Daily Business Report-March 30, 2016
Bizness Apps Brings 100 Silicon Valley Jobs to San Diego. (Photo: PRNewswire)
Report Puts San Diego’s Software
Industry Strength at $12.2 Billion Annually
San Diego’s $12.2 billion software development industry impacts more than 100,000 jobs in the regional economy, with employers anticipating 18.1 percent growth rate in software jobs over the next year, according to a report issued Tuesday by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.
The report said software is one of San Diego’s most rapidly growing employment sectors, and the sector outranks Austin, Portland, Los Angeles and New York in the Software Power Index.
The report, “Software Development: Driving San Diego’s Tech Ecosystem,” examines the region’s growing tech hub as it relates to software talent and capital investment. The study looks at software workers and auxiliary support staff across every corner of the region’s economy.
From Intuit to Illumina, software development permeates nearly every facet of San Diego’s economy,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer in a statement accompanying the report. “Software development is helping to increase our workforce talent pool, diversity of job opportunities and capital investment.”
San Diego’s software ecosystem permeates through every corner of its innovation economy, according to the report. Defense, communications and genomics companies — classified as “software-dependent“ in the study — are increasingly reliant on software talent and functions to grow. The report said software developers in San Diego are twice as likely to work in scientific R&D than the rest of California.
“With this study, we now have the ability to quantify the depth of the software ecosystem for the first time,” said Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of San Diego Regional EDC. “We know San Diego is a good place to build and locate a business — and companies are following suit.”
The report said that in the past two months, two Silicon Valley SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) startups, Wrike and Bizness Apps, announced relocations and/or expansions to San Diego — a sign that the region’s ecosystem is gaining national visibility.
“The reason we chose to move our company from Silicon Valley to San Diego was the access to the talent San Diego provides,” said Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of Bizness Apps, the latest company to announce its relocation. “With multiple universities in San Diego and larger existing technology companies nearby we felt we could grow our entire team here, from experienced leadership roles, to entry level positions out of college.”
Key findings of the report include:
• The total economic impact of San Diego’s software ecosystem is $12.2 billion annually.
• Ranked 7th overall on Software Power Index, ahead of Austin, Portland, Los Angeles and New York.
• 1 in 6 innovation economy jobs are in software development.
• Ranked 8th for talent on Software Power Index; Only 10 percent of employers reported dissatisfaction with their ability to recruit high-level talent.
• Ranked 4th in capital on Software Power Index.
• Mergers and Acquisitionscomprise 68 percent of San Diego’s capital flow — on average, U.S. metros receive 42 percent of capital through M&A .
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San Diego Architecture Firm
Wins Top Architectural Prize
The Tobacco Museum in Spain designed by San Diego firm LG Architects (Ramiro Losada-Amor and Alberto Garcia Jimenez) won 1st place in the Building of the Year award by the Archdaily / Plataforma Arquitectura blog.
The award was chosen by the readers of this popular blog — more than 500,000 visits per day worldwide — and was among more than 3,500 candidates in 14 categories.
According to the blog, the awards recognize “the works published in 2015 that inspired and represented the identity of regional contexts. At the same time, these projects mark the way of making architecture around the world. Our expert jury, consisting of our readers, has done an excellent job with the selection.”
Alberto Garcia Jimenez and Ramiro Losada-Amor are building engineers and architects. Following their scholarship studies in Italy and Belgium, they moved on to work experience in the field of design, architecture and urbanism in Madrid, London and Rotterdam. In 2007, the founded Losada Garcia Architects based in Caceres and later opened an office in San Diego.
They have three areas of focus: experimental architecture, university teaching and audiovisual documentation of architecture.
In 2015 LG Architects was chosen among the 10 most promising emerging global studios by Architectural Record. The two men are professors at NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego.
Grand Re-Opening of Horton
Plaza Park Set for May 4
The grand re-opening of Horton Plaza Park — long anticipated by San Diegans — will be held on May 4.
