Daily Business Report: Monday, Feb. 28, 2022
County opens applications for home-kitchen restaurants
Numerous economic and community benefits cited
The first aspiring chefs looking to turn their homes or apartments into mini-restaurants gathered at the County Operations Center Friday as the county officially opened its application process for “Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations.”
County supervisors unanimously approved a two-year, temporary authorization in January to let people countywide operate mini-restaurants out of their homes serving up to 30 in-person, take-out or delivery meals a day, with a maximum of 60 a week.
On Friday, County Department of Environmental Health and Quality staff and members of the San Diego Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) Coalition greeted a couple dozen people to help them navigate the application process and answer questions. The department has also created a website where people can apply and get information.
Home cooks who want to operate a microenterprise kitchen will be required to submit an application, earn a food safety manager certificate from an approved school, pass an initial inspection, and undergo annual inspections. Kitchens that rely upon well water would also have to conduct private well tests to ensure the water is safe.
County staff said comments collected in public meetings and hearings also stated that home-kitchen restaurants had numerous potential economic and community benefits. For example, they would give aspiring restaurateurs a way to earn a living and way to test their skills and ideas for an overall startup cost of about $740, rather than spending the estimated $275,000 average cost of opening a storefront restaurant. They would also provide “food justice” and healthy, home-cooked meals for communities that don’t have lots of restaurants or that lack access to healthy food.
TOP PHOTO: Roya Bagheri, Executive Director of C.O.O.K. Alliance; Karen Melvin of the San Diego MEHKO Coalition; Diana Tapiz, owner of Tres Fuegos Cocina; and Delilah Davis of Soul-Cal Café were among the dozens who attended the opening of the application process for “Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations.”
Canadian company acquires 13 life-science
buildings in Sorrento Mesa for $464 million
Oxford Properties of Toronto has put down roots in San Diego life science real estate market through the acquisition of 13 buildings located mostly in Sorrento Mesa for $464 million.
The deal announced Thursday adds 650,000 square feet to the Canadian firm’s growing West Coast life sciences footprint. It acquired the local properties from BioMed Realty, which is owned by private equity giant Blackstone.
Oxford isn’t alone in targeting San Diego life sciences properties. Longfellow Real Estate Partners, a privately held developer headquartered in Boston, had no assets in the region three years ago. Today, it has 1.26 million square feet of local life science space and 90 acres of land in the region, which it assembled at a cost of $842 million.
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego to reopen
La Jolla site after $105 million renovation, expansion
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) reopens its La Jolla location on Saturday, April 9, following four years of a $105 million renovation and expansion by Selldorf Architects.
The expanded museum will offer four times the current gallery space, two levels of light-filled galleries, a public park, and new seaside terraces offering dramatic views of the Pacific Coast. The new design includes the renovation of 28,000 square feet of existing spaces as well as the addition of 46,400 square feet of new spaces to MCASD, effectively doubling the museum’s existing square footage and bringing the new total size of the museum to 104,400 square feet.
Since the museum’s founding in 1941, MCASD has evolved into a leading visual arts organization with two distinct locations, situated in the coastal community of La Jolla and in the heart of downtown San Diego.
The La Jolla building will be renamed in honor of donors and arts supporters Joan and Irwin Jacobs. Their gift of $20 million provided the foundation for the extensive fundraising efforts.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds completion
of Calexico West Port of Entry
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden will enable the completion of the Calexico West Land Port of Entry (LPOE) modernization and expansion project.
Specifically, the funding will replace the current 1970s-era building with a new expanded state of the art secure pedestrian facility for processing pedestrians entering the United States.
The project will temporarily shift processing of pedestrians to the adjacent historic customs, maintaining operations.
The updated infrastructure will provide the capacity to reduce wait times and enhance the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) ability to conduct their mission. For example, the project will allow CBP to more effectively deploy the latest technology to identify high-risk activity and shipments, combat drug trafficking, and increase operational security.
Jamul Casino opens newly renovated High Limit Rooms
Jamul Casino has opened its newly renovated High Limit Rooms, with its Feng Shui design. The re-designed space offers a larger High Limit Slot Room with a dedicated bar, a separate High Limit Asian Games room, and a private High Limit VIP lounge. Players also enjoy additional security and privacy.
Based on the principles of Feng Shui, the High Limit Rooms are designed to bring luck into the spaces. The High Limit Rooms face northwest and feature elements of metal with white, gold, and silver. With beautiful lighting and refined finishes, the High Limit Rooms define understated elegance. Construction was completed by Cell Construction, with custom fabrications by eGads and 3form.
Juvilyn Alegre reappointed to California
Building Standards Commission
Juvilyn D. Alegre, 51, of Chula Vista, has been reappointed to the California Building Standards Commission by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
She has served on the commissoion since 2016.
