Daily Business Report-Jan. 29, 2020
La Jolla Commons Tower 1 (Courtesy of CoStar)
2 San Diego office building sales make
Top 50 Priciest U.S. office deals for 2019
Two San Diego office sales deals made the Top 50 Priciest U.S. Office Deals for 2019, according to a report by COMMERCIALCafé.
The priciest was the sale of the La Jolla Commons Towers I and II, for which American Assets Trust forked over $525 million; it came in at No. 19.
The only other San Diego entry in the top 50 was the $299 million sale of the Illumina Worldwide Headquarters – Buildings 1-6, which came in at No. 48.
While New York City dominated the 2018 top with 19 entries, 2019 has shown an increased investor interest in trophy assets outside this market, particularly in California and Washington State.
California snatched the No. 1 spot on the list—a title that went to Google’s $1 billion acquisition of the former Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale—overtaking NYC.
The top 50 also includes deals from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, California boasting a total of 17 entries.
Click here to read more about the rest of the deals and take a look at COMMERCIALCafé’s regional breakdowns.
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Economic Forecast 20/20
Alan Nevin, director of economic and market research for Xpera Group, takes a look at various economic indexes to predict what the upcoming fiscal year has in store for California and the United States.
To read his report, click here
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Adding to California’s news industry’s woes
Dan Morain | CALmatters
A leading news industry analyst weighed in on Assembly Bill 5, the legislation aimed at requiring gig economy companies to hire workers rather than use independent contractors.
In a piece in Nieman Lab enumerating the many challenges facing the news business, Ken Doctor noted that the “physical distribution system that long supported the daily business is falling apart.”
Said Doctor:
“To add an almost comic complication to the challenge of dead-tree delivery: California’s AB 5 just went into effect. Its admirable aim is to bring fairer benefits to those in the gig economy. But its many unintended consequences are now cascading throughout the state—spelling millions more in costs to daily publishers while wreaking havoc among freelancers.”
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s AB 5 requires companies hire workers rather than rely on independent contractors.
Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat, carried separate legislation in 2019 granting news organizations a one-year exemption, until 2021.
Tom Newton of the California News Publishers Association: “Getting relief on the delivery issue is the association’s number one issue. The ability of daily and weekly newspapers to continue to serve their communities and inform their readers is that risk if we fail.”
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Former business executive and entrepreneur
to lead University of San Diego School of Business
The University of San Diego has appointed Tim Keane, a former Fortune 500 executive and technology entrepreneur, to lead its School of Business. Keane’s private sector experience includes 20 years in marketing at Anheuser-Busch where he founded a business analytics department. He left the company to launch a software venture that became a Microsoft Joint Development Partner and was later sold to a Canadian firm.
Keane entered academe in 2004 at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. He was named a Ewing Marion Kauffman Entrepreneurial Scholar and launched the Helzberg School of Management’s Center for Leadership and Ethics.
Keane moved to Saint Louis University to lead the business school’s ethics initiatives, where he led a cross-disciplinary team in launching one of the first sustainability research centers in the nation.
Prior to joining the USD team, Keane was the founding dean of a new college of business in Denver at Regis University. He led the cultivation of the largest gift in the university’s history to name the new business school.
Through the support of USD Board Chair and former CEO of Clorox Don Knauss and his wife, Ellie, the USD School of Business is poised to increase its influence in the coming years as it breaks ground on a new 120,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art business school complex.
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Watch for your sample ballot pamphlet
for the March 3 primary election
The Registrar of Voters office is in the midst of sending out over 1.8 million Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlets to San Diego County’s registered voters for the March 3 Presidential Primary Election. All the pamphlets should be in voters’ hands by Feb. 3.
When you receive yours, check the back for your party registration. Your party status will affect which presidential primary candidate you can vote for. The Registrar urges voters to review each political party’s rules if you plan to vote for president. The back of your pamphlet will also list your assigned polling place.
The sample ballot pamphlet contains information to voters about candidates and measures as well as critical information related to the upcoming primary. Voters may also view their sample ballot pamphlet online with the View your Sample Ballot tool at sdvote.com.
If you signed up to get your sample ballot electronically, you should have already received an email giving you the same critical information, including a link to your pamphlet.
