Daily Business Report/Dec. 15, 2016
The Brigantine’s Portside Pier development, shown in this rendering, will supplant Anthony’s Fish Grotto on the Embarcadero in 2018. (Credit: Tucker Sadler Architects)
Anthony’s Fish Grotto to Shut Down
Embarcadero Eatery After 70 Years
The Brigantine set to replace the popular restaurant in 2018
It grew from a 16-seat diner at the old Downtown ferry landing in 1946 into an iconic Embarcadero eatery that has fed more than 22 million people over its 70-year life span.
But the popular Anthony’s Fish Grotto will close its doors for good on Jan. 31, 2017 giving way to The Brigantine’s three-restaurant development, which obtained final approval Tuesday from the Board of Port Commissioners. The opening of Brigantine’s development is expected in summer 2018.
Port commissioners declined to renew the Ghio family’s lease of the restaurant property, preferring The Brigantine’s more ambitious project.
“I’m grateful to the patrons who have been loyal to our restaurant over the years,” said Craig Ghio, grandson of founder Mama Ghio. “We’ve served more than 22 million people during our 52 years at the Embarcadero, and in recent months we have received thousands of emails expressing sadness about Anthony’s upcoming forced closure. It’s been incredibly heartwarming to hear from so many of the people we’ve had the honor of serving.”
The restaurant moved to its current location in 1965, partnering with the Port to energize the development of San Diego’s waterfront. Overwhelming success at this location made Anthony’s one of San Diego’s most iconic, visited and recognizable restaurants.
In celebration of Anthony’s 70th anniversary, Anthony’s will serve “secret menu” items at both the Embarcadero and La Mesa locations, and offer free online giveaways. Details will be unveiled on social media.
Anthony’s La Mesa restaurant will continue to operate.
The Brigantine proposal, designed by Tucker Sadler Architects, includes “dock and dine” improvements for vessels and the construction of a public viewing dock.
The site — to be named “Portside Pier” — will be divided into four “concepts” on two levels:
- Brigantine on the Bay restaurant.
- Miguel’s Cocina serving Mexican dishes.
- Ketch Grill & Taps casual walk-up, dine-in and take-out grill.
- Portside Gelato & Coffee, coffee and espresso from roaster Cafe Moto.
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Nation’s Largest Seawater Desalination
Plant Marks One-Year Anniversary
The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant marked its one-year anniversary on Wednesday, producing in that time nearly 15 billion gallons of fresh water for the San Diego region.
he desalination plant generated significant benefits by relieving pressure on imported water supplies, reducing state mandates for emergency conservation measures in March and helping the region pass the state’s stringent water supply “stress test” in June.
The plant was dedicated on Dec. 14, 2015. It was named after the late Carlsbad mayor who also served as Water Authority Board chair.
“This plant is a game-changer for San Diego County,” said Mark Muir, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “It’s gratifying that this visionary investment our region’s ratepayers strongly supported is paying dividends now, and we expect it to continue to do so for decades to come.”
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is the result of a 30-year, public-private partnership between the plant’s developer and owner, Poseidon Water, and the Water Authority for the production of up to 56,000 acre-feet of water per year — enough to meet the needs of approximately 400,000 people. It is a major component of the Water Authority’s multi-decade strategy to diversify the region’s water supply portfolio.
“This was a historic undertaking, and the plant’s first-year operation was a great success,” said Poseidon Water CEO Carlos Riva. “Seawater desalination is a viable option for coastal communities seeking to secure new, fresh water supplies. We have proven that it can be done, and are proud to mark this anniversary with our project partners at the Water Authority, IDE Technologies, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and Kiewit-Shea Desalination.”
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San Diego Startup Raises $2.3 Million
To Advance Enzymatic DNA Synthesis
Molecular Assemblies, a San Diego startup developing a new enzymatic method for synthesizing DNA, said it has raised $2.3 million in a seed financing round.
The funding will be used to hire more scientists and to advance the company’s development of enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, CEO Michael Kamdar said in an interview Friday. Molecular Assemblies says its enzymatic approach for making DNA was inspired by the way nature makes DNA. Investors include Agilent Technologies, the Cavendish Impact Capital Fund, Eleven Two Capital, San Diego angel investor Taner Halicioglu’s Keshif Ventures, Genomics Investment Syndicate, Newport Holdings, and Alexandria Venture Investments.
