Daily Business Report-Dec. 5, 2018
Liberty Public Market is one of the leaseholds acquired by Pendulum Partners. (Photo by Zack Benson, courtesy of McMillin)
Liberty Station’s retail properties
acquired by Pendulum Property Partners
Pendulum Property Partners, an Irvine-based real estate firm, has acquired a long-term leasehold interest in a coveted retail portfolio within San Diego’s historic Liberty Station neighborhood in Point Loma.
In partnership with The Seligman Group, Pendulum acquired 327,000 square feet of multi-tenant retail and office space for an undisclosed sum. The property is approximately 98 percent occupied. The seller, McMillin, retains ownership of one hotel site, two hotels under construction and a number of office assets in the neighborhood. Additional property owners within Liberty Station include the NTC Foundation, the Rock Church, High Tech High and hundreds of homeowners.
Pendulum’s transaction primarily consists of the retail components of Liberty Station’s master planned development, more specifically within The Quarter, South Point and Arts District. Alongside popular brands such as Trader Joe’s, Vons and Starbucks, Pendulum’s anchor tenants include nationally recognized restaurants and retail experiences—Liberty Public Market food hall, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, El Jardín, Corvette Diner, Moniker General and Slater’s 50/50— as well as a nine-hole golf course, a landlocked training ship of the U.S. Navy, and a chapel that has been used for a variety of events and services over the years.
The acquisition strengthens Pendulum’s expansion strategy in the San Diego market, which began earlier this year with the purchase of a 327,000 square-foot Class A office campus in Kearny Mesa. Liberty Station is Pendulum’s third acquisition this year, bringing its total acquisition volume to over $400 million in 2018.
____________________
San Diego’s Brain Corp to provide ‘brain’
for Walmart’s floor-scrubbing robots
AUVSI News
A San Diego-based software technology company called Brain Corp has announced that it will provide Walmart with artificial intelligence (AI) services, thanks to a new partnership with the world’s largest retailer.
Right now, Brain Corp’s Brain Operating System (BrainOS) platform automates more than a hundred of Walmart’s fleet of commercial floor scrubbers across the U.S.
With BrainOS, the machines have autonomous navigation and data collection capabilities, which are all tied into a cloud-based reporting system.
By the end of its fiscal year, Jan. 31, 2019, Walmart expects to have 360 robots powered by BrainOS in its stores.
“We are thrilled to partner with Walmart to enhance customer experience at its retail locations,” says Eugene Izhikevich, CEO of Brain Corp.
“BrainOS technology allows robots to effectively and safely function in complex, crowded environments, ensuring increased productivity and efficiency across applications. We look forward to continuing to work alongside Walmart to help build intelligent, connected stores.”
With Walmart’s BrainOS-powered floor scrubbers, store associates can quickly map a route during an initial training ride, and activate autonomous floor cleaning by simply pressing a button.
Using multiple sensors, the robot can scan its surroundings for people and obstacles, providing what Brain Corp calls the “industry’s highest level of safety and performance.”
____________________
MIT senior from San Diego awarded Marshall
Scholarship to pursue grad studies in the UK
Katie O’Nell of San Diego is one of five Massachusetts Institute of Technology students awarded Marshall Scholarships to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. This class represents the largest number of Marshall Scholars from MIT in a single year, and continues MIT students’ exceptional record of achievement in the elite fellowship program.
O’Nell is a senior majoring in brain and cognitive sciences. At Oxford University, she will pursue an MS in the Department of Experimental Psychology. She will then return to the U.S. to embark on doctoral studies in computational neuroscience with the goal of becoming a professor and researcher.
O’Nell is currently conducting studies on facial perception in the laboratories of Professor Rebecca Saxe in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Professor Stefano Anzellotti of Boston College. O’Nell has also been examining the connection between gestures and speech with the MIT Speech Communication Group, and she has created calcium imaging processing pipelines in the laboratory of Professor Ann Graybiel at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. O’Nell spent two summers interning at the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, which conducts genomic and bioinformatics research.
On campus, O’Nell is an associate adviser to first-year students and a member of the associate advisor steering committee. She is active with the MIT Model UN Conference for high school students and serves as special political and decolonization committee chair.
O’Nell graduated from Patrick Henry High School in San Diego.
____________________
SDG&E files request to eliminate high
usage charge to reduce summer bill spikes
San Diego Gas & Electric has filed a request with the California Public Utilities Commission to eliminate the state-mandated high usage charge, which impacted more than 105,000 customers this past summer. Eliminating the charge for high energy users would minimize bill spikes during months when energy usage is high.
The high usage charge led to higher bills for customers that used more than 400 percent of their baseline allowance. On average, these customers would have saved approximately $30 per month without the high usage charge.
Pending approval by the PUC, SDG&E hopes to eliminate the charge prior to the start of summer pricing which begins June 1. Residents can also avoid the high usage charge by enrolling in one of several Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing plans which are not subject to the charge. More information about TOU plans can be found at https://www.sdge.com/whenmatters
____________________
Housing Commission CEO to serve
on new council advising Fannie Mae
San Diego Housing Commission President and CEO Richard C. Gentry will serve in 2019 as the chairman of a new council that will advise Fannie Mae on how to best support the creation and preservation of affordable housing.
The Public Housing Authorities Duty to Serve Advisory Council, which includes at least 10 public housing agency representatives from throughout the United States, will meet with Fannie Mae leadership and staff to discuss affordable housing issues.
