Daily Business Report-Oct. 26, 2018
The launch of the San Diego WIT Network included a tech demonstration and networking.
Women in Technology
Network launches in San Diego
A San Diego chapter has been launched for The Women in Technology Network, a community of professionals across the world who believe in making it easier for women develop careers in IT. The chapter’s first program was a technology demonstration and networking event on Wednesday.
“In San Diego, we have a unique opportunity to establish an environment that will attract women in technology and bring them from imagining to developing a successful career in IT,” said Tina Rountree, co-chair of the San Diego WIT Network chapter. “We are open to suggestions and needs from our members and are looking forward to join forces with other female-led organizations in the region for a greater impact.”
At the kick-off event, members experienced a demo of productivity tools and dicusssed current statistics about women in technology as well as San Diego’s current state as it relates to women in the technology industry, and how collaboration can be established in ways to promote welcoming tech environments for women. For example, women make up less than 20 percent of U.S. tech jobs, even though they make up more than half of the U.S. workforce (Evia).
Rountree is director of sales at Managed Solutions. Jennifer Benedict, the other co-chair of the local chapter, is an account executive at Managed Solutions.
Women and men can join The Women in Technology Network free until Nov. 1. Click here to register.
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San Diego multi-family investment
activity exceeds $1 billion YTD
Cushman & Wakefield’s newly released fall report for the San Diego Multi-Family market revealed healthy, declining vacancy trends and strong rental pricing, which in return has resulted in solid ongoing investor interest and activity. The report indicated countywide multi-family vacancy dropped to just 3.72 percent in September, down from 4.08 percent six months ago. Meanwhile, investment sales volume for properties $5 million and greater surpassed the $1 billion mark by the end of Q3 2018.
“Nearly 90 percent of the more than $1 billion in multi-family sales year-to-date 2018 occurred in just the second and third quarters,” said Jolanta Campion, Cushman & Wakefield’s research director in San Diego. “For the last three consecutive years, total transaction activity has remained above the 16-year long-term annual average of $1.6 billion. And while it would require a robust fourth quarter to reach that mark here in 2018, it is still possible.”
Some of the top sales of the year, according to the report:
• Domain San Diego, 379 units in San Diego Central sold in June 2018 for $132 million.
• Sofi Shadowridge, 314 units in the Highway 78 Corridor for $115 million sold in June 2018.
• Bella Posta, 344 units in San Diego Central sold for $97.75 million in April 2018.
• Barham Villas Apartment Homes, 168 units in Highway 78 Corridor sold for $52.2 million in October 2018.
• Stone Creek Apartments, 97 units in South County sold for $32.45 million in June 2018.
Click here for the full Cushman & Wakefield report.
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CDC Small Business Financing
enjoying 40 years of lending success
CDC Small Business Financing, a San Diego-based nonprofit lender, celebrates its 40th anniversary today after amassing a chain of accomplishments for small businesses over its four decades of service:
• More than $18 billion in financing provided.
• More than 200,000 jobs created and preserved.
• More than 11,000 small businesses helped.
“Putting capital in the hands of small businesses helps them grow and create jobs, which in turn fuels economic development in neighborhoods,” says Kurt Chilcott, president/CEO of CDC Small Business Finance. “We’re grateful for the economic impact our lending efforts have had on entrepreneurs and the communities we serve.”
Since 1978 CDC has been providing low-interest financing to help new and existing small businesses grow. The majority of the company’s lending has been via Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs, including:
• SBA 504 loans for commercial real estate purchases
• SBA Community Advantage loans for small businesses that need up to $250,000
• SBA Microloans for business that need up to $50,000
CDC was established in San Diego as a nonprofit organization in 1978 by Arthur Goodman, a long-time business pioneer and innovator in making capital available to small businesses, regardless of race, gender and economic status. In the course of four decades the company has expanded beyond San Diego and now provides financing to small businesses throughout California, Arizona and Nevada.
