Daily Business Report-Feb. 15, 2017
The Renovate America building
Renovate America Signs Mega Lease
In Rancho Vista Corporate Center
Renovate America has signed a seven-year lease for 160,000 square feet in the Rancho Vista Corporate Center in Rancho Bernardo in one of San Diego’s largest office leases of 2016.
The lease is with Swift Real Estate Partners, which recently acquired the corporate center, located at 16409 West Bernardo Drive, from Hewlett-Packard.
Renovate America is a large provider of residential PACE financing, a way for owners to make qualified home energy and efficiency improvements. The company employs around 670 staff and is currently located in two different buildings in Rancho Bernardo. They will be consolidating and establishing their corporate headquarters at Rancho Vista Corporate Center in September of this year.
Landlord Swift Real Estate Partners plans to spend upwards of $12 million on the building’s interior space to create an employee-centric environment and $6.6 million on the construction of an adjacent 10,000 square-foot building and other exterior improvements for Renovate America, according to the announcement of the lease.
Jamie Latiano Jacobs, senior vice president of people and culture at Renovate America, and a member of the San Diego Workforce Development Board, said the new campus would feature efficiency and sustainability enhancements that closely align with the company’s mission and values. Among the additions being planned for the campus are electric-vehicle charging stations, drought-tolerant landscaping, solar PV panels, and a vegetable garden that will supply produce to the employee cafeteria, which provides the daily free lunch benefit for employees. Indoor and outdoor collaborative workspaces will also foster greater teamwork, which is core to the company’s culture, according to Jacobs.
Swift Real Estate Partners plans a campus-wide repositioning that will include new campus entry ways, an activity center with sports courts, outdoor collaboration areas, a new indoor workout facility, and revitalizing the 15,600-square-foot café, conference center and courtyard.
CBRE represented both Renovate America and Swift Real Estate Partners in the lease.
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Grossmont Healthcare District Gives
$1 Million to Campo Halth Care Clinic
A new backcountry health care clinic currently under construction in Campo will have $1 million for new medical equipment thanks to the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), an East County regional public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County.
The district’s board of directors approved the grant to Mountain Health & Community Services Inc. for its new health center in Campo to be called Mountain Health Family Medicine.
The award, the largest single community grant in GHD’s history, is planned to cover the purchase of equipment for primary care exams, surgical procedures, dental examinations, X-rays and on-site lab testing, along with other patient care support functions.
“When we hope to start seeing patients in June 2017, our new clinic in Campo will provide comprehensive primary care services to the most medically vulnerable population in rural East County,” said Judith Shaplin, president and CEO of Mountain Health. “This grant from the Grossmont Healthcare District will greatly help us serve low-income and medically underserved residents in the 950-square-mile Mountain Empire region.”
Founded in 1975, Mountain Health operates six federally qualified health centers in Campo, Alpine, Escondido, Santee and San Diego. It also provides health services at several public schools in rural East County communities. In 2016, Mountain Health said it served more than 8,000 patients, many who live at, or below, the federal poverty level, it said.
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Kyle Nageotte Elected Chairman
of California Young Lawyers Association
Kyle W. Nageotte, an associate in the San Diego office of Littler, an employment and labor law practice representing management, has been elected chair of the California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA).
The association advocates for such issues as legislative funding, educational programs and pro bono opportunities for young and new lawyers.
As chair, Nageotte will work with the CYLA board of directors to establish priorities for the year, maintain member programs and services, and act as liaison with various State Bar sections. He previously held the position of vice chair and District 4 representative on the CYLA board.
In his practice, Nageotte represents and advises employers in a broad range of labor and employment law matters. He also serves as co-chair of the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association’s Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony and is a member of the University of San Diego School of Law’s LGBT Alumni Scholarship Committee. He earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and his B.A. from The George Washington University.
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Northrop Grumman Helps Army
Test-Fly Upgraded Blackhawk Helicopter
ExecutiveBiz
Northrop Grumman has collaborated with the U.S. Army and Redstone Defense Systems to conduct the first test flight of a UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter equipped with a digitized cockpit.
Northrop Grumman said Monday it supplied the Integrated Avionics Suite for the UH-60V modernization program, which seeks to replace the older analog gauges of the Army’s UH-60L Black Hawk fleet with digital electronic instrument displays.
Redstone Defense Systems subcontracted Northrop Grumman in 2014 to modernize the cockpit of the Army’s UH-60L Black Hawks.
Northrop noted that the first flight followed a cockpit design and development effort that was completed on schedule within 29 months of the contract award.
UH-60V’s digital cockpit is designed to comply with the Future Airborne Capability Environment standard as well as the Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency’s global air traffic management requirements.
