Daily Business Report-Oct. 11, 2019
Sunroad Plaza in Rancho Bernardo.
Texas-based company purchases
Sunroad Plaza for $19.9 million
Texas-based commercial real estate investment firm Virtus Real Estate Capital has purchased Sunroad Plaza, an office campus in Rancho Bernardo, for $19.9 million. The seller was San Diego-based Sunroad Enterprises.
Located at 11770 Bernardo Plaza Court, the 71,934-square-foot property consists of one three-story building and one four-story building. The office campus features on-site showers and lockers, executive conferencing facilities and 423 parking spaces. Sunroad Plaza was 82 percent leased at the time of sale to a mix of government, medical and professional office users and has a historical occupancy averaging 93 percent over the last five years.
CBRE’s Matt Pourcho, Anthony DeLorenzo, Gary Stache, Doug Mack and Bryan Johnson represented the seller. Lars Eisenhauer of CBRE represented the buyer in the transaction.
__________________
A widely used pesticide no more:
Deal reached to end use of chlorpyrifos
Dan Morain | CALmatters
California struck an agreement Wednesday with chemical companies to end the use of the widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos in 2020. The pesticide is a neurotoxin that is thought to be most damaging to the developing brains of children.
Legislation to ban the pesticide was placed on hold pending the outcome of negotiations between the California Environmental Protection Agency and chemical companies such as Corteva AgriScience, formerly known as Dow AgroSciences, the largest manufacturer.
Val Dolcini, deputy secretary for Agriculture at the California Environmental Protection Agency, noted that it’s the first time the state has canceled the use of a widely used pesticide. The product is used on almonds, alfalfa, citrus, grapes and other crops.
Hoping to ease the hit on farmers, California is spending $5 million to research alternatives to it.
Dolcini: “There is a cost to every action, but we try to balance that with additional research into alternatives that make sense.”
Farmers will be able to use the pesticide in 2020 but not beyond. Unsold stocks can be sent to other states where it will remain legal.
The L.A. Times’ Geoffrey Mohan called chlorpyrifos “something of a poster child for the Trump administration’s rollback of regulation.” Trump’s former U.S. EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, halted an Obama-era ban of the product.
__________________
San Diego’s 3 largest ethnic business
associations form strategic alliance
San Diego County’s three largest ethnic chambers of commerce have formally agreed upon a partnership memorandum of understanding (MOU), forming a Strategic Alliance. Together, all three organizations — San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, Asian Business Association — represent the interests of tens-of-thousands of local businesses.
Among the MOU’s priorities are community-based outreach, sharing business resources, events, educational workshops, and business advocacy. The three organizations have begun sharing information regarding public policy priorities, technical assistance resources for their small business members, as well as participating in networking events
“For too long, many of our minority business owners, associations, and leaders have fought for the same limited resources — for that seat at the table. We’re thankful for the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce leadership for their willingness, vision, and support in helping bring all of us together to ensure we have an inclusive economy that works for all of us,” said Jason Paguio, president and CEO of the Asian Business Association San Diego.
__________________
Governor signs bill giving SANDAG
more time to develop regional transit plan
Gov. Gavin Newsom ha signed Assembly Bill 1730, which allows SANDAG additional time to develop a visionary Regional Plan that provides real transportation choices that will enhance connectivity, increase safety and sustainability, and improve quality of life.
“AB 1730 is critical to ensuring that SANDAG has the time needed to develop a fully integrated, world class transportation system for the San Diego region that meets the State’s ambitious climate goals,” said SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata. “
Generally, the bill ensures that SANDAG remains compliant with state requirements so that the agency and local jurisdictions can continue to deliver projects throughout the region without delay.
Specifically, the legislation provides SANDAG with a two-year extension to update the Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy for the region.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez is author of the legislation.
__________________
Barnhart-Reese Construction awarded five new projects
Barnhart-Reese Construction Inc. (BRC) announced the award of three new projects totaling over $29.5 million, bringing the company’s 2019 contracts to $164 million.
