Daily Business Report-Sept. 17, 2020

The retail counter design for The UPS Store. (Photos Credit: The UPS Store)

The UPS Store unveils modern

new store design to meet needs

of consumers, small businesses

The UPS Store, headquartered in San Diego, unveiled a new and contemporary design of its retail stores, now available for its large network of franchise owners. The first set of fully redesigned stores, which include the first major change to the stores’ layout in two decades, have opened in several markets around the country.

“In a rapidly changing business environment, The UPS Store seeks to create a place where business happens in real time,” said Tim Davis, president of The UPS Store Inc. “We’re elevating the retail experience to cater to today’s small business owner and consumer, while helping drive growth and profitability for our network of franchise owners.”

The transformed look and layout create a more seamless in-store customer experience while reflecting the new demands of a world driven by tech and e-commerce. Compared to the previous design, the new stores are more open in their layout to highlight the breadth of services, brighter in both color and lighting and feature more digital elements than ever before.

In addition to its current network of franchisees, the new design will be standard for new franchise owners, and the retailer offers both a veteran incentive program and a minority incentive program for new franchisee candidates looking to enter the network.

To thank and honor veterans for their service, the veteran incentive program provides $10,000 off the initial franchise fee.

The UPS Store design team worked with Columbus, Ohio-based design firm Chute Gerdeman to develop the new look, feel and layout.

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LeBeau Realty & Associates

building six-story office

building in Downtown

LeBeau Realty & Associates, a San Diego commercial real estate firm, has formally announced plans for its Twenty by Six development, a six-story, 90,000-square-foot office building that will share its site, 450 B Street, with an existing 20-story office tower.

The complete project will be formally rebranded as Twenty by Six as a nod to the existing 20-story tower and the new six-story office building currently in development. In total, Twenty by Six will cover 364,160 square feet over three stories of subterranean parking.

The six-story new-build designed by Gensler, will feature customizable office space as well as a ground-level cafe offering breakfast, lunch, dinner and a full beverage menu. Windows will be fully operable on each floor, allowing for fresh air to invigorate the work environment.

The building will also offer an exclusive open-air deck for its third floor tenant and a private patio for its sixth floor tenant. Between the two buildings, The Commons will offer a spacious, open-air shared space for employees.

The project was developed with financing from the Heitman Group.

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Housing Commission and city

seek purchase of 2 San Diego

hotels to house the homeless

The City of San Diego and San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) announced the details surrounding the proposed purchase of two hotels that will be transformed into more than 330 new housing units with supportive services.

The hotels are the Residence Inn on Hotel Circle in Mission Valley and a Residence Inn in Kearny Mesa, which  were identified after SDHC reviewed 29 properties.

In response to San Diego’s application, the State of California reserved $27.7 million in Project Homekey program funds for the purchase of the Residence Inn on Hotel Circle. The state notified the city and SDHC on Sept. 8 that it has reserved an additional $10 million for the purchase of the Residence Inn in Kearny Mesa.

The purchase of the two properties would create 332 permanent supportive housing units, with 72 of the units having two bedrooms, for a capacity to provide housing for more than 400 individuals. The units were determined to require minimal work to be able to move in. No comprehensive rehabilitation of the properties is necessary. The Hotel Circle property was built in 2003; the Kearny Mesa property was built in 1990 and underwent a renovation in 2013.

The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Aug. 25 to approve Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s request to authorize $5.4 million to fund essential supportive services for the individuals who would reside at the properties.

Residents of the properties would include individuals currently staying at Operation Shelter to Home at the San Diego Convention Center, which opened on April 1 as a temporary shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic and serves about 1,100 individuals per day.

The properties will be presented to the SDHC Board of Commissioners for consideration on Friday and to the City Council in October in its role as the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego.

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County to open erosion control

center for Valley Fire

businesses and residents

The county will open a new erosion control center in Alpine Thursday to help businesses and homeowners in the areas burned by the Valley Fire by giving out free sandbags, fiber rolls and items to stabilize properties before winter rains arrive.

The Erosion Control Homeowners’ Assistance Center will be located at San Diego County’s Alpine Road Station at 2914 Tavern Road and is being opened specifically for unincorporated residents and businesses inside the burn areas.

Starting Thursday, the center will be open to those business and property owners from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.

Through this weekend, appointments will not be required. Appointments will be required starting Monday. People can make an appointment to pick up erosion control materials by calling the County’s Stormwater hotline at (888) 846-0800.

In addition to the free sandbags, fiber rolls and stakes, people can get brochures showing how to properly install the items so that rains don’t damage properties by washing people’s soil away.

County Department of Public Works staff will also be at the center to advise people about how to protect their properties, homes, garages, sheds and other structures.

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UC San Diego Health revives non-beating

donor heart for successful transplantation

UC San Diego Health is the first hospital on the West Coast to perform heart transplant surgery from a donor after circulatory death, or DCD, using a new portable organ care system. The successful surgery is part of a national interventional clinical trial that could increase organ donation by an estimated 20-30 percent, resulting in less waiting time for patients in need of a new heart.

DCD involves retrieving organs from hospitalized donors who have died because their heart has stopped, either naturally or because life support has been discontinued. In such cases, with prior consent, surgeons remove the organ — within 30 minutes — and connect it to a machine that perfuses the heart with warm blood, reviving and keeping the organ beating and functional for assessment and possible transplantation. The warm perfusion system can potentially keep the organ viable for longer periods than traditional cold storage, allowing for transporting organs over much longer distances.

Read more…

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Stemson Therapeutics secures $7.5 million

seed financing for hair regeneration therapy

San Diego-based Stemson Therapeutics announced a $7.5 million seed financing led by Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie Company, and impact investor Fortunis Capital to advance development of Stemson’s therapeutic solution to cure hair loss.

Stemson aims to restore human hair growth with a novel approach using the patient’s own cells to generate new hair follicles. Allergan Aesthetics is a medical aesthetics company. Fortunis Capital, a London-based venture capital firm, is committed to continuing support of Stemson’s regenerative cell therapy to treat hair loss. Fortunis Capital’s new Impact Fund intends to invest in companies, such as Stemson, who offer significant social or environmental benefit.

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SD Community College District

adopts $780 million budget

The San Diego Community College District’s (SDCCD) Board of Trustees has adopted a $780-million budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year that continues to emphasize student access and success while addressing the unprecedented challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget includes $448 million in General Fund spending and $332 million in other Funds, representing a $24.6 million overall increase compared to the 2019‐20 budget. Most of this year’s increase – $22.7 million – is from COVID-19 related stimulus funds to provide direct aid to students impacted by the pandemic and funding to ensure continuity of instructional operations in a remote manner.

Among the budget’s highlights:

• The SDCCD anticipates receiving $2.6 million from the state to help support the district’s tuition-free San Diego Promise, which attracted a record 2,045 freshmen this fall at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges.
• The federal CARES Act provided $13.7 million to address COVID-19 related student, academic and operational issues. Fifty percent of that amount, or a total of $6,869,858, is being directed toward financial aid to students and the remaining 50 percent will help cover other academic and institutional costs directly tied to the impacts of the pandemic.
• A hiring freeze initiated during the 2019-20 fiscal year will continue, with only critical positions being filled.