Adjacent to WestfieldHorton Plaza Shopping Center, Horton Plaza Park is viewed as a dynamic urban plaza where San Diego residents and visitors can gather or rent for major celebrations and events.
“The expanded Horton Plaza Park is going to be a true civic treasure. I am looking forward to celebrating the grand opening with the entire community,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
The grand opening will feature a two-part celebration, highlighting the start of a 25-year public-private partnership between the city of San Diego and Westfield. The afternoon portion will consist of a ribbon-cutting with the mayor and community leaders, followed by a larger community celebration in the evening. The community celebration will include live music, art and entertainment, featuring an internationally renowned performer and artist (to be announced at a later date). Both events will be free and open to the public.
When completed, Horton Plaza Park will be open seven days a week, free of charge. The 53,000-square-foot city-owned facility will be programmed and managed by Westfield, who will be responsible for activating the park with 75 events initially, growing to more than 200 events each year. Daily activities will range from lunchtime concerts to cultural festivals, holiday celebrations, weddings and movie screenings. To kick-start programming at the park, Westfield will launch two programs — “Plaza Play” and “Park Unplugged.” “Plaza Play” will feature life-size games and will encourage community members to engage with each other through friendly competitions and challenges. “Park Unplugged” will feature local musicians performing in the park.
“This is not a ‘park’ in the traditional sense, rather a world-class urban plaza and entertainment destination in the heart of the Gaslamp,” said Westfield’s Vice President of Development Kim Brewer. “Westfield is committed to working with local organizations to ensure the park celebrates San Diego’s diverse culture, spirit and community traditions.”
The park will contain a number of amenities, including:
• Three food and beverage pavilions, with partners including Starbucks, Bruxie and Sloan’s Ice Cream (as well as a trellised patio and seating at each Pavilion)
• The Irving Gill Fountain, one of San Diego’s oldest civic landmarks that has been restored to its original condition from the early 1900s.
• An amphitheater suited for live performances, an interactive pop-jet fountain and eight iconic 23-foot tall color-changing light sculptures.
In addition to being a public facility, Horton Plaza Park will be available to rent for private functions. Westfield has launched an events calendar reservation system on its website to manage requests.
Construction Completed on
MediaTek’s New Headquarters
Employees and executives of MediaTek, one of the largest chip-design companies in the world, have new headquarter. Construction has been completed on the new offices at 10188 Telesis Court, Suite 500, in San Diego (Sorrento Mesa).
Ware Malcomb provided interior design services for the offices.
The new San Diego office and showroom will support MediaTek’s West Coast operations including marketing, sales, administrative and engineering departments.
The San Diego space includes a lobby, showroom and presentation center, offices, open office areas, meeting and amenity spaces. Full height glazing along the interior office fronts allows for shared natural light and views of the adjacent canyon landscapes..
“As a cutting-edge company, MediaTek needed a flexible space capable of evolving with industry trends,” said Tiffany English, principal of Ware Malcomb’s San Diego office. “Working closely with their team, we have created a design that will serve as a comfortable, efficient and inspiring workplace for years to come.”
Burger Construction served as general contractor for the project.
San Diego Home Prices Climb
7 Percent Since January 2015
By City News Service
Home prices in San Diego rose 0.4 percent from December to January and 6.9 percent since January 2015, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday.
While the monthly gain was one of the highest among the 20 big cities in the index, the annual climb was tied for eighth as some markets experienced double-digit percentage increases.
The indices were created by taking the cost of housing in the nation’s major real estate markets in January 2000, assigning them a value of 100, and tracking their subsequent rise and fall.
San Diego stood at 218.77 in January — more than a doubling of home prices over 16 years. The climb was the second fastest in the United States, behind only the 241.61 of Los Angeles.
The national 20-city index was at 182.56, the same as the month before, but 5.7 percent higher than in the same month in 2015.
David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said recent low inventories of available homes are slowing the move-up market for existing owners.
“While low inventories and short supply are boosting prices, financing continues to be a concern for some potential purchasers, particularly young adults and first-time home buyers,” Blitzer said.