Having recently completed construction of the Bayside Fire Station #2 for the city of San Diego, BRC announced that it has been awarded an $11.46 million contract for construction of a Satellite Fire Emergency Response Station at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
The second contract award totaling $10.53 million is from MiraCosta College for a new 10,200 square foot Student Services Building, with a testing center, bookstore, administrative offices, a multipurpose room and ancillary spaces.
BRC has also begun construction for Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox Church Sunday School Classroom Building in Colton. With a total project cost of $4.95 million, the project is currently mobilizing, with demolition and grading to begin this month.
Barnhart-Reese is building a new full-service Starbucks in La Mesa. The $1.3 million project is located at the corner of Jackson Drive and Center Drive. The new 2,000 square foot building will include a drive-through and outdoor dining patio.
The company was awarded a $1.25 million contract for United Gastroenterologist in Temecula.
__________________
Salk Report: Mapping normal breast
development to better understand cancer
Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers, and some forms rank among the most difficult to treat. Its various types and involvement of many different cells makes targeting such tumors difficult. Now, Salk Institute researchers have used a state-of-the-art technology to profile each cell during normal breast development in order to understand what goes wrong in cancer.
The team’s findings, published in Cell Reports on Oct. 8, and shared in a free online resource, lay the groundwork for understanding normal breast development and may lead to new strategies for tackling tumors.
“In order to understand what goes wrong in breast cancer, we need to first understand how normal development works,” says Geoffrey Wahl, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory and senior author of the paper. “This study represents a major step in that direction, as we were able to profile each cell during breast development. We expect this information to be a valuable hypothesis-generating resource for the mammary gland community.”
__________________
Former Cubic defense head Dave Buss
appointed CEO of OpenDrives
GovCon Wire
Dave Buss, former president of Cubic’s global defense business, has been named CEO of data storage provider OpenDrives.
He will oversee the company’s expansion efforts into the defense, security and intelligence sectors in his new role, OpenDrives said Wednesday.
“I’m excited to lead the company into new markets such as military, security, healthcare and other sectors that will benefit from OpenDrives’ pioneering and innovative storage technology,” said Buss, who will continue to work at Cubic in an advisory capacity.
Buss is a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral who joined Cubic in 2015 after nearly four decades in the service branch, where he served as commander of the Naval Air Forces. He served as president of Cubic Global Defense between 2016 and 2018.
__________________
Scripps Oceanography offering new
climate change studies minor
When Greta Thunberg took the stage at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York, she was admired by some as the leader in a new wave of climate activists, and dismissed by others as just a child out of her depth.
But no matter the pushback, what she made clear was that younger minds will be demanding and driving climate action. Minds equipped with the knowledge, skills, and drive to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. Minds that are growing up in a world that was handed to them on a tarnished silver platter.
With that in mind, Scripps Institution of Oceanography has taken a leap in preparing these minds by offering its students a new climate change studies minor. Debuting this school year, it is designed to help students from any major develop knowledge of climate science, understand the human and social dimensions of climate impacts, and take advantage of opportunities to develop and implement solutions to climate change.
“This minor provides an opportunity for every student in every major across UC San Diego to equip themselves with the tools necessary to combat climate change,” said Sarah-Mae Nelson, a former Scripps Master of Advanced Studies student who helped champion the minor as part of her capstone project.
__________________
San Diego Green Building Council
hosts 10th annual Green Homes Tour Oct. 19-20
The San Diego Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization promoting sustainable building and community practices in San Diego, will host its 10th annual Green Homes Tour on Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20. In response to growing public interest in the green movement and an abundance of groundbreaking projects in the region, the Tour has been expanded this year to two full days, showcasing a diverse collection of the most innovative eco-friendly homes in the San Diego region.
The San Diego Green Homes Tour presents a unique opportunity for members of the public, as well as industry professionals, to step inside a diverse mix of private residences to get ideas, find inspiration and explore various green features in real-world settings.
With the newly expanded two-day format, the home sites will be broken down into two geographic zones to allow guests more time to visit home sites on each day. Saturday will include homes in central San Diego, East County and South County. Sunday will focus on homes in North County.
Click here to visit the tour website.