Alegre has served as fire prevention supervisor at the San Diego Fire Rescue Department since 2012, where she was a fire prevention inspector from 2007 to 2012.
She was a wastewater pretreatment inspector at the City of San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department from 2000 to 2007 and hazardous materials inspector at the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department from 1994 to 2000.
The position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Alegre is a Democrat.
City to raise fees for special events
while the events industry struggles
While a compromise struck recently by City Council to phase-in proposed special-event fee increases for nonprofits is helpful, it’s not nearly enough to support a live-events industry on the brink of collapse from pandemic restrictions, said an industry spokesperson.
“The cost increases are coming from all sides after many of us in the live-events industry didn’t work for the last 18 months,” said Laurel McFarlane, president of the San Diego Event Coalition. “Other industries like hairdressers and gymnasiums were able to find ways to work. But our industry was almost completely shut down. It hasn’t been open since June 2021.”
Added McFarlane: “There just seems to be this non-understanding that there is a complete industry here that basically just took it on the chin during the pandemic. But instead of giving us a few years to recover, the city is potentially increasing fees in an industry that’s barely hanging on as it is.”
UCSD receives $12.4 million to map
the human nervous system
UC San Diego has received a $12.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support a new research center dedicated to studying the human brain and central nervous system, and the ways HIV and opioids affect them. This research will enhance understanding of the damage caused y chemical exposure, aging, and RNA viral infections, and will place UCSD among leading central nervous system research institutions, including those at MIT, Cornell, and Yale.
Bristol Myers Squibb grants nearly $8 million for health equity
Bristol Myers Squibb has awarded $7.965 million in health equity grants to 24 U.S. nonprofit organizations that aim to improve access and care to medically under-resourced communities, including the American Lung Association and Dia De La Mujer Latina which have a presence in San Diego. The grants will bolster community engagement, increase care coordination services, and expand an ethnically diverse, culturally competent health worker and patient navigator workforce.
Carlsbad’s Amionx inks deal for tech
that helps fireproof lithium-ion batteries
Amionx, a Carlsbad company that’s developed a patented process to prevent lithium ion batteries from exploding and catching fire, said it entered into an agreement with a Chinese battery manufacturer to deploy its SafeCore technology in production. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Amionx has begun the technology transfer of a SafeCore design to Li-Fun for use when making certain batteries for consumer electronics.
SafeCore acts as a circuit breaker to prevent lithium-ion batteries from igniting from internal shorts, overcharging or overheating — which is known as thermal runaway. While rare, thermal runaway can spark intense fires in battery powered devices ranging from electric vehicles to hoverboards.
San Diego Housing Commission offers
funds for first-time homebuyers
The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) offers deferred loans, homeownership grants, and mortgage credit certificates to help low- and moderate-income families buy their first homes.
The SDHC First-Time Homebuyer Program can assist with the purchase of a single-family home, townhome or condominium in the City of San Diego.
This program is funded primarily through federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships Program grants to the City of San Diego that are administered by SDHC.
Additional funding sources include federal Community Development Block Grant funds, State CalHome Program funds, and City of San Diego Affordable Housing Funds.
San Diego’s Hookit acquired by
New York City-based KORE Software
San Diego-based Hookit has been acquired by New York City-based KORE Software. Hookit is the industry leader in data analytics of sports sponsorships, using its proprietary AI-driven platform to track social media of around 500,000 entities – pro athletes, teams, event properties, celebrities, influencers, etc. – to quantify their value for the brands that sponsor them.
Hookit clients include the world’s biggest brands like Nike, Red Bull, Audi, Rolex, Nissan, Master Card and Visa.
Hookit co-founder and CEO Scott Tilton called the acquisition by KORE “completely synergistic” because both companies are focused on sports sponsorships, sports marketing and engagement marketing.
General Atomics pairs Avenger UAS
with virtual UAS in demonstration
As part of the company’s commitment to develop advanced unmanned autonomy, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) used a company-owned Avenger Unmanned Aircraft System and five hardware-in-the-loop synthetic Avengers to autonomously search and follow an artificially-generated adversary. The live-virtual swarm utilized a simulated Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensor network in addition to the government-furnished CODE autonomy engine to accomplish the mission.
In the two-hour flight on Jan. 28, 2022, the Avenger flew over the high desert of Southern California. The live Avenger was commanded into a search mission with the five simulated Avengers. Once the simulated adversary entered the designated search area, the team of Avengers would decide, utilizing an AI/ML algorithm, which aircraft would autonomously break from the search-loiter and perform complex behaviors to show closed loop, air-to-air tactics.
