Daily Business Report-Oct. 13, 2017
Portside Pier rendering (Courtesy of The Brigantine Inc.)
Brigantine Gets Nod from Port
for Development of Portside Pier
The Board of Port Commissioners has approved a 40-year lease with The Brigantine, Inc. for its Portside Pier restaurant development at 1360 North Harbor Drive, one of Southern California’s flagship waterfront sites. The location is part of San Diego’s North Embarcadero.
The Brigantine will invest more than $14 million to develop Portside Pier, a two-story structure over the water featuring four dining concepts. Portside Pier will offer fresh seafood at Brigantine on the Bay, authentic Mexican flavors at Miguel’s Cocina, pub fare at Ketch Grill & Taps, and walk-up service at Portside Gelato and Coffee. In addition to offering a variety of food options at different price points, Portside Pier will increase public access to the waterfront with a second level viewing deck, a second level perimeter walkway along the water’s edge and an extended dock and dine to accommodate up to twelve vessels.
The Port selected The Brigantine’s restaurant redevelopment concept for this site in November 2015 after a competitive public process, as part of the Port’s efforts to promote quality development to enhance San Diego’s world-class destination. The Port lease allows the project to move forward. The existing building on the site will be demolished, and construction by The Brigantine is anticipated to begin in April 2018.
Once completed, Portside Pier is anticipated to generate more than $1.1 million in annual rent to the Port. The Port is self-funded. Revenues generated by tenants like The Brigantine, along with other real estate and maritime revenues, are reinvested into the Port’s 22 parks, public improvement projects, redevelopment projects, Harbor Police and more on San Diego Bay and the surrounding waterfront.
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San Diego Startups See Boost
in Venture Capital Funding
San Diego start-ups saw an uptick in the amount of venture capital raised during the third quarter — thanks to a $114 million mega-deal by Brain Corp., a maker of self-driving robots that clean floors in supermarkets and other large buildings. Brain Corp’s funding, led by SoftBank Vision Fund, was the largest single amount of venture money raised by a San Diego start-up this year. It helped boost the total amount of money raised in the region — masking the ongoing issue of fewer start-ups getting funded. Venture Monitor reported 39 San Diego area companies raised $426 million in the third quarter. That compares with 58 companies raising $327 million for the same quarter in the year earlier. — San Diego Union Tribune
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Construction Completed on New Restaurant
and Bar at Downtown’ Kimpton Hotel Palomar
Completion of the new restaurant and bar in the Kimpton Hotel Palomar on Fifth Ave. Downtown was announced by Ware Malcom a design firm, the architect of record for the project.
The project involved the two-story renovation of the restaurant and bar on the first floor of the Hotel Palomar, as well as an open space designed for a combination of private dining, a game room, and a lounge area on the second floor mezzanine level.
The Hotel Palomar’s new restaurant concept, named Curadero, serves Mexican street food. The second floor Arriba Room features a late-night taco window, vintage arcade games, foosball, shuffleboard, and other activities
The project was a collaboration with Studio Unltd, the Interior Designer based in Los Angeles. The general contractor for the project was RSM2. JLL was the owner’s representative and project manager on behalf of Kimpton Hotel Palomar.
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San Diego and Spain UAV Firms
Form New Tech Partnership
Unmanned Aerial
Madrid-based Alpha Unmanned Systems (AUS) has announced a new technology partnership with Planck Aerosystems of San Diego.
Planck Aerosystems is a drone technology company focused on use cases involving moving vehicles, such as workboats and trucks. Planck, which serves government agencies and industrial maritime operators, has selected the Alpha 800 from AUS as its preferred unmanned helicopter. The gasoline-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is particularly resistant to wind and rain and has a flight duration of 2.5 hours, says AUS.
“The Alpha 800 helicopter platform fits well with our technology. Its range and flight autonomy can map ocean spills, help with emergency rescues and be applied to many other uses,” states Josh Wells, CEO of Planck.
When the Alpha 800 helicopter gets close to a ship, thanks to updated GPS coordinates sent by Planck software, its camera detects the landing pad and automatically guides the autopilot to land the aircraft. The Planck technology also provides real-time situational awareness and object detection and tracking.
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Port Selects Contractor for First Phase
of Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal Project
The Port of San Diego has selected Dick Miller, Inc. of San Marcos, a $12.3 million contractor, to begin work on the first phase of the Port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal Redevelopment Project. It’s the first of three contract packages under Phase 1 of the redevelopment project, with work anticipated to begin in November and completion estimated for spring of 2020.
Phase 1 is also referred to as the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal Modernization Project and is a major public works project to make the terminal more modern, clean and efficient. The federal government has recognized the importance of modernizing the terminal with a $10 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Port will match the grant with a $14 million contribution for a combined budget of $24 million.
The Port and Dick Miller Inc. will be holding two community meetings regarding potential job opportunities. Details will be announced at a later date.
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Personnel Announcements
MTS Hires Ken Nelson as Taxicab Administration Manager
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has hired long-time San Diego county Sheriff Lieutenant Ken Nelson to oversee the region’s largest taxicab system. In his new role as taxicab administration manager, Nelson will oversee the day-to-day administration of taxicab operations in the cities of El Cajon, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Diego and Santee.
“Ken will manage the permitting and regulation enforcement for nearly 1,000 taxis in operation. His background in law enforcement is a good fit for the position,” said Paul Jablonski, MTS chief executive officer. “The position requires steady leadership and an understanding of regulatory compliance. Ken brings this experience to the table.”
MTS has been administering the region’s taxicab regulations since the 1980’s and has a team of 14 employees under Nelson to handle the workload. The two primary functions of the system are reviewing all new and renewing permit applications and conducting physical inspections of taxis.
Nelson worked at the Sheriff’s Department for 30 years prior to joining MTS. During his tenure, he was appointed to the FBI’s National Cyber Investigation Joint Task Force, created the Sheriff’s Cyber Financial Crime Unit and chaired California’s Terrorism Liaison Officer Program. Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Union Institute & University.
