Daily Business Report-April 27, 2017
People in Preservation Award winner: the restoration of Horton Plaza Park and the Irving J. Gill Broadway fountain. From left: Kimberly Brewer, Westfield; Jodie Brown, senior planner, city of San Diego Historical Resources; Daniel Kay, Civic San Diego. (Photo by Sandé Lollis)
SOHO to Present 35th Annual
People in Preservation Awards
Save Our Heritage Organisation will celebrate its 35th annual People In Preservation Awards during National Preservation Month with ceremonies on May 18 at the historic Marston House formal gardens. The winners’ accomplishments range from restoring Downtown’s iconic Horton Plaza Park and its signature Irving Gill Fountain to restoring and adapting the decrepit, long vacant Hotel Churchill for affordable housing, and restoring a rare surviving house built by the San Diego Cable Railway Company to promote growth in the 1880s.
Individuals, couples, nonprofit groups, agencies and organizations will be saluted for 10 outstanding preservation projects or exceptional service in San Diego, National City, and Escondido. The awards are for architectural restoration and renovation; creative, adaptive reuse of historic buildings; time-honored craftsmanship; and disseminating preservation news and historic documents through print and electronic media.
The People In Preservation Awards will be presented May 18 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Marston House formal gardens, 3525 Seventh Ave. Tickets are available in advance only and typically sell out. The cost is $55 per person ($45 for SOHO members). Tickets may be purchased online at www.SOHOsandiego.org or by calling (619) 297-9327.
For all the People In Preservation Award winners, click here
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UC San Diego Health Scores an A for
Safety and Quality from Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates quality, safety and transparency in the U.S. health care system, has named UC San Diego Health to its biannual list of hospitals with the highest safety standards in the country. UC San Diego Health hospitals in Hillcrest and La Jolla were among just 823 health care facilities nationwide to receive a grade of A for excellence in safety and quality.
“Hospitals that earn top marks nationally in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade have achieved the highest safety standards in the country,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “That takes commitment from every member of the hospital staff.”
Slightly more than one-third of the 2,639 hospitals surveyed nationwide earned an A grade; 27 percent earned a B; 35 percent a C grade; 6 percent a D grade and less than 1 percent an F grade. In California, 25.1 percent (68 of 271) garnered the top grade.
Last month, Becker’s Hospital Review released its 2017 edition of “100 Great Hospitals in America,” which included UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest. Jacobs Medical Center opened in late-2016.
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State Senate Panel Approves
Universal Health Care Plan
The state Senate Health Committee on Wednesday approved the Healthy California Act, which would cover all California residents with a publicly run plan. The measure, Senate Bill 562, was authored by Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), and Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell).
The Healthy California Act will be heard next by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which Lara chairs. A fiscal study is underway.
The legislation would cover Californians for all medical care, including inpatient, outpatient, emergency care, dental, vision, mental health and nursing home care. It would eliminate co-pays and insurance deductibles.
Californians can choose their doctor from a full list of health care providers.
“The time is right for us to give all Californians the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they and their families will have access to quality health care, no matter who they are, how much money they have or who’s in power in Washington, D.C.,” said Atkins.
To read the full bill, click here
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Cubic to Help Develop Transport Systems
for Australia via Public-Private Consortium
Cubic Corp. is part of a public-private consortium that has received a 10-year, $41.3 million grant from the government of Australia to develop smart transport and mobility technologies.
Cubic said it aims to build multimodal systems intended to help address Australia’s transportation challenges through the iMOVE Cooperative Research Center — a consortium comprised of technology companies, academic institutions and government agencies.
CRC will focus on research and development of technologies designed to reduce congestion, increase freight productivity and improve the passenger experience.
Ian Christensen, bid lead for iMOVE CRC, said the center also seeks to harness the power of big data and engage with local communities to solve traffic problems in Australia.
“Cubic wants to provide a system that gives a holistic, multimodal network view while using big data and predictive analytics to identify where congestion is likely to occur and how we can reduce it,” said Tom Walker, senior vice president and managing director for Asia-Pacific operations of Cubic’s transportation systems unit.
The CRC is being established to help address the growing pressure on Australia’s transportation systems caused by population growth and aging infrastructure. Research and development outcomes are aimed at reducing congestion, enhancing freight productivity and creating a more seamless multimodal travel experience for passengers.
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Downtown Condo Sells for $1.4 Million
A 2,752-square-foot Downtown San Diego condo containing a reception area, four private offices, a conference room and a cubicle area has been sold for $1.4 million. The building, located at 1350 Columbia St. in Little Italy,
has floor to ceiling windows, two elevators and restrooms on each floor. The buyer: CLSKC, LLC. Seller: JMS Investment LLC. Lee & Associates represented the buyer. Jones Lang Lasalle represented the seller.
