54 AT&T-exclusive points of distribution and more than 50 national retail locations in San Diego. She will be based out of AT&T’s San Diego headquarters.
Harris has more than 16 years of telecommunications experience. She joined the AT&T family of companies in 2000. Prior to relocating to San Diego, She served as assistant vice president-retail customer experience for AT&T mobile and business solutions out of the Atlanta, Ga. office.
Her previous roles within the company include serving as chief of staff to the president of retail and holding director positions in operations and sales for mobility. She started her career with AT&T as a senior account manager in business sales.
Higgs Partner Receives ‘Forward Under 40’
Award from Wisconsin Alumni Association
Higgs Fletcher & Mack partner AnneElise Goetz has received the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s “Forward under 40” Award.
Eight University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni from a pool of undergraduate and graduate students under the age of 40 were honored for living the Wisconsin Idea: the principle that the UW should have a positive impact in Wisconsin and around the world.
Specializing in real estate, finance and health care law at Higgs, the 2002 graduate was commended for her commitment to helping women attain leadership positions in government, law and business.
Goetz is a regular legal analyst on HLN and FOX networks and started her own legal education podcast, Your Life and the Law, that focuses on law in everyday life. In 2012, Goetz was appointed Chair of the Leadership Development Committee for Lawyers Club and served for two years. In that capacity, she organized “Pipeline to Leadership,” a nuts and bolts program that provided women with hands-on tools to get appointed to boards and commission in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
Goetz organized a “Pathways to the Bench” event with Joshua Groban, senior adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown and responsible for recommending judicial nominees to the governor. Attendees received concrete information and takeaways on what the Governor is looking for and how to best position themselves for nomination.
Finch, Thornton & Baird Add Partner
Christopher R. Sillari has joined the San Diego construction law firm of Finch, Thornton & Baird LLP as partner.
Sillari practices in the areas of business and commercial litigation and transactions, federal procurement and claims, construction law, real estate, intellectual property, and appeals. His practice includes advising clients on a variety of corporate, construction, real estate, and intellectual property matters, and handling disputes.
Sillari has participated in a number of federal procurement protests to the U.S. Government Accountability Office and has participated in successful appeals with the California Courts of Appeal and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.
