Daily Business Report: Thursday, June 3, 2021
New office and retail development
debuts in Downtown San Diego
LeBeau Realty & Associates, a San Diego-based commercial real estate firm, announced the completion of its Twenty by Six development in Downtown San Diego, and is now marketing the project to professionals looking for an elevated workspace.
Construction began in March of 2020 with intent to design a creative and flexible work environment. The final production, with financing from the Heitman Group, combines a new, 91,000-square-foot, six-story office building and jewel box restaurant space with an already existing 20-story tower.
Located at 450 B Street and 451 A Street with more than three stories of subterranean parking, Twenty by Six offers movable walls and balconies that link the overall campus, fully operable windows on each floor, an exclusive open-air deck for tenants on the third floor, a private patio for tenants on the sixth floor, and conference space to co-work and create.
Outside of the office, tenants of Twenty by Six will have a training center with an outdoor private meeting deck, a fully-equipped exercise, yoga and wellness center that features a Peloton studio, hospitality-style showers and locker rooms, and an on-demand personal training library with hundreds of unique fitness classes. Space for a ground-level cafe to serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and beverages to employees has also been built and is available for immediate leasing. Separating the two buildings is The Commons, an interactive courtyard with an outdoor fireplace, lounge seating and lush green landscape used as a communal center for dining and group activities.
PHOTO: The Twenty by Six development in Downtown San Diego
San Diego Building Industry Association
hires first woman CEO in its 83-year history
The local building industry has found a new advocate for more home construction in Lori Holt Pfeiler, the former Escondido mayor and head of the local Habitat for Humanity.
Pfeiler, 63, will become the new CEO of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County in July, the association announced Tuesday. The role serves as a campaigner for increased housing production throughout the county. She takes over for Borre Winckel, who announced his retirement in February.
The selection is unique in that Pfeiler is the first woman CEO of the association in its 83-year history and her background is in subsidized housing. Throughout its history, the group has largely selected its leadership from the world of market-rate developers.
State reports cannabis excise tax revenue
for 1st quarter of 2021 at $131.9 million
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) reported revenue numbers for cannabis sales for the 1st Quarter of 2021. As of May 18, 2021, California’s cannabis excise tax generated $131.9 million in revenue reported on the 1st Quarter 2021 returns and the cultivation tax generated $30.7 million.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all but the largest taxpayers were given a three-month extension to file their 1st Quarter 2021 tax returns with CDTFA. These returns are now due Aug. 2, 2021.
Sales tax from cannabis businesses totaled $82.4 million in revenue for the same period. Sales tax applies to sales of cannabis, cannabis products, and other tangible personal property. Certain retail sales of medicinal cannabis are exempt from sales and use taxes when the purchaser provides, at the time of purchase, a valid Medical Marijuana Identification Card issued by the California Department of Public Health and a valid government-issued identification card.
County Water Authority approves
Urban Water Management Plan
After years in the making, San Diego County Water Authority’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan was approved on May 27th. The final plan will be submitted to the California Department of Water Resources by July 1st.
The plan highlights the regional commitment to a “water portfolio approach” and how supply management will ensure San Diego County continues to have reliable water supplies through 2045, even during multiple dry years.
“We continue to collaborate with our member agencies on investments in infrastructure and local supply sources to benefit the region’s ratepayers now and in future years” said board ChaGary Croucher.
New Sky Deck to open in Carmel Valley June 11
After a year-long pandemic-related delay, a new 26,000 square-foot culinary destination will begin opening on June 11. Modeled after El Nacional, the famously luxurious, 400-seat dining-and-drinking destination in Barcelona, Spain, this $120 million project is located on El Camino Real and Del Mar Heights Road.
“This isn’t a food hall, and please don’t call it a food court. This is a restaurant collection and a culinary experience,” said Donahue, the former CEO of Donahue Schriber Realty Group, the Costa Mesa company that developed Sky Deck.
For opening updates, visit delmarhighlandstowncenter.com/skydeck/
Deadline extended for City of Carlsbad
Cybersecurity-Awareness Program
The City of Carlsbad invites local small businesses to participate in a new Carlsbad Cybersecurity-Awareness Program. The city is partnering with the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) to offer several no-cost benefits. Carlsbad-based small business owners can:
• Understand your business’s current online exposure and risk assessment via a report from RiskRecon, a MasterCard company
• Access training resources to help your employees become more cyber-aware, using ESET North America’s proprietary platform
To be eligible, businesses must have fewer than 100 employees and be operating in the City of Carlsbad. To participate, fill out the application.
Jobless residents paying private companies to help
them bypass EDD’s jammed phone lines
CalMatters
The situation at California’s unemployment department — where the backlog of unresolved claims has grown for six straight weeks — is so dire that jobless residents are paying private companies to help them bypass the Employment Development Department’s jammed phone lines.
Meanwhile, many non-English speakers are paying intermediaries to fill out their unemployment applications and recertify them every two weeks, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The outsourcing of labor highlights fundamental gaps in EDD’s services: Although the department recently took steps to shorten wait times by allowing claimants to request a call back after waiting 15 minutes on hold, many people have trouble reaching the hold line in the first place — prompting them to pay companies to robo-call the department to secure a place in line. (EDD says the robo-calls could actually be contributing to lengthy wait times.) And lawmakers have long criticized EDD for not making information available in multiple languages, a problem both pending legislation and Newsom’s budget proposalaim to address.
Petco publishes first sustainability report
Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc. announced the release of its first sustainability report on May 28, 2021. The report details Petco’s progress from the past year in setting the standard in responsible animal care, preserving the health of our planet and helping people thrive, as well as the continued and unconditional support provided to pets and pet parents.
Robotic Research, Verizon collaborate on
autonomous shuttles at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Robotic Research LLC, a leader in autonomous driving technology and solutions, and Verizon Public Sector, a key Department of Defense digital transformation partner, announced their joint support of an autonomous shuttle pilot project with US Ignite, Local Motors, and NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge as part of the 5G Living Lab at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, in San Diego.
As part of the 90-day pilot, Robotic Research is providing the autonomous driving technology for Local Motors’ autonomous shuttle, Olli, transporting people and packages around MCAS Miramar, leveraging Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband to transmit the vast system and sensor data collected by the shuttle back to Robotic Research’s nSight Vault storage service.
Both Robotic Research and Verizon will be showcasing the benefits of combined 5G and autonomous mobility during the Electric Mobility Symposium, June 24th at MCAS Miramar.