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Qualcomm Inc. and Google
to Collaborate on Operating System
Qualcomm Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., intends to collaborate with Google to add support for the new Android Things operating system (OS) in Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Android Things is a new vertical of Android designed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
By using their expertise in Android and Snapdragon processors to support development of a variety of connected devices aimed at both consumer and industrial applications, this initiative intends to help a vast number of developers participate in the IoT opportunity.
The design of IoT devices can be a complex task, usually requiring developers to bring together multiple connectivity technologies, sensors, data processing and storage, advanced multimedia and user interfaces, security, cloud integration, device management, as well as over-the-air upgrades and services. Development can be particularly challenging in fragmented OS ecosystems lacking a consistent environment, software tools and support required to create world-class applications. The companies said they are uniquely positioned to address these challenges.
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San Diego Tech Company Wins
$100,000 Grant from the EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Hi-Z Technology Inc. of San Diego a grant of up to $100,000 to introduce a power stove that will save trees, reduce cooking fire particulates and reduce premature deaths caused by indoor air pollution.
HiZ Technology is among 13 small businesses selected nationwide to receive a total of $1.3 million to develop and commercialize technologies to help solve current environmental issues.
If the Hi-Z Technology stove is successful, the firm will be eligible to apply for a Phase II contract of up to $300,000 to develop and commercialize their technology for the marketplace.
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San Diego City Council Approves
Park & Market Development
The San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved the Disposition and Development Agreement with Holland Partner Group for the Park & Market project that will contain a 34-story residential tower, a four-story office building and 22,000 square feet of retail space.
The project was designed by Carrier Johnson + CULTURE architectural firm.
The University of California San Diego announced that it will own and occupy the four-story office building within the project as the first UC San Diego location in Downtown San Diego. There also will be a one-story retail building along Park Boulevard and, to further activate the property’s public plaza, the historic Remmen Building along Park Boulevard will be renovated with retail and restaurant uses with outdoor seating.
“We are thrilled to see Park & Market move forward with dedicated benefits to our Downtown neighborhood,” said Civic San Diego President Reese A. Jarrett. “The presence of UC San Diego’s Innovative Cultural and Education Hub realizes a long-held dream of seeing one of San Diego’s higher educational institutions in an urban core location; the project also produces a double bottom line of inclusionary affordable housing, along with the realization that the proceeds from the sale of the site will be reinvested in additional affordable housing.”
The the Disposition and Development Agreement provides for the sale of the property to the Holland Partner Group for a purchase price of $12.3 million, which will be deployed back into the city of San Diego’s Affordable Housing Fund. It also requires the developer to design, finance and construct the project in its entirety. Construction is anticipated to begin in September 2018 with completion targeted for late 2021.
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ViaSat Executive Joins Computing
Technology Industry Association Board
Bruce Cathell, vice president of government operations at Carlsbad-based ViaSat, and David Beering, Intelligent Design principal, have joined the board of directors of the Computing Technology Industry Association’s space enterprise council.
SEC brings together professionals from the space industry, including the commercial, civil and national security sectors, in efforts to advance relevant interests to policymakers, CompTIA said.
David Logsdon, senior director of public advocacy at CompTIA, said the addition of the ViaSat and Intelligent Design executives will work to help the association establish the critical role of U.S. space assets in national security and economic growth.
Cathell is a defense and aerospace industry veteran who has worked on various military and commercial space operations and command-and-control projects in his career. He has taken part in launches in the U.S., Russia and French Guiana, as well as written congressional reports, concepts of operations and Defense Department policy positions on space technologies.
Beering owns Intelligent Design and has more than 25 years of experience working on projects in satellite and wireless line-of-sight communications.
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Seau Foundation Pledge to Support
Brain Injury Research Grows to $1 Million
The Junior Seau Foundation has pledged $250,000 to support brain injury research and education at the University of California San Diego. The gift is made in memory of NFL Football Hall of Famer and longtime San Diego Charger Junior Seau, who died in 2012 and was subsequently diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated blows to the head.
The funds will be used to establish the Junior Seau Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Traumatic Brain Injury, as well as the Junior Seau Lectureship Series to inform the community and K-12 students about the causes and risks associated with traumatic brain injury.
Tripling the impact of the Junior Seau Foundation’s gift, the donation will be matched dollar for dollar as part of the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Endowed Chair and Faculty Fellowship Challenge, as well as by the university’s Division of Biological Sciences and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, bringing total funding to $1 million.