The council was formed under the Duty to Serve Program of the Federal Housing Finance Agency – which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Duty to Serve Program was created in response to the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
As the chairman of the advisory council for 2019, Gentry will be responsible for guiding the topics on the council’s agenda and, along with the vice chair, approving requests for substitutions or changes to council membership. He was named to the council in October 2018 for a two-year term.
____________________
County opens new Live Well Center in Oceanside
The county of San Diego opened the new North Coastal Live Well Health Center in Oceanside on Tuesday, offering behavioral health treatment and recovery services and resources for military and veterans.
The center is located on the site of a former county facility and will eventually house a public health clinic that’s slated to open in spring 2019.
Three mental health programs will be located on site.
- The North Coastal Mental Health Clinic will provide counseling, case management, employment services and outpatient mental health medication management for those 18 years and older with a serious mental illness.
- The Mariposa Clubhouse provides member-driven social, rehabilitative, recovery and vocational services for adults with a serious mental illness.
- The North Coastal Regional Recovery Center provides outpatient substance use and disorder treatment services for adults.
The mental health center and clubhouse are operated by Mental Health Systems Inc. and the recovery center is operated by the McAlister Institute.
The center also includes a Military and Veterans Resource Center that will connect veterans with resources and benefits. It will also host several community-based organizations dedicated to assisting veteran and active duty military.
A large conference room is also available for community use in the facility.
____________________
Chula Vista accounting firm changes name
Armando C. Ibarra, CPA, APC announced that it is changing the name of the firm to Ibarra, Carrillo & Soto CPAs + Advisors. The name change reflects the addition of Fernando Carrillo and Wendy Soto, while reflecting the company’s roots and acknowledges the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, Armando C. Ibarra and his long time partner and son Armando Ibarra Jr.
Fernando Carrillo, CPA focuses his practice on assisting clients in international tax planning and related international matters. He advises U.S. individuals and companies with operations abroad as well as foreign individuals and companies with operations in the U.S.
Wendy Soto, MBA is focused on helping clients minimize their tax liability. Her public accounting experience includes audits, compilation of financial statements, preparing yearly reviews, preparing federal and multi-state tax returns, tax planning, payroll and sales tax audits, to name a few.
____________________
Legislators push for two years of
tuition-free community college
As the semester comes to an end for the first wave of students taking advantage of free community college in California, legislators and higher education leaders stood together Tuesday at Los Angeles Trade Technical College to debut Assembly Bill 2 — a measure to waive fees for Year Two. By doing so, an Associates Degree in California will effectively become free.
Assembly Bill 2, jointly authored by Assemblymembers Miguel Santiago, David Chiu, Kevin McCarty, and Rob Bonta, was introduced Monday, the first day of the 2018-2019 Legislative Session, to take an important step towards guaranteeing a completely free community college experience for California students. The measure comes directly on the heels of the implementation of 2017’s Assembly Bill 19 which made the first year of community college free for all first-time, full-time students. That first round of students began classes at schools across California in August of this year.
It is expected that AB2 will be heard in policy committees in early March of next year.
____________________
UBS Financial Services improves La Jolla headquarters
UBS Financial Services Inc. has expanded its offices in La Jolla to the first floor level of its current address at 1200 Prospect St. The office operates as the main office for all 150+ UBS financial advisers and staffers in San Diego, with several other branches still located around the county in Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Valley and Downtown.
“Our goal is to bring the vast reources of the world’s leading global wealth manager, to address the financial planning and wealth management needs of local business owners and residents of the San Diego community,” says Chris Marsh, San Diego market head for UBS Financial Services Inc. “We have such an amazing location in La Jolla that we wanted to showcase its advantages. We look forward to continuing UBS’s great record of support within the community with an improved meeting experience for our clients.”
UBS has held offices in this building for more than 30 years and still maintains the fifth floor as well as the first. The fifth floor is currently undergoing a remodel, expected to be completed by the end of March 2019.
____________________
National Day of Mourning today
for President George H.W. Bush
The country will observe a national day of mourning today to honor the 41st president, George H.W. Bush. He died at age 94 Friday night.
- The U.S. Postal Service will not deliver regular mail. All post office locations will be closed. Limited package delivery will continue to avoid setbacks during the busy holiday season.
- The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be closed.
- All federal offices will be closed. Federal employees will be excused from work,except for reasons of national security or essential public businesses.
- Some banks and courts will be closed. Federal Reserve Bank payment systems will work as normal. Closures will vary by area.
- The Supreme Court is postponing arguments for a day.
The House canceled votes. The Senate postponed votes until after the funeral today.
____________________
Personnel Announcements
Kurt Kaufman named COO of Brixton Capital
Brixton Capital, a private real estate investment firm, announced the appointment of Kurt Kaufman as chief operating officer. His primary responsibilities include implementation of strategic business plans, oversight of asset and property management functions, leasing staff, development team, financial analysis and other corporate level operations, including systems and process improvements.
With over 16 years of broad-based experience in commercial real estate, Kaufman’s duties will also include assisting with the financial capitalization, investment strategy and acquisitions to expand Brixton’s real estate platforms.
Most recently, Kaufman was president of Blue Sky Basin Realty Partners, which he founded in 2014. The firm specialized in middle market assets across multiple product types throughout the California market. Prior to Blue Sky, he spent 11 years with The Abbey Company where he played a critical role doubling the portfolio of commercial real estate to six million square feet.