Voters who want to be among the first to see their sample ballot for the November 2020 Presidential General Election can sign up to receive all future sample ballot pamphlets electronically. Those opting to receive the pamphlet electronically will no longer get a paper copy of the pamphlet in the mail but will be notified by email when the sample ballot becomes available online.
Meantime, the Registrar is still looking for poll workers especially bilingual poll workers. For more information, call (858) 565-5800 or visit sdvote.com.
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San Diego industrial market records
10th straight year of growth
Cushman & Wakefield San Diego’s year-end report for the industrial market showed that since racking up occupancy gains of 700,000 square feet in the second quarter of 2019, San Diego’s industrial sector has seen some softening with two consecutive quarters of negative absorption.
Nonetheless, 2019 still reported a respectable 475,000 square feet of total annual growth, as the losses incurred during the year’s second half were minimal. In fact, the fourth quarter finished virtually even. Furthermore, 2019 marked the 10th year of positive annual occupancy growth, a span during which tenants absorbed 16.0 million square feet countywide.
According to data obtained from Real Capital Analytics, indicative of investor demand for San Diego product, sale activity was still robust as deals $10 million+ reached $1.4 billion and 6.5 million square feet in 2019, a 45 percent increase in sales volume from $974 million in 2018. 2019 sales volume was the highest since 2007 when $1.7 billion traded.
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Oceanside industrial building sells for $3 million
A 21,714-square-foot industrial building in Oceanside has sold for $3 million to MBW Capital Group LLC. The seller was Big Doors LLC.
The building at 2601 Industry St. sits on two acres and features heavy power, 24-foot ceiling clearance, four grade-level doors, ample parking and a large access excess yard and staging area.
Rusty Williams, Chris Roth and Jake Rubendall of Lee & Associates – North San Diego County represented the Seller, Big Doors, LLC, and the Buyer, MBW Capital Group, LLC, was represented by Colliers International of San Diego.
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San Diego ASID chapter elects first
Latina President Bertha Hernandez
Bertha Hernandez, the principal designer and owner of BH&A Interior Design, has been elected the first Latina president of the American Society of Interior Designers’ (ASID) San Diego chapter for a one-year term.
Hernandez specializes in residential and commercial interior design at her firm, especially “optimizing the functionality of space.” In 2017, she earned her “Certified Aging in Place Specialist” designation (CAPS). Her work has been featured in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles and the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Coastal Homes magazine.
Her extensive educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Northridge, with a concentration in machine design. She earned her California EIT license – and for her senior design project – she worked on a revolutionary new concept called “the hybrid car,” where she served as configuration specialist using SDRC, a cutting-edge 3-D modeling software. That specialty allowed her to secure her first job in the aircraft industry after graduation, where she designed automated cargo systems. Later, she transitioned into Telecom and worked on designing fiber-optic systems for Pacific Bell/SBC, both in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Her interest in the built environment and its influence on society led her to the interior design program at Mesa College and a shift in careers. She has been involved in ASID ever since in various leadership roles.
The new ASID board of directors also includes Suzi O’Brien, Allied ASID, president-elect; Megan Siason, Allied ASID, director of communications; Dasha Hervey, Allied ASID, membership director; Melanie Durkee, Industry Partner ASID, director of finance; Rachel Cooney, Allied ASID, director of professional development; Marcia Bryan, ASID, director at large; and Michelle Underwood, Student ASID, student rep to the board.
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Serving Seniors names new government
and community relations manager
Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping low-income and homeless seniors in San Diego County, has named Christina Selder as government and community relations manager. In this role, Selder will develop, implement and support a multi-faceted advocacy program for the older adult population at all levels of government.
Selder will position Serving Seniors for maximum leverage on aging policy initiatives with elected and appointed officials, other advocates and the general public.
Selder previously served as co-founder and vice president for Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform (CARR). CARR is a San Diego-based, 501(c)3 advocating for residents’ rights, increased state and provider accountability, and regulatory reform within California’s assisted living industry.
During her time with CARR, Selder cultivated relationships with key government officials and community organizations, drafted and supported legislative policy, and helped secure crucial grant funding.
Selder holds a Master of Science degree in gerontology from San Diego State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics/international trade and finance from Louisiana State University.
