Daily Business Report: Monday, Oct. 11, 2021
Replacing San Diego International Airport’s
Terminal 1 finally reaching starting point
Work to replace the 54-year-old Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport — A $3.4 billion undertaking — is expected to get started in November after the Federal Aviation Administration completes an environmental review of the project.
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board got the ball rolling on the project when it approved a maximum contract price of $2.6 billion for the replacement of the 19-gate terminal with a 30-gate facility. The board also awarded a contract of nearly $252 million for a new taxiway and other airfield improvements.
As the airport’s only terminal when it was built in 1967, it served 2.5 million passengers in its first year. In 2019, the same Terminal 1 served more than 12 million passengers.
The new 1.2 million-square-foot Terminal 1 will be delivered by the Turner-Flatiron joint venture.
A refreshed collection of food and beverage, news, gifts, and retail concessions, as well as more security checkpoint lanes will be located at the terminal. There also will be improvements to the airport’s roadway system, making it easier for all traffic to enter and exit.
If all goes as planned, the first 19 gates are expected to be operational in July 2025 and then the construction of the remaining 11 gates will begin that same month. The project is expected to be completed in June 2028.
The new project is estimated to create between 15,000 to 20,000 jobs for local workers. Through the Airport Authority’s Small Business Development program, 25 percent of the awarded contract value will go to small business enterprises, 80 percent will go to local businesses, and 3 percent to veteran-owned small businesses.
Terminal 1 renderings courtesy of San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
UC San Diego staff member Mario Aguilera
earns prestigious science writing award
Mario Aguilera, UC San Diego Director of Communications for Biological Sciences, has received the National Association of Sciences Writers (NASW) 2021 Excellence in Institutional Writing Award.
The NASW presented the award at its virtual ScienceWriters2021 event on Sept. 29, honoring Aguilera in the short-form category for his story, “Drug Lord’s Hippos Make Their Mark on Foreign Ecosystem.” Last year, Aguilera received Honorable Mention in the same category.
In the feature story, Aguilera details the presence of an expanding hippopotamus population near drug lord Pablo Escobar’s family zoo in Colombia. He shares research published in the journal Ecology, outlining how UC San Diego scientists and Colombian colleagues have provided the first scientific assessment of the impact that the hippos are having on Colombia’s aquatic ecosystems. Aguilera also highlights key findings from Biological Sciences Professor Jonathan Shurin, noting how the two-year project can help officials determine how to handle an invasive hippo population that could exponentially grow to the thousands.
A member of the UC San Diego staff community for 24 years, Aguilera has served as the director of communications for the Division of Biological Sciences since 2017.
North County life sciences: local innovation, global impact
San Diego County is the #3 life sciences cluster in the nation, nudged out only by Boston and the Bay Area. Equipped with homegrown talent and a shared mission to change the world, North County is home to internationally-recognized life sciences companies making big strides in genomics, biopharma, medical device manufacturing, oncology, research, and most recently, the fight against COVID-19.
Accounting for nearly 8,000 jobs, North County’s life sciences sector has an annual economic impact of $2.7 billion, making up 32 percent of San Diego County’s share when taking into account direct, indirect, and induced effects (EMSI). The sector has seen a 59 percent increase in employment growth from 2001. And jobs in this life-changing field pay out, with salaries for North County life sciences professionals averaging $145,800 annually.
Scripps family members gift $6 million for naming
of new facility to support marine biodiversity
Members of the Scripps family have donated $6 million to support the naming of a new facility dedicated to research, discovery and education in the field of marine biodiversity and conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The Marine Conservation and Technology Facility, currently under construction and expected to open in spring 2022, will be named the Ted and Jean Scripps Marine Conservation and Technology Facility, in honor of Jean and the late Edward “Ted” Scripps. The gift was made to honor their parents by Bill and Kathy Scripps, Ed and Christy Scripps, and an anonymous member of the Scripps family.
The new building will house the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CMBC), which is dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach in the education of future leaders in marine stewardship, and in the application of research focused on the preservation of marine species and ecosystems.
Cal State San Marcos president addresses
community with students in class in person
When Cal State San Marcos President Ellen Neufeldt walked over to the University Student Union for her Report to the Community Sept. 26, the contrast from her previous address nearly eight months ago was striking.
The campus was abuzz with activity, or at least as abuzz as it can be while the world remains in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 100 people were able to attend the event in the USU Ballroom in person while hundreds more watched virtually.
As Neufeldt reported during her speech, over two-thirds of the 16,000 students enrolled at CSUSM this semester are taking at least one in-person class. On the first day of fall classes in late August, Kellogg Library welcomed about 4,000 visitors, reflecting a pent-up demand for resources and study space.
Campus housing and dining services have returned to being fully operational, and on-campus events are coming back cautiously, including a convocation for students and their families in August. And student-athletes are back on the fields and courts of play after competition in the California Collegiate Athletic Association was canceled for the 2020-21 school year.
All of that is possible, Neufeldt said, because of the campus community’s strict adherence to public health policies amid the pandemic. CSUSM’s on-campus COVID positive rate remains less than half a percent.
“My gratitude goes out to every member of our campus who has been so careful and diligent about following health and safety protocols and standards,” Neufeldt said.