“The issue is availability of credit for people with substantial student or credit card debt,” Blitzer said. “While rising home prices are certainly a factor deterring home purchases, individual financial positions are more important than local housing market conditions.”
He said the number of construction starts of new single-family homes in February was the highest since November 2007.
Remote Italian Village Could
Harbor Secrets of Healthy Aging
Researchers will examine 300 Italian residents, all over 100 years old
To understand how people can live longer throughout the world, researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have teamed up with colleagues at University of Rome La Sapienza to study a group of 300 citizens, all over 100 years old, living in a remote Italian village nestled between the ocean and mountains on the country’s coast.
The average life expectancy in the United States is approximately 78 years old. Americans live longer, with better diets and improved health care, than ever before, but only 0.02 percent will hit the century mark.
“We are the first group of researchers to be given permission to study this population in Acciaroli, Italy,” said Alan Maisel, lead UC San Diego School of Medicine investigator and professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
The Acciaroli study group is known to have very low rates of heart disease and Alzheimer’s. It favors a Mediterranean diet markedly infused with the herb rosemary. Due to the location of the village, Maisel said locals also walk long distances and hike through the mountains as part of their daily activity.
“The goal of this long-term study is to find out why this group of 300 is living so long by conducting a full genetic analysis and examining lifestyle behaviors, like diet and exercise,” said Maisel. “The results from studying the longevity of this group could be applied to our practice at UC San Diego and to patients all over the world.”
Maisel and his research team will work with their Italian counterparts to collect blood samples and distribute questionnaires to the group over the next six months.
The study will also involve tests to look at metabolomics, biomes, cognitive dysfunction and protein biomarkers for risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease and cancer.
Co-authors include Nicholas Schork, Robert Rissman, Chris Benner, Tatianna Kisseleva, William Kemen, Rob Knight, Dillip Jeste, Lori Daniels, and Mohit Jain, all with UC San Diego.
The study is supported, in part, from European grants.
New Nonprofit Aims to
Support Local Veterans
By City News Service
The San Diego Military Advisory Council announced Tuesday that it has formed the SDMAC foundation, a nonprofit charity to support the local active-duty and retired armed forces community through programs, educational outreach and events funded by tax-deductible donations.
“We started the SDMAC Foundation as a means to allow individuals and corporations the opportunity to make tax-deductible, charitable contributions toward initiatives that truly benefit our active duty military based in San Diego — and help us better educate San Diegans about the importance of the military and defense communities in our region,” said Pete Hedley, president of the foundation and a founding member of SDMAC. “One hundred percent of dollars raised will go directly toward these efforts.”
The foundation’s signature program will be awarding a $15,000 scholarship to a San Diego State University student veteran.
The funding is designed to supplement GI Bill income to allow the recipient to complete a degree program without incurring significant student debt, according to SDMAC.
The inaugural scholarship is scheduled to be awarded in time for the fall 2017 semester.
Donations can be made online at www.sdmacfoundation.org.
K9 ‘Armor’ Outfitted
with Protective Vest
California State University San Marcos Police Department’s explosive detection canine Armor was outfitted last week with a ballistic protection vest courtesy of the nonprofit organization Vested Interest in K9’s Inc.
Armor, a 4-year-old German Shepard, arrived in the U.S. for training just over a year ago. CSUSM Police Officer David Angulo Armor spent countless hours at the Inglis Police Dog Academy in Santa Paula, Calif. before working their first assignment together at the university’s commencement ceremonies last May.
“Armor’s vulnerability is my biggest concern during critical incidents such as an active shooter and/or during explosive detection sweeps,” said Angulo. “Although Armor’s vest won’t prevent those incidents from occurring, it definitely gives me a peace of mind knowing he has some preventative measures that will give him a fighting chance in the unlikely event that we are exposed to an attack.”
Armor is one of three explosives detection canines in the California State University system and the only one in North San Diego County. He is proficient in detecting 20 odors, more than the federal requirement for a certified K-9.
