Daily Business Report-March 28, 2019
The new integrated building provides a hub for Mesa College’s photography, digital graphics, drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpting classes and studios. (Photo courtesy of C.W. Driver Companies)
Mesa College’s new $15.9 million
Fine Arts Building completed
C.W. Driver Companies announced the completion of the new $15.9 million San Diego Mesa College Fine Arts Building – a four-story, 26,500-square-foot facility that unites the program’s departments into a single modernized building. The new space facilitates experiential teaching and collaboration, enhancing the department’s ability to provide a comprehensive fine arts education program and hands-on experience for students, officials said.
Located at 7250 Mesa College Drive on the site of the former I-300 building, the new integrated building provides a hub for the college’s photography, digital graphics, drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpting classes and studios.
The new fine arts facility was funded by the $1.55 billion Proposition S and N construction bond program, which funds new instructional and career training facilities, major renovations and campuswide infrastructure projects at Mesa, City and Miramar colleges as well as six continuing education campuses throughout San Diego.
“We were proud to partner with Mesa College to bring to life its vision of a unified environment that inspires creative community on campus,” said Brandon Silveira, project manager at C.W. Driver Companies. “The design incorporates large, open studio classrooms that allow for maximum flexibility, and provides the resources and education its fine arts students need to succeed as the college’s programs continue to grow and thrive.”
As one of the largest and most successful of California’s 114 community colleges, and the largest in the San Diego Community College District, Mesa College serves 24,000 students.
C.W. Driver Companies partnered with architecture firm Hanna Gabriel Wells on the project. The building is designed to obtain LEED Silver certification as a result of reusing existing structures, optimizing energy performance, using low-emitting materials and other energy-efficient measures. In addition to the new fine arts center, the project involved construction of a new exterior sidewalk and walkway, curb and gutter improvements and new street access on the North and South sides.
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A plan to bring back the estate tax
By Dan Morain | CALmatters
Here’s one to add to the mix of the many tax increase proposals being contemplated by the Legislature: a state version of an estate tax aimed at the wealthiest Californians, to generate $1 billion a year.
Legislation by Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, of San Francisco, would ask voters in 2020 to impose a state estate tax equal to the cut granted in 2017 by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Wiener: “California estate tax benefits low-income families by helping them build wealth and end the cycle of intergenerational poverty.”
California had an estate tax until 1982 when voters abolished it, back when the electorate was in tax revolt mode.
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County to study building Behavioral
Health Hub on unused Hillcrest lot
The county Board of Supervisors today Wednesday to abandon current plans to lease an unused piece of County-owned property in Hillcrest to build condominiums and instead instructed the Health and Human Services Agency to conduct a feasibility study to determine if a behavioral health services hub can be housed on the land.
The board also indicated similar projects should be considered in other county-owned properties throughout the county.
The request came from Supervisor Nathan Fletcher who said providing mental health and substance abuse services near existing health care providers would be a much better use for the property and a model that could be replicated in other parts of the county.
“I believe we can build a world-class model of care for those who are experiencing mental health and behavioral health injuries,” Fletcher said. “The geographic location of these services is vital in achieving the outcomes we need.”
The 7.24-acre parcel located at the end of Third Avenue—parcels 4307 to 4309—and overlooking Mission Valley has been vacant for 10 years and used to operate as a county center for abused and neglected children. Adjacent to the property is another county-owned parcel that houses an Emergency Screening Unit that currently serves children and teens who are experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency.
The services provided at this regional facility could include crisis stabilization, inpatient, residential psychotherapeutic rehabilitation, intensive outpatient, and other related services and programs.
Fletcher also requested that opportunities be explored to collaborate with regional health care providers. UC San Diego Medical Center, Scripps Mercy Hospital and many other medical buildings are less than a half mile away.
After the feasibility study takes place, the Health and Human Services Agency is expected to return to the Board of Supervisors no later than Nov. 20, with a report and recommendations.
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Coalition appeals to San Diego
mayor for public input in Mission
Valley stadium site negotiatons
A coalition of land planning, design, environmental, and civic organizations submitted a letter to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Wednesday urging that the Mission Valley stadium site land purchase negotiations between San Diego State University and the city of San Diego include “broad public input.”
