Daily Business Report-March 6, 2017
Rendering of Carlsbad Village Lofts, scheduled for completion in 2019. (Courtesy of AVRP Skyport Studios)
Carlsbad City Council Approves
106-Unit Carlsbad Village Lofts
Carlsbad Village Lofts, Gerber Group’s planned development of 106 apartments and 9,500 square feet of retail space, has received unanimous approval from the Carlsbad City Council.
Gerber Group founder Evan Gerber said the mixed-use project will revitalize a gateway parcel to Carlsbad Village with market-rate and affordable housing, ground floor retail, public plaza space, and a new pedestrian-friendly street connecting Carlsbad Village Drive to Grand Avenue. “The development will become a signature project for the city of Carlsbad and a regional model for smart, sustainable growth,” said Gerber.
Carlsbad Village Lofts will be located at 1044 Carlsbad Village Drive and occupy a 2.23-acre parcel currently home to a Denny’s restaurant. Sixteen of the apartments will be designated as affordable. Common area amenities will include a fitness center, a rooftop terrace with vegetable gardens, dining areas, barbecue areas, and a communal conference room.
The project also has secured bike storage; electric vehicle charging stations; priority parking for low and zero emission vehicles; transportation screens that will broadcast up-to-date times for Coaster, Amtrak, and bus and rideshare programs like Uber; close proximity to public transportation; and newer energy-efficient building systems. The project has been acknowledged by the US Green Building Council as a model for sustainable growth, and is estimated to be complete in mid-2019.
“Carlsbad Village Lofts will transform a blighted site into an invigorated place that encourages walkability and bikability. We are creating a more comfortable and interesting street façade with improved and widened sidewalks, a public plaza, new lighting, and new landscaping. The project is a perfect fit for the activated, cultural center that is Carlsbad Village,” said Doug Austin, founder and CEO of AVRP Skyport Studios, kthe project architect.
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Adding some Swag to your life
Attendees of San Diego Women’s Week will get a lot of takeaways from the week-long event. Along with the feeling of inspiration, sense of empowerment and a positive connection comes a Swag Bag!
First 400 Monday attendees will receive a swag bag with surprise goodies from sponsors while first 400 Friday Inspiration Conference attendees will receive a luxury swag bag with a signed copy of Sallie Krawcheck’s book Own It — The Power of Women at Work.
To know more visit www.SDWomensWeek.com.
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Study Says Best Time to Sell a
San Diego Home is Early April
A new study by the online real estate company Zillow finds that the best time to sell a home in San Diego is the first two weeks of April.
The study compared the best time to list a home for sale in the top metropolitan areas across the United States.
For San Diego, homes listed in the period April 1 to 15 sold 13 days faster and at a 1.3 percent premium. Saturday was identified as the ideal day to list.
A little farther north in Los Angeles, the best time to list is a Friday between April 16 and 30, with the average home selling 15 days faster at a slightly lower 1.0 percent premium.
Weather patterns affect the best window to sell in different areas. Sellers in sunny Arizona, Texas, California and Florida have more flexibility in the listing timeframe, according to Zillow.
Nationally, the best time to list is May 1 to 15, when homes sell around nine days faster and for nearly 1 percent more than the average listing.
The company said 2017 is likely to be a sellers market because of a slightly lower inventory of homes for sale.
“With 3 percent fewer homes on the market than last year, 2017 is shaping up to be another competitive buying season,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “Many home buyers who started looking for homes in the early spring will still be searching for their dream home months later.”
“By May, some buyers may be anxious to get settled into a new home — and will be more willing to pay a premium to close the deal,” she noted.
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SDSU Hosts Kyoto Prize
Symposium Winner
As part of this year’s Kyoto Prize Symposium, San Diego State University will host Takeo Kanade, who received the 2016 Kyoto Prize — Japan’s highest private award for global achievement — in the area of Advanced Technology.
Kanade has made fundamental contributions to basic theories of computer vision and has introduced a series of innovative applied technologies. He currently conducts research in the areas of computer vision, facial recognition, virtual reality and medical robotics.
Kanade’s lecture is titled on “Fun Research in Computer Vision and Robotics: Think like an Amateur, Do as an Expert.”
The event is scheduled from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, in Montezuma Hall of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Students Union. It is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.
Kanade’s 1973 Ph.D. thesis was one of the earliest writings on facial recognition technology. He also led the NAVLAB Autonomous Driving Project, which developed many of the components for vision-based autonomous driving still used today. Kanade said one of his most cherished accomplishments is his work on the EyeVision system.
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San Diego County Jobless Rate
Jumps to 4.8 Percent in January
San Diego County’s unemployment rate increased from 4.1 percent in December to 4.5 percent in January, but remained below the year-ago rate of 4.8 percent, the state Employment Development Department reported.
“The January losses are seasonal,” said Phil Blair, executive officer of Manpower Staffing/San Diego. “However, there is a bigger message here. As we all know, retail is changing and people need to be proactive now. If you are concerned your job may go away, take action and get career guidance and training before it hits you.”
The 4.5 percent unemployment rate falls below the highest January unemployment rate (11.1 percent in 2010) but remains higher than the lowest January unemployment rate experienced in the region over the last 10 years (4.4 percent in 2007).
Financial Activities was the only sector to record a month-over gain, adding 200 jobs. Nine sectors reported month-over job losses. Trade, Transportation & Utilities experienced the largest month-over employment losses with 8,200 jobs. Nearly eighty percent of the losses in this sector came from Retail Trade (down 6,500), due to transitioning seasonal holiday workers. Losses in Leisure & Hospitality (down 3,900) also followed post-holiday trends, with 2,700 of those jobs coming from Accommodation and Food Services. Losses were also seen in Government (3,200 jobs) and Educational & Health Services (2,100 jobs), while Construction, Other Services and Professional & Business Services each lost 500 jobs.
Between January 2016 and January 2017, Government experienced the greatest year-over gain, adding 7,300 jobs to the region. Most of this growth was due to gains in local government, concentrated in local education. Other industries that showed increases in the thousands included Leisure & Hospitality (5,500 jobs), Educational & Health Services (4,800 jobs), Financial Activities (4,000 jobs), Construction (3,500 jobs), Trade, Transportation & Utilities (3,000 jobs), Other Services (2,300 jobs) and Professional & Business Services (2,000 jobs).
Information was the only sector to experienced a year-over loss with a decrease of 300 jobs.
Despite month-over losses in nine sectors, San Diego County continues to experience year-over gains in a majority of sectors (nine total). Additionally, San Diego’s unemployment rate of 4.5 percent remains lower than the California rate of 5.5 percent.
