Daily Business Report-April 5, 2017
A solar panel installation. (Credit: Solar Nation)
San Diego Leads the Nation
in Solar Panel Installations
Environment California Research & Policy Center’s “Shining Cities” report ranked San Diego No. 1 in solar energy capacity nationwide after increasing its solar energy installations over the past year.
According to the report, San Diego has 303 megawatts of installed solar capacity. Researchers said San Diego currently has enough solar capacity to power the equivalent of nearly 76,000 homes. A year ago, the city had 189 megawatts of installed solar capacity, enough to power 47,000 homes.
“San Diego is setting the standard for other cities across the country when it comes to protecting our environment and creating a cleaner future,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. “This new ranking is a testament to the many San Diego residents and businesses harnessing our natural resources as we march toward our goal of using 100 percent renewable energy throughout the city.”
San Diego leads the nation in total installed solar capacity among the 73 cities surveyed in the report, replacing Los Angeles, which had been a national leader for the past three years. San Diego ranked second in the country for solar installations between 2014 and 2016.
Increasing the amount of solar panels used in San Diego will help meet the ambitious goals in the city’s Climate Action Plan, including using 100 percent renewable energy citywide and cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2035.
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40-Story Tower to Replace
California Theatre Downtown
A plan to replace the dilapidated California Theatre building in Downtown San Diego with a 40-story skyscraper was unanimously approved Tuesday by the City Council.
The fenced-off building on C Street between Third and Fourth avenues has long been a civic eyesore, with the exception of a large, historic mural touting the Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana. It will be replaced by a mixed-use development — The Overture — consisting of an office tower, 282 residential units, retail space and parking. The first nine floors will be constructed to closely resemble the theater building’s appearance in its heyday, with some minor differences in materials, said K. Cyrus Sanandaji of San Francisco-based developer Presidio Bay Ventures.
— City News Service
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Council Approves Lease Extension
for Campland on the Bay
The San Diego City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a lease extension for up to five years for Campland on the Bay. The lease extension will enable the popular campground to continue providing waterfront camping accommodations and recreation on Mission Bay while the city finalizes its De Anza Revitalization Plan for the area.
The De Anza planning process will determine future uses in northeast Mission Bay, including the long-term future and location of Campland on the Bay.
All nine council members voted for the extension. Friends of Campland, a local group advocated for a long-term lease solution for Campland and increased access to affordable waterfront accommodations in Mission Bay.
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UCSD Designated as a
Changemaker Campus
The University of California San Diego has been designated as a Changemaker Campus by Ashoka U for its role as a leader in social innovation education. Only 40 universities around the world have received this designation and UC San Diego is the first University of California campus to be recognized.
UC San Diego will join the Changemaker Campus Network — a global network of students, staff, administrators, faculty and community partners who share inspiration, connections and a desire to broaden the reach and impact of social innovation around the world. The recognition is the outcome of an extensive three-year selection process.
Ashoka U is an initiative of Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs. The organization recognizes colleges and universities globally that have embedded social innovation as a core value.
According to Ashoka U officials, students need interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial and solutions-oriented skillsets to succeed in today’s world that changes at a quickening pace.
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The Navy is set to commission the $1.5 billion ship at Naval Base Coronado.
Navy Destroyer Named After
Rafael Peralta to be Commissioned in July
The Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer named posthumously for Marine hero and former San Diego City College student Rafael Peralta is set to be commissioned in Coronado in late July.
Peralta was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Diego, graduating from San Diego’s Morse High School and attending San Diego City College. He later enlisted in the Marine Corps and was killed during the second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 when he grabbed a grenade thrown by insurgents, clutched it to his body, and absorbed the blast to save the lives of his fellow Marines.
Peralta was awarded a Navy Cross for his actions and he is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma.
The Navy took possession of the USS Rafael Peralta on Feb. 3 from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine, and the Navy is set to commission the $1.5 billion ship at Naval Base Coronado.
In fall of 2014, the keel of Rafael Peralta was laid down. The ship was christened October 31, 2015 during a ceremony at the Bath Iron Works facility in Bath, Maine, and then launched on November 1, 2015. The USS Rafael Peralta will be commissioned July 29, 2017. For more information on the commissioning visit peraltacommissioning.org.
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Rehab of Escondido Housing
Project to be Celebrated Today
Community Housing Works officials and residents of Manzanita will celebrate the completion of renovations at the Escondido housing project today at 11 a.m.
“Rents throughout the state continue to rise, making it more and more challenging for families to afford the basics – like food and medicine – making it increasingly important to preserve affordable housing, which is what all of us have achieved at Manzanita,” said CHW’s President and CEO Sue Reynolds.
Originally built in 1977, the combination of large, two-story townhomes and flats make the community a safe home for families with children as well as singles and seniors. However, the regulations that keep the rents affordable for lower income working families were going to expire in 15 years. CHW purchased the property in 2014, extended the affordable rents for 55 years and invested $8.83 million in renovations using low-income housing tax credits, bond financing and funds from the city of Escondido.
CHW included numerous green upgrades during the rehabilitation, including installing energy-efficient windows, a solar photovoltaic system and domestic solar hot water that will reduce utility costs for residents. CHW improved energy efficiency at Manzanita by more than 35 percent.
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SDSU Turns Former Asphalt
Parking Lot into Campus Green
By Tobin Vaughn | SDSU NewsCenter
An inviting new open space for the San Diego State University community is set to emerge from the site of a former asphalt parking lot. Construction fences are set to come down Friday, April 7, to reveal Campus Green, an urban park-like outdoor location featuring benches, grass and lots of trees.
The one-acre tract is the final phase of construction for South Campus Plaza, the $142.7-million mixed-use retail and residential development nearing completion along the west side of College Avenue north of Montezuma Road. Campus Green is designed primarily to serve as outdoor space for nearby high-rise residence hall dwellers.
“With our new buildings there really isn’t any other green space close by,” said Laura Shinn, SDSU director of facilities planning. “We have roof decks for barbecues or hanging out with friends, but we wanted to allow students living in those buildings to have a chance to get out and throw a Frisbee or a football and do something active.”
To accommodate such activity, grass has been planted to cover most of the western side of the site. The area is ringed with drought-tolerant trees such as California sycamores, Canary Island pines, coastal live oak to provide shade, and smaller ornamental varieties of Marina strawberry trees and Eastern redbuds.
“When the trees mature, there will be some decent shade around some of the bench clusters,” Shinn said.
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Personnel Announcements
Cabrillo Credit Union Names New President and CEO
Dean Odle has been named the new president and chief executive officer of Cabrillo Credit Union.
Odle joins Cabrillo Credit Union from Public Service Credit Union, a $2 billion in assets credit union in Lone Tree, Colo. As chief retail officer, he created a nationally recognized Member Success Department and strategy that utilized existing market research and member data to improve member engagement, products per household, and account profitability.
Odle also created a Deposit Strategy Committee that was responsible for developing tactical strategies and promotions, resulting in the growth of branch balances to 204 percent of their goal for the year.
Odle also was executive vice president and senior vice president at another
credit union and has held other management roles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international business from Oregon State University, a master’s degree in marketing from Georgia State University and studied international business and marketing in Tokyo, Japan.