The letter states, “Prior to commencing negotiations over sale of the property, the city should conduct open discussions with the public over the terms of sale” and goes on to enumerate specific points of concern, which include:
• Enforcing commitments made by SDSU beyond the explicit terms of the initiative, such as actually building the San Diego River Park within the site
• Ensuring that redevelopment of the site will be consistent with the Mission Valley Community Plan, the city’s Climate Action Plan, site plans previously presented by the San Diego River Park Foundation, and other relevant planning documents, to integrate the project into the surrounding community
• Addressing housing needs by including the maximum feasible amount of affordable housing units
• Requiring that redevelopment of the site fully connect to multiple transportation options serving Mission Valley as a whole
• Recognizing the proximity of the project to the San Diego River and maximizing connectivity to the river
• Maximizing inclusion of sustainable design and development features.
The letter is from the Mission Valley Coalition, comprised of: Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C-3); the League of Women Voters of San Diego; the San Diego Environment + Design Council; and the Congress for New Urbanism, California Chapter. A separate letter on the same subject is being sent jointly by the American Institute of Architects, San Diego chapter, and the San Diego Green Building Council. Other local organizations are also expected to send similar letters shortly.
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22 MiraCosta College students to
become first to earn a bachelor’s degree
Twenty-two MiraCosta College students will make history this spring when they become the first to earn a bachelor’s degree in biomanufacturing from MiraCosta College, which is one of only 15 community colleges in California selected to host a groundbreaking baccalaureate degree program.
The first cohort of graduates will be honored during a May 22 reception and recognition ceremony set for 5 p.m. at the MiraCosta College Theatre (Bldg. 2000) on the Oceanside Campus at 1 Barnard Drive.
They receive their diplomas on May 24 during MiraCosta College’s commencement at 5 p.m. in front of the Administration Building (Bldg. 1000).
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Supervisors take steps to build parking
area near Potato Chip Rock trail
The county Board of Supervisors took a step Wednesday toward the possibility of building a safe parking area for thousands of hikers who park and traipse dangerously close to traffic along Highway 67 in Ramona to get to Mount Woodson and the popular Potato Chip Rock trail.
The Board voted to buy 84 acres of land near the area for $1.7 million Wednesday. Part of the land could be used to build a parking lot, or as a connection to a currently inaccessible 18-acre parcel the County already owns where a lot might be built.
Hikers have been flocking to unincorporated Ramona for years to get to the eastern access for Potato Chip Rock trail, which is located on land owned and operated by the City of San Diego. Because there is no off-road parking, visitors now park along both shoulders of state Route 67, then walk alongside and even run across the highway’s 60-mph traffic.
With the Board’s approval to buy the land, County staff will begin design work, conduct an environmental analysis to determine what improvements can be made and return to the Board in the future with recommendations. County staff is also in conversations with City of San Diego staff regarding operating the area once improvements are made.
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SPAWAR promotes newest
contract vehicle at industry event
ExecutiveGov
Officials from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command spoke with over 300 private sector representatives during an industry day dedicated to Seaport Next Generation, the U.S. Navy’s newest contract vehicle for program management and technical services. The event, hosted by the National Defense Industry Association, took place in San Diego on March 20.
Seaport NxG allows qualifying contractors to provide services for Navy components and the U.S. Marine Corps on an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity basis. The contract vhicle succeeds older iterations of the Seaport program.
Pat Sullivan, executive director of SPAWAR, delivered the event’s opening address. “Today we find ourselves in an era of great power competition, and now more than ever, we are looking to industry to increase the speed in which we get advanced capabilities into the hands of our warfighters,” he said.
SPAWAR then administered a discussion between government officials regarding Seaport NxG’s mechanics after the event.
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Personnel Announcements
Daniel S. Smith joins Klinedinst PC
Klinedinst PC has welcomed Daniel S. Smith as a new attorney to its San Diego office. Smith’s practice focuses on employment litigation.
Prior to joining Klinedinst, Smith gained experience in construction litigation and ancillary employment issues.
Smith earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. In law school, Smith received a CALI Excellence for the Future Award in International Civil Litigation and was a member of the San Diego Journal of Climate and Energy Law. Smith also externed for the Honorable Mitchell D. Dembin of the Southern District of California.
Smith is a former student-athlete at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a four-year varsity athlete and captain of the Men’s Swimming and Diving 2011 NCAA Championship team. In 2012, Smith competed at 2012 Olympic Team Trials in the 100 meter backstroke. He is also a dual national of both the United States and Italy.
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Women’s Waterfront Symposium
Vice Adm. Richard Brown, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, answers questions from the audience at the annual Women’s Waterfront Symposium on board Naval Base San Diego. The symposium featured Capt. Jen Ellinger, commanding officer of USS Lake Champlain, as the keynote speaker and provided sailors an opportunity to learn about and discuss current issues facing women in the Navy. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jacob I. Allison)
