Daily Business Report-May 3, 2017
Image from the VetPowered website. VetPowered is one of the businesses honored Tuesdy by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
San Diego Regional Chamber Presents
Five Small Business Awards for 2017
The San Diego Regional Chamber presented the 2017 Small Business Awards to five local businesses during its annual Small Business Awards Expo and Mixer on Tuesday.
The 2017 Small Business Awards winners are:
ElderHelp of San Diego – Winner of the Bill Trumpfheller Social Impact award for companies and nonprofits who are dedicated to helping others and making a positive impact.
ElderHelp is enhancing the golden years for seniors throughout San Diego by providing no-cost programs and services to seniors in need, improving their physical and mental health through socialization, recreation activities, care coordination, and improved access to health care.
Online Trading Academy – Winner of the Industry Game-Changer award for companies paving the way in creative forward-thinking and innovation.
Online Trading Academy took a new approach to an age old industry and through its patented visual investing approach has taught more than 250,000 the true skills of Wall Street professionals.
Pro Back Office LLC – Winner of the Young Entrepreneur award for companies founded and run by young professionals. The founder of professional services firm Pro Back Office started at a very young age setting high standards for herself and has continually built on that mentality through job loss and financial downturn to create a successful company forecasting a 40 to 50 percent increase in revenue for 2017.
VetPowered – Winner of the Vets Success award for companies owned by veterans or prioritizing the hiring of veterans. Owned and operated by a 15-year combat veteran, VetPowered is a manufacturing design, maintenance, and repair firm committed to supporting veterans and transitioning service members that also provides profits and resources to Workshops for Warriors – a nonprofit school that prepares veterans and wounded warriors for advanced manufacturing careers.
Southern Cross Property Consultants – winner of the Customer Service Star award for companies with exemplary customer service. The sole focus of construction management firm Southern Cross Property Consultants is protecting the clients’ interests throughout construction. This customer-centric vision has garnered the company a tremendous following as they attribute over 80 percent of their work to referral or repeat business.
___________________
County Supervisors Presented With
Proposed $5.7 Billion Budget
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday was presented with a proposed county budget of $5.7 billion for the fiscal year starting on July 1 — an increase of 6.2 percent or $330 million over the current fiscal year.
Public hearings for the proposed budget will begin June 12 and budget deliberations are set for June 27. Final adoption of the plan is scheduled for Aug. 1.
The plan offers more help for troubled youth, the growing aging population and seriously mentally ill people who are chronically homeless. The budget also calls for improving current services, regional public safety, roads, and renovating or replacing old, outdated facilities to better serve members of the public.
For highlights of the proposed budget, click here.
___________________
Supervisors OK Funds for Two
Affordable Housing Developments
The Board of Supervisors approved spending $4.5 million towards the construction of two affordable housing developments consisting of 143 units. Those units, combined with an additional 118 units of Section 8 housing, will result in the creation of 261 new affordable housing apartments in the County.
The Grove is a $27 million development in the City of Vista, which includes $2.7 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME Investment Partnership funds and 24 Section 8 vouchers. The 81 apartments will be for very low and low-income seniors 55 and older. The development will also include energy-efficient design elements such as drought-tolerant landscaping and solar panels.
The Ramona Senior Apartments, in the unincorporated area of Ramona, will consist of 62 affordable units for low-income seniors 55 and older earning no more than 60 percent of the Area Median Income: that is, $35,700 for one person and $52,900 for two people. The $19 million development will include $1.84 million in HOME funds and 61 Section 8 vouchers. The apartments will also incorporate a variety of energy-efficient design elements.
___________________
USD Triumphs with First NAIOP
University Challenge Victory
A student team from University of San Diego Burnham Moores Center for Real Estate scored their school its first win at NAIOP San Diego’s 7th annual University Challenge last week at Enclave Sorrento.
The USD student team, comprised of Gwendolyn Walter, Danielle Priore, Alexander Splinter, Forrest Greenwalt, Demarco Duran and Anh Nguyen, presented their development plan for the selected site in downtown’s Civic/Core District, and beat out the teams from University of California at San Diego Department of Urban Studies and Planning and San Diego State University Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate.
Titled The Quartz, the USD project is a mixed-use solution, supporting future needs for housing, retail, office and park space. According to the proposal, “Every facet of The Quartz has the millennial in mind in its creation, to draw in the largest demographic in Downtown San Diego.”
The USD team’s staff advisers were Charles Tu, Stath Karras and John Ferber. The 7th Annual University Challenge was moderated and organized by committee leaders Charlie Abdi, Gary Katz and Chris Pascale.
___________________
Reading Cinemas to Unveil
Giant Theater Screen in La Mesa
Reading Cinemas at Grossmont Center in La Mesa will unveil its TITAN
Extreme Cinema on Friday, coinciding with the release of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
One of the center theater’s largest auditorium was redesigned to include a giant screen — more than 55 feet wide and 31 feet tall.
Tickets for the TITAN XC are $10 all day, every day for guests of all ages. A new reserved seating program also is available. Guests can reserve their seats online in advance by visiting ReadingCinemasUS.com.
___________________
AT&T Says it Invested Nearly 700 Million
to Enhance Local Networks in San Diego
AT&T said it has invested nearly $700 million in its San Diego wireless and wired networks during 2014-2016, including capacity expansions for such special events as the Del Mar races, Comic-Con, annual air show at Miramar and events in Downtown San Diego.
In 2016, the company made more than 1,000 wireless network upgrades in the San Diego area, including new cell sites, boosting network capacity and new wireless high-speed Internet connections, the company said.
“We’re investing to provide fast, reliable, highly secure connectivity. We want customers to have internet access at any moment, from almost any device — anywhere,” said Ignacio De La Torre, area vice president of external affairs at AT&T. “These continued investments bring San Diego County residents and businesses a host of new opportunities.”
___________________
Startup Finds San Diego as 12th
Most Expensive City for Renters
A San Francisco-based company that touts itself as a “wildly ambitious startup” tackling the issue of finding homes for renters has released its latest study that finds San Diego’s rental properties are the 12th most expensive in the U.S.
In its May 2017 National Rent Report, Zumper Inc. reported the median monthly rental price of a one-bedrom apartment in San Diego is $1,590; a two-bedroom is pegged at $2,160.
San Diego’s median prices fall below obvious high-rent cities such as San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Boston, but the rates are also slightly lower than rentals in Seattle and Oakland, according to the study.
The study does not use median household incomes as part of its calculations.
Looking for a low-rent city? The monthly going rate for a one-bedroom in Toledo, Ohio is $480; expect to shell out $580 a month for a two-bedroom, the study finds.
___________________
