Daily Business Report-Feb. 7, 2019
Photo courtesy of Grossmont College
Grossmont College to offer free training for persons
seeking to become licensed commercial drone pilots
With the burgeoning field of drone technology translating into job opportunities, Grossmont College will offer a comprehensive training program that can transform amateurs into licensed commercial drone pilots in just three months.
The training that can cost as much as $3,000 in the private sector is free to anyone who is at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, as required by the grant. The noncredit program is targeted to groups including veterans, Native Americans, military spouses, ex-offenders, women, high school students and the unemployed and underemployed. Drones are provided during the training.
Registration is now open for classes starting in March.
The demand for drone pilots is skyrocketing, with predictions of a $250 billion industry worldwide this year. The commercial and military impact drones will have in the near future is significant, creating more than 100,000 new jobs by 2025, according to a 2013 report by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems. In California, the number of jobs is expected to climb to 18,000, about a 400 percent increase since 2012.
Contract work for one-time jobs such as industrial inspections can pay from $30,000-$60,000 for a six- to nine-month period, depending on experience and the nature of the mission, said Javier Ayala, dean of career and technical education and workforce development at Grossmont College. Starting wages for in-house drone operators range from $25-$35 an hour to $60-$100 an hour for fully trained pilots with three or more years of experience. Grossmont’s program prepares graduates for both contract and salaried jobs.
Grossmont College’s program will first provide UAS Ground School and Federal Aviation Administration 107 certification classes that students take to become licensed commercial drone pilots. The FAA 107 certification school will provide students comprehensive classroom instruction to pass the FAA 107 written test which is administered free to students. Once students complete the ground school module and possess a drone pilot license, they can then go on to take UAS Surveying and Mapping or UAS Cinematography.
Pilots in the surveying and mapping course receive extensive flight time and students who complete the program will know how to do precision mapping missions and data collection for multiple industries and operations.
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BKM Capital Partners acquires industrial
properties in San Diego and Carlsbad
Newport Beach-based BKM Capital Partners, an institutional fund manager, has acquired a multi-tenant industrial/flex portfolio totaling 99,187 square feet in San Diego.
Encompassing four buildings in two projects in the Carlsbad and Sorrento Mesa submarkets, the portfolio sold for a combined $16.55 million. The seller was 3G Properties LP.
Located at 6352 and 6354 Corte Del Abeto in Carlsbad, Del Abeto Commerce Center was developed in 1986 and consists of 63,893 square feet within two industrial/flex buildings on 5.78 acres.
Key features include 18-foot high bays and grade level roll up doors. Located in Sorrento Mesa, Waples Industrial Centre, developed in 1988, consists of 35,294 square feet within two low-rise industrial/flex buildings on 1 acre.
The portfolio was fully leased to 18 different tenants of diverse sizes and industries with staggering lease terms.
Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
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Bridge Investment Group acquires
Cornerstone Plaza in Sorrento Mesa
Bridge Investment Group’s subsidiary Bridge Office Fund Manager LLC announced the acquisition of Cornerstone Plaza, a 97,316-square-foot, two-building office complex in Sorrento Mesa. The repositioning of Cornerstone is expected to elevate the property as a leading creative workplace destination in one of the region’s fastest-growing office submarkets.
Bridge plans to invest $5.2 million in capital improvements across the two- and three-story buildings to modernize the layout and design, as well as add move-in-ready spec suites ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet. Cosmetic renovations to the corridors, common areas, outdoor courtyards, lobby area and entrances will also take place.
Originally built in 1986, Cornerstone Plaza is currently 68 percent occupied. Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the operating company for Bridge Office, will oversee all leasing, property management and redevelopment work.
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Construction of new SDSU residence hall
expected to be finished for fall semester
Construction of a new San Diego State University residence hall that began in the fall of 2017 is on schedule, within budget, and expected to open by the start of the fall 2019 semester. Currently covered from top to bottom in black screening, the new Uaxaca Hall stretches for a block along the north side of Remington Road between 55th Street and Chapultepec Residence Hall, across the street from Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The $130-million project overlooks Aztec Canyon on the location of the former parking lot used mainly by Chapultepec residents. It will include 170,000 interior square feet, 4,300 square feet of a new market/coffee shop component, and a 3,850-square-feet community center.
