Daily Business Report-April 27, 2018
SDSU’s proposed multi-use stadium rendering. (Credit: Populous)
San Diego State University Unveils Plans
for an NFL Stadium in Mission Valley
San Diego State University on Thursday revealed additional details on a plan for a multi-use stadium in Mission Valley that could serve as a future home of a San Diego National Football League franchise.
SDSU Athletic Director John David Wicker, who presented the plan to media members, showed images and provided specifics on how the proposed 35,000-seat stadium at the site could morph into a 55,000-seat facility for the NFL.
By working with Populous and JMI Sports from the outset, SDSU’s proposed Mission Valley stadium would offer a future San Diego NFL owner the opportunity to partner on a state-of-the-art professional football stadium in the center of San Diego.
Regardless of when an NFL franchise returns to San Diego in the future, a professional football tenant would also be able to utilize the west side of the proposed SDSU multi-use stadium that would result in a significant savings to construction costs.
Among the details released about the potential stadium expansion for an NFL team was a perforated aluminum panel exterior, influenced by the sailboats found in San Diego harbor. This feature would provide those looking from the outside with dynamic color changes throughout the day, while dynamic LED lighting would draw attention to the state-of-the-art facility at night.
The stadium interior would feature more than 82 suites, including field level, lower bowl sideline and upper sidelines, five different club sections (totaling approximately 6,500 seats), 50 loge boxes with lounge access, two end zone party decks and six exterior balconies, providing fans in San Diego unparalleled methods to enjoy games, concerts and a wide variety of events.
Today’s news follows the announcements last November, when the university released a detailed plan for the entire Mission Valley site, as well as a multi-use 35,000-seat stadium that would be the home for Aztec football.
The 35,000-seat multi-use stadium would house the Aztec football team and would be configured to host professional soccer events immediately. Situated in the northwest corner of the site, the stadium would serve as host to numerous other community and sporting events as well.
The stadium is being designed by Populous, a global architecture and design firm that has designed more than 2,000 projects over the last 30 years, including Yankee Stadium, the London Olympics and the Super Bowl.
The stadium is just one facet of a larger campus expansion that would include housing for upper-division and graduate-level students, as well as provide work-force and low-income housing.
The site also would feature approximately 90,000 square feet of retail space, located near the stadium, which would be appropriately scaled to support game day activities, but also serve residents, employees, students and visitors during non-game days.
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San Diego’s First LGBT-Affirming
Housing Development Opening Today
The first LGBT-affirming senior housing community in San Diego — North Park Seniors — will host an opening celebration for residents and the public on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. The complex, developed by Community Housing Works, is located at 4305 University Ave.
The community is the first LGBT-affirming property in San Diego and one of the first of its kind in the nation. The distinction means that North Park Seniors is welcoming to all seniors, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or other protected class status.
North Park Seniors is Community Housing Works’first mixed- income development, featuring a 76-home affordable senior apartment building on the northwest corner of Texas Street and Howard Avenue and a 118-home market-rate multifamily building on the northeast corner that will be developed by Alliance Residential.
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Scripps Research team Receives $7.5M in Grants
for Studies on Cocaine, Oxycodone Addiction
To get to the roots of why some people are more prone to drug addiction than others, researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are launching a pair of studies on genetic factors behind oxycodone and cocaine addiction and treatment.
In support of the research, the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded the Scripps Research team two separate grants totaling $7.5 million. The five-year grants will allow the researchers, led by Olivier George, associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Research, to combine next-generation sequencing with state-of-the-art behavioral screening in a unique, genetically diverse, nonhuman animal model of drug addiction, and screen genetically diverse rats for their propensity for drug addiction and create shared tissue banks for researchers around the world to use in addiction studies.
For the studies, George’s group is collaborating with the lab of Leah Catherine Solberg Woods at Wake Forest University, who will breed the rats, and the lab of Abraham Palmer at the University of California, San Diego, who will genotype the animals. The behavioral testing and biobanking will be completed at Scripps Research.
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Invesco Real Estate Obtains $80 Million
Loan to Acquire Mission Valley Apartment
Invesco Real Estate has secured an $80 million loan to finance the acquisition and full redevelopment of a 344-unit, mid-rise apartment project known as Bella Posta Apartments in Mission Valley.
The loan was secured by the Sares Regis Multifamily Value Add Fund II, L.P., as sponsor, which is an affiliate of Sares Regis Group, a multi-family owner/operator/developers in the West. As part of the project, the fund plans a complete renovation and upgrade to the residence interiors including the full modernization and re-envisioning of exteriors, common areas and amenities.
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Dermtreat Establishes North
American Headquarters in San Diego
Dermtreat, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on mucosal diseases, has appointed Nishan de Silva, M.D., as chief executive officer. Dermtreat has established its North American headquarters in San Diego as it prepares to advance its Rivelin technology into late-stage clinical trials for oral lichen planus. Dermtreat’s founder ,Jens Hansen, continues as president, research and development, overseeing the company’s Denmark-based operations.
