Daily Business Report-Aug. 7, 2017
The bridge lighting plan developed by international artist Peter Fink. (Courtesy of the Port of San Diego)
San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge
Lighting Project Set to Move Forward
The Board of Port Commissioners on Tuesday will decide whether to proceed with the second phase of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge lighting project with project artist Peter Fink and the California Department of Transportation.
The board will consider the authorization of agreements totaling $486,000 with Fink and Caltrans to start Phase 2 of the lighting project, bringing it closer to the completion target date of 2019. The meeting will be at 1 p.m. at the Port Administration Building, 3165 Pacific Highway.
Designed by internationally recognized artist Fink and his team, the lighting concept was selected through a worldwide competition in 2010. Illuminating the bridge celebrates a recognized San Diego landmark while creating a distinctive and timeless signature artwork for the region.
The project is being managed through a partnership between the Port of San Diego and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and will be entirely funded through donations. The Port is leading the fundraising campaign to raise $10 million to bring the project to completion by the target date of 2019.
The team envisions the bridge as a nautical gateway that celebrates the region. They envision illumination of the outer deck and pillars with programmable lighting. By using a color changing LED lighting system, an infinite number of lighting scenarios could be created and displayed. Their concept meets the key goals for the project including artistic lighting that would create a sense of place, draw people to the region and withstand the test of time.
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Maritime Museum Awarded $200,000
to Preserve Historic Steam Ferry Berkeley
The Maritime Museum of San Diego, home to one of the world’s finest collections of historic vessels, including the world’s oldest active sailing vessel Star of India, has been awarded $200,000 in preservation project funding from the National Maritime Heritage Grant Program to preserve the 1898 steam ferry Berkeley.
Steam ferry Berkeley, one of the fewest of its type still in existence, represents the transition to steam-powered propulsion, with its triple-expansion engine. Berkeley provided service between Oakland and San Francisco for nearly 60 years, including her role in evacuating thousands of San Francisco residents at the time of the great earthquake in 1906. The ship is both a State and National Historic Landmark, and received the Steamship Historical Society’s “Steamship of the Year” award in 2015.
Berkeley received a prestigious Save America’s Treasures preservation award in 2011, which funded what was then a revolutionary preservation technique adapted from the offshore oil industry to coat the entire exposed outer surface of Berkeley’s hull with a ceramic/epoxy composite to eliminate further corrosion. Fifteen years out, the museum confirms this ground-breaking process proved successful, and subsequently has been used on other metal-hulled historic vessels in the museum’s fleet and throughout the United States.
Over the last three years, in consultation with naval architects and experts in the preservation of historic vessels, the Maritime Museum used National Maritime Heritage Grant resources to undertake a major project to replace all the weather decks on Star of India to ensure that she will be preserved for future generations. Today when visitors view these gleaming decks, they must look much as they did on the day of her launching in 1863.
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Stos Partners Acquires Chula Vista
Multi-Tenant Property for $13.5 Million
Stos Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment and management firm, has acquired a 170,805-square-foot, two building multi-tenant industrial project in Chula Vista for $13.45 million.
The company said the property is widely considered desirable by private and institutional investors due to its size, location and mix of local and national tenants from many industries.
“This is one of the most sought-after opportunities in the region, and we were able to acquire it at a price that many would think was not possible,” says Jason Richards, a Partner at Stos Partners. “Our investment platform is centered on identifying well-located office and industrial assets with a value-add component.”
The project is currently 100 percent occupied by a mix of local and national credit tenants in various industries, including manufacturing, medical supply and distribution, as well as defense.
Stos Partners plans to update and modernize the property and its image, including new landscaping, exterior paint, signage and roofs, as well as an updated parking lot.
The property is located at 1670-1690 Brandywine Ave. Voit Real Estate Services represented Stos Partners as the buyer, as well as the seller, a private family.
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Record Year for Medical Meetings
at the San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is in the middle of a record-breaking year for hosting medical meetings, with 21 being the highest number of medical events contracted in a calendar year. These events account for 53 percent of the convention center’s estimated $1.1 billion regional impact for 2017.
Medical meetings are a core component of the San Diego Convention Center’s business model, as highlighted in this infographic.
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Students Developing Low-Cost Device
for Monitoring HIV Levels Win Competition
A team of UC San Diego students is working to help curb the HIV epidemic by developing a low-cost device for people in low-resource areas to monitor the amount of HIV virus in their bloodstream. They recently took first place in the National Academy of Engineering 2017 Global Grand Challenges Summit business plan competition.
The team will use the $25,000 in prize money to help them translate their research to the clinic as part of a public benefit corporation they recently created called Worldcare Technologies.
The 2017 Global Grand Challenges Summit is the third in a collaborative series sponsored by the US National Academy of Engineering, the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