The cockpit works to support the integration of off-the-shelf hardware and software and accommodate upgrades with or without the original equipment manufacturer’s involvement.
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Dinsmore & Shohl to Hold 2017
Employment Law Update March 2
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, a national law firm, will host its 2017 Employment Law Update to educate California employers on new labor and employment laws effective in 2017. The presentation will take place on March 2 at 600 West Broadway in Downtown San Diego. Attendance at the event is complimentary, with registration and breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. The presentation begins at 8 a.m. and is scheduled to last an hour.
Dinsmore Partners Adriana Cara and Joshua Heinlein will host the event and discuss the following new employment laws:
- Changes to the California and city of San Diego minimum wage and paid sick leave laws and how they impact employee compensation as well as the salaried versus hourly classification of employees.
- How recent Ninth Circuit decisions affect the enforceability of employment arbitration agreements.
- Expansion of California’s Fair Pay Act including the dangers of relying exclusively on past salary history to decide pay differentials among employees.
Attendees will receive comprehensive materials and will be provided complimentary parking. To attend, RSVP here.
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North San Diego Business Chamber
To Present 2017 Economic Forecast
The North San Diego Business Chamber, in partnership with Northrop Grumman, will present their annual “State of the Region” economic forecast luncheon Feb. 24 at Sony Electronics in Rancho Bernardo from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
After the keynotes there will be a 15-minute moderated discussion between the three presenters: Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, Rear Adm. Yancy B. Lindsay and Christopher Thornberg, economist and co-founder of Beacon Economics.
Topics will include business challenges and opportunities for 2017, impact of the national election on the local economy, economic forecast for the region and the military impact on the region.
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South Park Chocolatier Wins Food
Network’s ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’
Eclipse Chocolate founder and chocolatier Will Gustwiller won a special “Guy’s Chocolate Games” episode of Guy’s Grocery Games that aired on Food Network last Sunday.
The owner of the South Park chocolate shop and bistro filmed the episode in Santa Rosa in November 2016.
In addition to Gustwiller, contestants included personal chef Steven Oliver of San Diego, corporate chef Lindsay Ontko and Ricardo Trillos of Cao Chocolates in Miami. Judges included Iron Chef judge and cookbook author Domenica Catelli, television personality and San Diego Magazine food critic Troy Johnson and pastry chef and Food Network Star finalist Damiano Carrara.
During the episode, contestants used chocolate to create sweet and savory dishes. Challenges included making lunch using key ingredients of German chocolate cake: dark chocolate, coconut, pecans and maraschino cherries. Gustwiller answered with a cacao glazed pork tenderloin served alongside Chinese long beans with coconut and pecans.
Gustwiller walked away with $16,000 in prize money.
“I want to be America’s first solar-powered, lunar themed chocolate company,” quipped Gustwiller during the episode, as he may decide to put the earnings toward a solar panel for Eclipse Chocolate.
Fans can attend a special Guy’s Grocery Games dinner and viewing party at Eclipse Chocolate on Saturday at 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. This evening is priced at $40 per person and will feature multiple courses, each a recreation of Gustwiller’s recent television appearance.
Personnel Announcements
Lisa Paul-Hill Appointed President and CEO
Of San Diego Metropolitan Credit Union
Lisa Paul-Hill has been appointed the new president and CEO of the San Diego Metropolitan Credit Union, effective April 1. She will succeed the retiring Stan Abrams, who has been at that post since 2010.
Paul-Hill has more than 22 years of experience in the credit union industry — primarily serving within the executive and senior management level with an emphasis in consumer lending. During her career, she spent 18 years in senior management with San Diego County Credit Union and most recently, was a member of the executive team at North Island Credit Union in San Diego and Wescom Credit Union in Anaheim.
Paul-Hill also held several industry volunteer positions, including the boards of Dealertrack Credit Union Advisory and TransUnion Credit Union Advisory.
Paul-Hill earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the University of San Diego and received a full four year academic scholarship.
Brian Frederick Joins McCullough
Landscape Architecture as Associate
Brian Frederick has joined San Diego-based McCullough Landscape Architecture Inc. as an associate landscape designer. Frederick will help the firm with design development, quality control, client relations, document development and staff software support.
Frederick has been a practicing landscape designer for five years, in both large engineering offices as well as smaller traditional landscape architecture firms. He has been responsible for design and construction documentation of many public parks, mixed-use buildings, university campuses, and corporate campus projects in the Southern California area, as well as across the nation.
Prior to joining McCullough Landscape Architecture, Frederick was the director of content and training at Land F/X, headquartered in San Luis Obispo. He has worked as a software designer and independent workflow consultant.
Outside the office, Brian is the founder of San DiFUEGO, a community hot sauce and spicy food club for San Diego home cooks and backyard gardeners.