Dermtreat will enter Phase 2b clinical trials in mid-2018 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Rivelin Clobetasol, a proprietary mucosal patch to treat the autoimmune disease oral lichen planus. The condition is marked by chronic inflammation that causes painful, swollen lesions in the mucosal tissue and gums inside the mouth. It occurs when the patient’s immune system mounts an attack against cells of the oral mucous membranes, and increases risk of developing mouth cancer if not treated adequately. There are currently no treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Defor oral lichen planus.
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MTS Awarded $41 Million from State
for Zero-Emission Buses, Trolley Improvements
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has been awarded $40.9 million from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) provided through Senate Bill 1 and from the proceeds of the Cap and Trade program which will help modernize the MTS system, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve safety.
“This is a highly competitive grant program.This grant funding will help our efforts to maintain a solid state-of-good repair and introduce zero-emissions buses to the market,” said MTS Chief Executive Officer Paul Jablonski. “It will also help us expand the Rapid bus network in the South Bay. Rapid has been very popular with our riders and we look forward to adding more service to a growing part of the region.”
The grant funding will be used for a mix of bus and light rail improvements, including funding to purchase 11 new zero-emissions buses and operating Rapid 925 – a new high-frequency, limited-stop bus service between Imperial Beach and the Otay Mesa Transit Center.
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City Seeks Proposals to Operate
Presidio Hills Golf Course in Old Town
The city of San Diego is seeking proposals to renovate and operate Presidio Hills Golf Course in Old Town. The historic course has provided San Diegans the opportunity to learn and enjoy the game of golf for more than 75 years.
The city’s goal is to select a proposal that demonstrates expertise in golf course operations and maintenance as well as the ability to conduct critically needed renovations to bring the facility up to modern specifications while preserving the historic elements residents cherish. The Request for Proposals (RFP) is expected to be released in June. To keep the process fair, the city will not provide additional information regarding the golf course until the new RFP is issued.
The city originally released an RFP on June 30, 2017, but determined that no proposal adequately fulfilled the requirements to successfully operate the golf course. The city decided to develop a new RFP to identify more specific requirements for renovation and operation of the facility.
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Special Beer Brewed Locally in Honor
of Earth Day and Arbor Day Celebrations
Karl Strauss Brewing Company and Automatic Brewing Company joined forces with San Diego Urban Timber to brew a beer in honor of Earth Day and the Arbor Day (today) celebration. Urban Arbor IPA was brewed with locally-grown juniper trees and will generate proceeds to benefit Friends of Balboa Park, a nonprofit that helps preserve and maintain Balboa Park.
Collaboration, craftsmanship, and environmental sustainability are a few of the values these local brewers share with the artisans of SD Urban Timber, whose mission is to breathe new life into fallen trees that would otherwise end up in landfills. The group came together to support a cause they share passion for and combined their talents to produce a beer perfectly fit for the occasion.
Urban Arbor IPA was brewed at the original Karl Strauss brewery in downtown San Diego, using juniper provided by SD Urban Timber. The result is a West Coast IPA with a light malt profile that showcases piney aromatics and juniper wood notes that shine through a clean, crisp finish.
Urban Arbor IPA is now pouring on draft at both breweries’ Tasting Rooms, all Karl Strauss brewpubs in San Diego, and select craft beer bars around town. Grab a pint to help support Friends of Balboa Park and their efforts to maintain the natural beauty of our local Park.
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Peacemaker Awards Dinner Raised $724,000
The National Conflict Resolution Center announced that it raised $724,000 at its 30th annual Peacemaker Awards Dinner, which took place on April 7. The amount is the largest total raised at an individual fundraising event in the organization’s 35-year history and an increase of over 34 percent from the 2016 event. Event proceeds support NCRC’s programming to empower the community to communicate across disputes with civility and inclusivity, such as their Avoiding the Pipeline to Prison initiative, a partnership with regional law enforcement and education leaders that uses restorative justice practices to keep at-risk youth in school and out of detention facilities, reducing public spending on costly prosecution and incarceration.
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Japanese Food Maker Seeks Civic San Diego
Funds to Retain Jobs at Otay Mesa Plant
Ajinomoto Foods North America, a Japanese company that manufactures specialty frozen foods, has applied for funds from Civic San Diego to finance site improvements and equipment at the Otay Mesa plant that it purchased from Tyson Foods, which had operated its Circle Foods business there. Tyson sold the plant after announcing its intention to relocate its San Diego operations, eliminating 480 full-time jobs.
Ajinomoto Foods plans to install two production lines at the plant and retain 394 skilled workforce positions. It applied for up to $10 million from Civic San Diego’s Economic Growth and Neighborhood Investment Fund, which it said would allow for a third production line to be installed in 2019 that would support an additional 80-plus new jobs.
Civic San Diego’s Fund Board recommended approval of the project for funding. Closing of loan documents is expected by July.