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Sanford Burnham Prebys Scientist Joins
Forces to Fight Childhood Brain Cancer
Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCIGM) announced that Robert Wechsler-Reya has been named program director for the Joseph Clayes III Research Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics. Wechsler-Reya, a professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, will retain his position as director of the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program at SBP’s NCI-designated Cancer Center and will hold a joint appointment at the Institute for Genomic Medicine.
The Joseph Clayes III Research Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics is applying state-of-the-art sequencing and analysis technologies to each patient’s tumor to establish a profile—a fingerprint—that is used to tailor therapy. This includes rapid whole genome sequencing, RNA sequencing, and epigenetic analysis on every child’s tumor.
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County Supervisors Vote to Boost Recycling
County Supervisors approved several actions to extend the life of local landfills and boost recycling Wednesday. Supervisors voted to aim toward diverting 75 percent of all trash in unincorporated areas away from landfills by recycling more by 2025.
The county, through the trash haulers it contracts with in unincorporated areas, currently diverts, or recycles, 62 percent of all trash away from landfills, exceeding the state’s current 50 percent requirement.
County staff said increasing the county’s diversion rate would accomplish a number of goals: it would help keep up with new state regulations, cut greenhouse gas emissions by diverting methane-creating landscape trimmings and food scraps away from landfills, and reduce the future need for more landfills.
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Housing Commission Partners with
Habitat for Humanity to Help Families
Become Homeowners in Logan Heights
The new construction of 11 townhomes on an empty lot in Logan Heights will create homeownership opportunities for low-income families, who will receive first-time homebuyer loans from the San Diego Housing Commission in a partnership with San Diego Habitat for Humanity.
Among these families is a 34-year-old U.S. Navy veteran and single father, Reyneil, and his three children, ages 13, 7 and 4. They are looking forward to moving into their own home.
“San Diego is a beautiful city. I did four years in the military, and I stayed, so it’s a great achievement to know that I will be able to afford to live here for the rest of my life,” said Reyneil, a driver for a ridesharing company, who will be able to purchase his own townhome at COMM22 Community, the San Diego Habitat for Humanity development that commemorated its groundbreaking on Wednesday.
These townhomes will be built for families earning 50 to 80 percent of San Diego’s Area Median Income, which is currently $42,500 to $68,000 a year for a family of four. San Diego Habitat for Humanity will prequalify all 11 families for homeownership based on income, credit and demonstrated need.
“My parents never owned a home. I’m a first-generation homeowner, and like the families that are going to be owning the homes here, I know that means a lot – it means security, it means opportunity,” said San Diego City Councilmember David Alvarez, who represents San Diego Council District 8, where the townhome development is located.
SDHC is providing first-time homebuyer assistance in the form of 3 percent interest, deferred- payment loans of up to $70,000 each to help low-income families buy the townhomes after they are built.
No payments on these loans are required for 30 years, unless the owner sells or no longer occupies the home as their primary residence.
“This is the way to help first-time homebuyers,” said SDHC Chairman of the Board Frank Urtasun. “This is a great program for people to give them a hand up, and I’m so delighted that we’re going to have 11 families taking advantage of that right here.
These first-time homebuyer loans will be funded by HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to the city of San Diego and administered by SDHC.
In keeping with the hallmark of Habitat for Humanity developments, the adult members of families who will live in these townhomes will enter into “Sweat Equity Agreements” that commit them to 250 hours of volunteer work, such as helping to build their own homes or assisting with Habitat for Humanity events.
In addition, each family is required to contribute a minimum cash investment of $3,000 toward the transaction closing costs.
“At Habitat, we bring people together to build homes, community and hope, and that is what we’re starting out to do today here at COMM22,” said San Diego Habitat for Humanity President & CEO Lori Holt Pfeiler.
When construction is complete, the townhomes will be sold at fair market value to the prequalified families. San Diego Habitat for Humanity finances the first deed mortgage at 0 percent interest, and the mortgage will not exceed 33 percent of the household income.
In addition, each family will receive $15,000 loans from the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership (WISH) Program.
The 11 townhomes will be built in three phases, which are expected to be completed by January 2020.
The development will include:
- Three 1,248-square-foot townhomes with 3 bedrooms and 2 1⁄2 bathrooms.
- Five 1,292-square-foot townhomes with 3 bedrooms and 2 1⁄2 bathrooms.
- Three 1,360-square-foot townhomes with 4 bedrooms and 2 1⁄2 bathrooms.
Each of these new homes will feature a private outdoor space, a garage, and energy-efficient features, such as Energy Star appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and drought-tolerant landscaping.
San Diego Habitat for Humanity will record a 30-year deed restriction against each property, including first right of refusal to repurchase the townhomes to ensure they remain affordable. If they are sold during the affordability term, SDHC will reinvest principal repayments of up to $70,000 per townhome to future borrowers.
The San Diego Unified School District sold the land on which the townhomes will be built to San Diego Habitat for Humanity for $150,000 to make this development possible.