Uaxaca (pronounced /wa-HAH-ka) means the place of the guaje, a tree native to Oaxaca, Mexico. The Aztecs use this word to reference the territories of the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples.
Structures formerly housing the Aztec Market and Cholula Community Center adjacent to Chapultepec were razed to accommodate a direct connection joining Chapultepec with Uaxaca Hall. The build includes specially designed landscaping plus fencing along Remington Road, where a single entrance located in the new structure will be the main access point for both residence halls.
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SeaWorld chooses outsider to lead the theme park company
A year after its former chief executive resigned, SeaWorld on Tuesday named Gustavo (Gus) Antorcha, a top executive with Carnival Cruise Lines, as the Orlando, Fla.-based company’s new CEO. Interim CEO John Reilly, a former president of the San Diego park and who some believed was a strong contender for the job, was named chief operating officer for the theme park company. The announcement, the company said, followed a thorough search process led by a special committee of the board of directors. — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Credit union extends naming rights for SDCCU Stadium
San Diego County Credit Union’s naming rights partnership for SDCCU Stadium has been extended following a San Diego City Council vote. The naming rights agreement for SDCCU Stadium, which was made between the city of San Diego and Fox Sports College Properties, extends through December 2020.
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BOMA San Diego honors Todd Gloria
and Georgette Gomez as Public Officials of the Year
The San Diego Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA San Diego) has named Assemblyman Todd Gloria and San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez as recipients of its Public Officials of the Year award recipients.
The commercial real estate association, an affiliate of BOMA International, honored Gloria and Gomez for their contributions to the commercial real estate industry. Each year, BOMA’s Government Affairs Committee selects a public official(s) who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership on issues of relevance and critical importance to the commercial real estate industry in the San Diego region.
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Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa named No. 1
Best Resort and Best Hotel in California
Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa has been named the No. 1 Best Resort and Best Hotel in California in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Hotel Rankings. The annual evaluation of hotels across the nation also awarded Rancho Valencia a Gold Badge for placing among the top 10 percent of all ranked hotels in the United States, specifically, No. 5 Best Resort in the U.S. and No. 9 Best Hotel in the U.S.
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Personnel Announcements
Fish & Richardson elevates Megan Chacon and Alex Gelberg
Fish & Richardson elevated Megan Chacon and Alex Gelberg to principal in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group in San Diego. Overall, 11 attorneys were promoted to principal. Fish has 13 offices worldwide, including its Southern California office, based in San Diego.
Chacon focuses her practice on complex patent litigation across a wide range of technologies. She has extensive experience in the life sciences and pharmaceutical fields, including Hatch-Waxman litigation. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 2011 and her B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Utah in 2008.
Gelbergfocuses on patent litigation and post-grant matters in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2011, his M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 2005, and his B.S., with highest honors, in computer engineering from the Moscow Automobile and Highway Engineering Institute in 2001.
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KTUA Landscape Architects welcomes
one new associate and two associate principals
KTUA Landscape Architects welcomes one new associate and two associate principals.
Brooke Whalen, associate principal has a broad range of project experience, including parks, hospitality, health care, and student housing. She is involved in all phases of design and construction documentation through construction, along with master planning. As a project manager, she focuses on maintaining regular communication with her clients and collaboration with teams. Graduate of Colorado State University.
Joe Punsalan, associate principal/senior transportation planner, manages large-scale active transportation- planning projects that include complete-street plans and corridor studies; active transportation plans; first/last mile connectivity and transit-supportive plans; and trail and accessibility studies. Holds a B.A. in Geography from Sacramento State.
Aynsley Gilmour, associate principal, is a planner in the Federal Planning Department. Gilmour has contributed to a wide range of federal planning projects including area development plans, basic facility requirements, economic analysis and special studies. In previous positions, she has acted as team lead in support of asset evaluations for an excess of 1050 Bureau of Medicine and Surgery facilities on 160 installations and special areas worldwide. Holds a B.S. in geography and planning from Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
