Daily Business Report-Feb. 6, 2017
The Valley Corporate Center in Mission Valley is one of the properties acquired by Casey Brown Company.
Casey Brown Company Acquires
San Diego Office Properties for $77 Million
San Diego-based Casey Brown Company, the firm that paid $52 million in 2015 for property belonging to the San Diego Union-Tribune in Mission Valley, has acquired three office properties in central San Diego for $77 million.
The properties are located in Kearny Mesa, Mission Valley and Old Town and total 328,943 square feet.
Chesapeake Park Plaza at 9665 Chesapeake Drive in the Kearny Mesa submarket totals 92,321 square feet. The curvilinear, glass-lined building is leased primarily to engineering, consulting, law, technology and real estate firms.
Valley Corporate Center, a 12-story, 176,132-square-foot office tower, is located at 591 Camino De La Reina in Mission Valley and is leased to law firms, financial and insurance services companies, technology and defense contractors, medical and health service providers, as well as government entities.
Old Town Plaza is a two-building creative-office project located at 2251 San Diego Ave. in Old Town totaling 60,490 square feet and is leased to marketing, design and consulting firms, and healthcare providers.
The seller was Peregrine Realty, a West Coast-based commercial real estate firm founded in 2009.
CBRE represented the seller on Chesapeake Park Plaza and Valley Corporate Center. NAI San Diego represented the seller on Old Town Plaza.
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California Commercial
Real Estate Boom Continues
In a report titled “The Trump Slump That Wasn’t,” economists with the UCLA Anderson Forecast say commercial real estate remains strong throughout California.
“Given that California went heavily for Hillary Clinton, expectations ought to have changed for the worse,” said Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist with the forecast. “Yet, the Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast survey, taken entirely after the election, shows no such discernible change.”
“In part — perhaps large part — this may be due to the upward bump in consumer confidence and stock prices and in part because the regulatory environment in California is not likely to change much,” he added.
However, Nickelsburg said the natural cycle in commercial real estate appears to be running its course with a gradual softening ahead.
“While the outlook for 2017 may look relatively good, the strong move towards online shopping, higher interest rates, a continued redefinition of the office environment and the dropping of fertility rates all transcend the election and the near term outlook as driving factors in commercial real estate,” he said.
For the San Diego area, the report indicated optimism in every category except multi-family residential, and showed particular optimism for retail developments.
Among the other findings released this past week:
- The latest survey provides continued evidence of a new topping out in the office market space.
- While there have been limited new building permits for homes, California has been overbuilding high-end, multi-family housing.
- The building boom in industrial space — fed by growth in e-commerce — should continue through at least 2019.
- The trend in retail space is toward “experience shopping,” with many retailers in old-line outlets reporting flat-to-negative sales.
The forecast is based on polling a panel of California real estate professionals in the development and investment markets on various aspects of the commercial real estate market.
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Port Invites Public to Workshop
On North Embarcadero Improvements
The Port of San Diego is inviting the public to comment on future improvements to the North Embarcadero in Downtown San Diego at a Feb. 16 workshop in the Port Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway.
The workshop is from 6 to 8 p.m.
The Port is exploring circulation alternatives on North Harbor Drive, from Laurel Street to G Street, with the goal of achieving the right balance of vehicle and pedestrian traffic, parking and public space to further improve the waterfront.
The workshop will provide the public with the opportunity to participate in small group discussions led by the Port of San Diego to solicit feedback on potential alignment alternatives for North Harbor Drive.
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Shawne Merriman Sues Sportswear Company
Over Its Use of ‘Lights Out’ Trademark
Former San Diego Chargers player and current businessman Shawne Merriman and his company, Lights Out Holdings LLC, has sued sportswear manufacturer Under Armour for trademark infringement and four other counts in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
According to the complaint, Under Armour had reached a settlement with Merriman and Lights Out Holdings in a trademark infringement dispute less than two years ago in March 2015. The previous dispute also involved the well-known Lights Out brand.
According to the complaint, since at least October 2016, Under Armour marketed its new athletic footwear line using professional basketball player Stephen Curry and the name “Curry 3 Lights Out.” Numerous athletic footwear blogs posted about “Curry 3 Lights Out” shoes. The suit notes that Under Armour has also promoted a “Lights Out” game for use on mobile devices.
Lights Out Holdings own the federally registered trademark for “Lights Out.” which also was Merriman’s nickname during his NFL career.
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Cubic Awarded $1.1 Million Contract
Extension from University of Maryland
Cubic Transportation Systems, a business unit of Cubic Corporation, has been awarded a $1.1 million, five-year contract extension from the University of Maryland (UMD) to upgrade its NextBus fleet management system.
UMD’s current smart bus fleet features approximately 80 buses with extensive NextBus hardware capabilities, including GPS-based trackers, driver control units and automatic vehicle location, which informs riders of the place and time of their buses’ arrivals.
Under the contract extension, Cubic will enhance UMD’s smart bus offering by providing university transit staff with features such as automatic passenger counting, automatic voice annunciation and “turn-by-turn” directions.
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UCSD Among Top Schools
For Student Upward Mobility
A study reported by the New York Times names the University of California San Diego as one of the best colleges in the country for providing upward social mobility to diverse students across California and the U.S. Among highly selective public universities, UC San Diego has the highest population of low-income students, and with a degree from the campus, these students have a high probability of thriving in the middle class and beyond. “The median family income of a student from UC San Diego is $82,000,” the Times stated.
The new study, based on millions of anonymous tax records, is designed to show that some colleges are more economically segregated than previously understood, while others, such as UC San Diego, are associated with income mobility.
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San Diego County Bar Foundation
Announces New Executive Committee
San Diego County Bar Foundation Announces New Executive Committee
The San Diego County Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the San Diego County Bar Association, has announced its new 2017 executive committee to oversee its board of directors: Micaela Banach, president; Neal Rockwood, vice president; Dave Kempton, chief financial officer; Laurie Largent, secretary; and Brent Douglas, immediate past president.
Micaela Banach is a founding partner of Noonan Lance Boyer & Banach LLP.
Neal Rockwood is a founding partner at Rockwood & Noziska, LLP.
Dave Kempton is regional director of OneAmerica Retirement Services.
Laurie Largent is a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.
Brent Douglas is an attorney at Mintz Levin.
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Navy Decommissions Its First
Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier
The aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise was decommissioned during a ceremony held in the ship’s hangar bay, Feb. 3. The ceremony in Newport News, Va., not only marked the end the ship’s nearly 55-year career, it also served as the very first decommissioning of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Capt. Todd Beltz, commanding officer of the Enterprise, addressed the ship’s company, former commanding officers and visitors and spoke of where the true spirit of “The Big E” comes from.
“For all that Enterprise represents to this nation, it’s the people that bring this ship to life,” said Beltz. “So as I stand in this ship that we all care so much about, I feel it’s appropriate to underscore the contributions of the thousands of sailors and individuals that kept this ship alive and made its reputation. We are ‘The Big E’.”
Enterprise was the eighth naval vessel to carry the name. It was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Co. and was christened Sep. 24, 1960, by Bertha Irene Franke, wife of former Secretary of the Navy William B. Franke. The ship was put to sea in 1961 and safely steamed more than 1 million nautical miles on nuclear power over its entire career of more than 50 years.