Chilcott, who took over as CEO in 1998 said: “There’s no way I could have predicted that we’d now operate in three states and have national lending programs as well to benefit small businesses,” says Chilcott, who took over as CEO in 1998. It’s quite extraordinary.”
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Nov. 6 General Election
Mail ballot request deadline is Oct. 30
As a result of a large number of contests in the Nov. 6 General Election, San Diego County registered voters will get a two-card ballot. Contests will be listed on the front and back of each page. Considering the length of the ballot, the Registrar of Voters is urging voters to plan ahead and save time by requesting a mail ballot.
To vote in the comfort of your own home, you must request a mail ballot by Tuesday, Oct. 30. By state law, applications must be physically received by the Registrar of Voters no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
There are several ways to apply for a mail ballot:
• Complete the application on the back of the sample ballot and voter information pamphlet.
• Download an application from the Registrar of Voters’ website.
Email, fax or mail a letter to the Registrar of Voters. The request must include your name, residence address, name and date of the election, the address where the ballot is to be mailed, and your signature. If mailing your request, send it immediately. Applications and letters can be emailed to rovmail@sdcounty.ca.gov, faxed to (858) 694-2955 or sent to the Registrar of Voters at P.O. Box 85520, San Diego, CA 92186-5520.
• Call (858) 565-5800. The Registrar of Voters is now accepting mail ballot requests over the phone. The request can be only for the current election and the registered voter must make the call personally.
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City notches another Plaza de Panama Victory
Voice of San Diego
The controversial Balboa Park Plaza de Panama project cleared another hurdle Wednesday. The state Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling in the city’s favor. The lawsuit, filed by preservationist group Save Our Heritage Organisation, had argued the city should have conducted more environmental reviews when it revived the project a couple years ago.
But the legal fights aren’t necessarily over. SOHO has said it will do all it can to halt the project. The city’s also awaiting a final ruling in another case that challenged its plan to seek bonds to finance its share of the $80 million project
The city’s been quietly taking steps to ensure it can quickly move forward with the project. (Read about it here)
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Shorenstein Properties acquires
Sorrento Towers North and South
Shorenstein Properties LLC has acquired Sorrento Towers North and South, two Class A office projects in Sorrento Mesa, San Diego, consisting of four buildings. The purchase price was not disclosed.
First developed in 1989 and renovated in 2014, the North buildings consist of two seven-story structures totaling approximately 286,000 square feet located at 5355 and 5375 Mira Sorrento Place. Developed in 2001, the South buildings consist of two six-story structures totaling approximately 278,000 square feet located at 9276 and 9330 Scranton Road.
Cushman & Wakefield advised Shorenstein on the transaction.
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Steve McQueen’s ‘Bullitt’ Mustang
coming to Balboa Park museum Nov. 4
Car and movie enthusiasts from around the world will have a rare opportunity to view up-close the famed original “Bullitt” 1968 Fastback Mustang driven by actor Steve McQueen, in the movie of the same name, when the car goes on display in the SPEED: Science in Motion special exhibition at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on Nov. 4.
McQueen drove the Mustang through the streets of San Francisco during the most iconic car chase in movie history during the 1968 hit film “Bullitt.” Owner Sean Kiernan is touring the world with the Mustang through the year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie, and this is the very first time it will be displayed in a museum.
Fans of the “Bullitt” Mustang will also have a unique opportunity to visit with Kiernan and “Bullitt” on Nov. 15 at the San Diego Air & Space Museum during a special evening celebrating Sean’s family’s more than four-decade connection with the car.
But car enthusiasts wanting to see the “Bullitt” Mustang are encouraged to come soon, because it will only be on display for two weeks from Sunday Nov. 4 through Nov. 18.
“Car lovers from all over the world have been searching for this car for more than 40 years,” says Jim Kidrick, president and CEO of the Air & Space Museum. “We are incredibly excited to have it on display, and are extremely grateful to Sean Kiernan and his family for allowing us to be part of the year-long celebration.”