The speech marked Neufeldt’s third Report to the Community, an annual event at CSUSM since 2005, but it was the first one to occur in the fall. Neufeldt decided to move the event from its traditional place in February to coincide with the start of a new academic year.
Traffic light backup battery project could make
residents safer in emergencies, power shutoffs
A new traffic light backup battery system has been installed in San Dieguito that could eventually make residents around the county safer during emergenies. The pilot project is located at San Dieguito Road and Via Dos Valles, a major evacuation route for several communities, including 4S Ranch, Carmel Valley and Rancho Bernardo.
The project replaced the traffic signal’s existing lead, acid-based backup battery — the kind you’d find in your car — that could keep the light operating for four-to-six hours in a blackout, to newer nickel-zinc batteries that can keep the light working for more than 24 hours
County public works officials said the department expects to eventually install the extended nickel-zinc backup batteries at the roughly 200 traffic lights operated on County-maintained roads in the unincorporated areas.
Active Lifestyles/Senior Expo to be held
Oct. 14 in downtown Oceanside
The Active Lifestyles/Senior Expo will be held Thursday, Oct. 14th, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Civic Center Plaza, 300 North Coast Highway, in downtown Oceanside. It is free to the public.
The annual event is presented by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and Kaiser Permanente and sponsored by Tri-City Medical Center and Frontwave Credit Union.
The Active Lifestyles Expo will feature health-related businesses, nonprofits and senior organizations. In addition, a variety of free health-related screenings, giveaways and consultations will be featured throughout the event.
Attendees can also enjoy the Farmers Market which will be situated adjacent to the event.
Also included will be the recognition of the Oceanside Senior Volunteer of the Year by the City of Oceanside at 12 noon.
Innovate 78 wins International Recognition from IEDC
A program of the five cities along the 78 Corridor and EDC, Innovate 78 has won a Gold Award in the category of Innovation Programs and Initiatives from the International Economic Development Council. By spotlighting North County innovation and facilitating networking for like-minde business leaders, Innovate 78 has earned its spot as one of the world’s leading economic development programs.
Stone Distributing adds San Diego’s Village
Spirits, other SoCal craft brands
When seltzers and other craft beer alternatives began gaining traction a while back, Stone Distributing Co. took a chance on hard kombuchas — tart, carbonated beverages often seen as a healthier drink option. Kombuchas were relatively new at the time. But the category took off, and sales of Boochcraft, JuneShine and Jiant brands in Stone Distributing’s portfolio have done well, said Anthony Trento, vice president of sales.
Stone is now the nation’s largest distributor of hard kombuchas. That experience led the San Diego County company to be receptive to distributing other beverages beyond beer.
Backed by Qualcomm Ventures, Carlsbad’s Amionx lands
$6 million to prevent lithium-ion battery explosions
Amionx, a Carlsbad startup that’s developed technology to lower the risk of battery fires in consumer electronics and electric vehicles, has raised $6 million in a second round of venture capital funding. Backers include Qualcomm Ventures, an existing investor, as well as new investors Hongkou Management and Inherent Group.
Amionx will use the money to accelerate the deployment of its patented SafeCore technology into lithium-ion battery manufacturers — work that was hamstrung a bit by travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Burnham Moores Dialogue Series Oct. 27
focuses on training and attracting talent
The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate’s Oct. 27 Dialogue Series virtual event will focus on the challenges that employers face with retaining and attracting talent in today’s competitive hiring market, and current opportunities for job seekers. Speakers will include Janice P. Brown, principal at Meyers Nave; Tiffany English, senior director of architecture at Qualcomm Inc.; Carly Glova, president and executive recruiter at Building Careers LLC; and Kari Prevost, executive vice president of employee lifestyle.
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
North County Corporate Center in Vista
sold to Barings for $147.5 million
North County Corporate Center, a 493,898-square-foot industrial complex in Vista, has been acquired by Black Creek Group for $147.5 million. Barings was the seller.
The center has suites ranging in size from approximately 21,000 to 123,000 square feet, and buildings ranging from 71,464 to 123,270 square feet. This range of suite and building sizes enables both single- and multi-tenant occupancy and allows tenants to grow within the park.
Newmark Executive Managing Directors Bret Hardy, Jim Linn, Andrew Briner and Brunson Howard and Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Kevin Shannon represented the seller.
Ann Chaplin named general counsel
and corporate secretary for Qualcomm Inc.
Ann Chaplin has been named general counsel and corporate secretary for Qualcomm Inc.,
reporting directly to Cristiano Amon, president and chief executive officer, effective Nov. 1. Don Rosenberg, general counsel and corporate secretary since 2007, will serve as special advisor for policy, regulation and strategic initiatives until his retirement at the end of the year.
Chaplin brings deep expertise across a range of legal, business and technology areas, with an extensive portfolio of work in litigation and transactional matters, expert knowledge in intellectual property law and management, and varied responsibilities in many areas of corporate law and governance. Most recently, Chaplin has served as corporate secretary and deputy general counsel for General Motors.
Prior to GM, Chaplin was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where she managed the firm’s litigation practice group and focused on patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright litigation.
