Daily Business Report-June 12, 2018

StoneCrest totals 327,204 square feet and consists of four office buildings that range from three to six stories.

Kearny Mesa Class A office

Development sold for $100.3 million

Pendulum Property Partners, a commercial real estate firm, has acquired StoneCrest, a Class-A office development in Kearny Mesa, for $100.3 million. The seller was TH Real Estate in Newport Beach.

StoneCrest totals 327,204 square feet and consists of four quality office buildings that range from three to six stories. The property is located at 9635, 9645, 9655, 9665 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego.
Pendulum plans to make cosmetic upgrades including: improvements to the hardscape, adding comfortable seating to the courtyard, updating lobbies, restrooms and common areas, modernizing the fitness center, and improving the on-site food offerings with upgrades to the existing deli and the addition of local food trucks to offer more variety. The property is currently 93 percent occupied by a mix of local and national tenants including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mercury Insurance, Vitas Healthcare, and ACE Insurance.

“StoneCrest marks our first San Diego acquisition and is part of our 2018 strategy to expand our presence into the region,” said Kevin Hayes, founding partner at Pendulum. “StoneCrest is among the highest quality assets in Kearny Mesa, which has the lowest overall office vacancy rate in the county and is poised for significant long-term growth. We plan to make improvements to the property that will enhance the experience for our customers.”
StoneCrest is Pendulum’s fifth Southern California-based acquisition in the past 18 months. Other acquisitions total more than $250 million and include: Jamboree Business Center in February 2017, a 156,000 square foot office building in Irvine; Peter’s Landing in September 2017, a 94,000 square foot marina-front office and retail project in Huntington Beach; Brickyard in September 2017, a 12 acre site in Ontario entitled for an entertainment/retail district; and Stadium Crossings in December 2017, a 165,000 square foot campus in Anaheim.

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Carlsbad’s West Inn & Suites  Sold

An affiliate of San Diego-based Pacifica Companies has acquired the 85-room West Inn & Suites in Carlsbad for an undisclosed price. The seller was West Real Estate LLC.

West Real Estate had developed the hotel along with the West Steak & Seafood Restaurant, Bistro West Restaurant, and a gas station/minimart at Cannon Road and Interstate 5 in 2006.

The three-story upscale boutique hotel features high-end finishes and serves both the leisure and corporate markets.

CBRE Hotels represented the seller in the transaction.

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VRS International Acquires

Industrial Building for $6.46 Million

VRS International LLC has acquired a 38,900-square-foot industrial building in Carlsbad for $6.46 million. The seller was Canard Ventures. The property is at 1958 Kellogg Ave.

Lee & Associates represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.

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Former Golden Hill Church

Property sold for $1.4 million

A 14,590-square-foot former church property in Golden Hill has been sold for $1.4 million to WLA Investments. The site, which includes a vacant 5,163-square foot church building, is slated to become a new residential development. The parcel is located at 3060 Broadway.

“Close to downtown San Diego, Golden Hill is a highly desirable location for new residential development,” said Joe Brady of Colliers International San Diego Region, which represented buyer and seller in the transaction.

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Cheesecake Factory contractors cited

for $4.57 Million in wage theft violations

The Labor Commissioner’s Office has found Cheesecake Factory Restaurants Inc. liable in a $4.57 million wage theft case that underpaid 559 janitorial workers managed by Magic Touch Commercial Cleaning. Americlean Janitorial Services Corp., the Cheesecake Factory’s janitorial contractor that subcontracted the work to Magic Touch Commercial Cleaning, is also liable for the wage theft, which occurred at eight locations in San Diego and Orange counties.  The affected workers are due $3.94 million in minimum wages, overtime, liquidated damages, waiting time penalties and meal and rest period premiums.

Investigators found that the janitorial workers began their shifts around midnight and worked until morning without proper meal or rest break periods. After working for eight hours, the Magic Touch workers were not released until Cheesecake Factory kitchen managers conducted walkthroughs to review their work. These walkthroughs would frequently lead to additional tasks that the janitorial workers had to complete before they were released for the day. This resulted in each worker logging up to 10 hours of unpaid overtime each week.

The Cheesecake Factory locations investigated include Via Rancho Parkway in Escondido, Friars Road in San Diego and Harbor Drive in San Diego.

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Cubic signs R&D agreement with

iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre

Cubic Transportation Systems, the business division of Cubic Corporation, has signed an agreement to participate in a research and development (R&D) project designed to improve traffic flow in Melbourne and other Australian cities through improved situational awareness for network operators.

The agreement with the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre in Melbourne partners Cubic with the University of Melbourne, Public Transport Victoria, VicRoads and the Transport Accident Commission to conduct a two-year multi-phase project, called the “Implementation of a Multimodal Situational Awareness and Operations Regime Evaluation Platform.”

The project will consider the safety implications and interaction between all modes of transportation, including walking, cycling, car, freight, bus and tram, to identify blockages to the seamless management of integrated multi-modal transportation.

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Nobel Prize winning researcher joins

Batu Biologics’ Scientific Advisory Board

Batu Biologics in San Diego announced the appointment of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Bruce Beutler to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Beutler was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2011 for his fundamental contributions to the discovery of the sensors by which the innate immune system recognizes and responds to microbial pathogens. The molecular understanding of innate immunity, of which Beutler is a pioneer, led to the development of numerous research directions in the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of diseases, including viral syndromes, autoimmune diseases and oncogenesis.

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County transfering animal

services to six cities in the county

County Animal Services is in the final weeks of transferring operations to six cities it has been serving under contract. Currently, County Animal Services offers animal law enforcement, adoptions and sheltering for the unincorporated area and the cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, Encinitas, San Diego, Santee and Solana Beach. the Board of Supervisors voted in March 2017 to let the contracts with the cities end when they expire on June 30, 2018.

Each of those cities has chosen to now contract with the San Diego Humane Society and S.P.C.A. County Animal Services has worked with the cities on the transition to their new service provider. As of July 1, if residents in the former contract cities have animal-related issues, they can call the Humane Society’s general number at (619) 299-7012 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. The county department has also formally notified kennel operators, rescue partners, law enforcement and other local animal shelters about the upcoming changes.

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MTS Trolley wins national award

for Downtown safety improvements

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) earned the top safety award from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) for its successful “Anticipate-Recognize-Take Action! (ART)” campaign that eliminated Trolley accidents involving illegal left turns by Downtown motorists. The award was announced Monday at APTA’s annual rail conference in Denver, Colo. This is the third safety award MTS has won in the last four years.

In the 19 months prior to the ART campaign, there were 10 accidents involving Trolleys and motorists making illegal left turns at eight identified intersections on C Street and Park Boulevard. In the 17 months after implementation, accidents were reduced to zero. Other results included:

• 35 percent reduction in accidents system-wide
• 7 percent reduction in emergency brake applications
• 5 accident-free months
• 78 days accident-free between November 2017 and January 2018