Daily Business Report: Friday, April 1, 2022
San Diego’s Neurocrine Biosciences to grow
the region’s life science sector with impending
move to larger headquarters at Aperture Del Mar
In one of the largest lease transactions in San Diego history, locally-based Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. has signed a long-term lease at Aperture Del Mar, further cementing the region’s reputation as one of the largest life science centers in the United States.
The lease includes four buildings, totaling 535,000-square-feet of Class A life science and office space on 15.72 acres in a coastal setting. The San Diego company will relocate its headquarters from 12780 El Camino Real, and begin to move into the new campus in 2023.
“Aperture is the perfect fit for Neurocrine Biosciences’ future headquarters, said Matt Abernethy, the company’s chief financial officer. “The site will enable us to more than double our lab space, supporting our focus on developing therapies that relieve suffering for people with great needs, but few treatment options.” The company works on medicines for neurological, neuroendocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders.
When its space is completed, Neurocrine Biosciences will occupy four office and research buildings totaling 535,000 square feet and has the option to expand into a fifth building which can offer up to another 125,000 square feet.
JLL’s team of Chad Urie and Grant Schoneman represented Neurocrine Biosciences in the lease. Gemdale USA Corporation is the owner and developer of Aperture Del Mar and was represented by JLL’s Tony Russell.
Gemdale acquired the property from Lincoln Property Company in October 2019 with development beginning a month later. Phase 1 of Aperture Del Mar, including the parking structure, was completed in November 2021.
Top Photo: Aperture Del Mar. (Photo by Dave Pino)
Outgunned: Why California’s groundbreaking
firearms law is failing
by Robert Lewis | CalMatters
Two decades ago, California legislators added a new weapon to the state’s growing arsenal of gun-control measures, already among the toughest in the nation. Their motivation came from 2,000 miles away in a shaken Chicago suburb.
It was there that a gunman opened fire in an engine factory where he’d worked for nearly 40 years. He killed four people and wounded four others before pulling the trigger on himself. It was soon revealed that some of the weapons he smuggled inside should have been earlier confiscated because of his past criminal convictions.
In the wake of the rampage, and with lofty expectations, California became the first state in the country to create a database identifying thousands of people who’d legally purchased guns but were now deemed too dangerous to be armed.
In a rare display of bipartisanship — especially on an issue as fractious as gun control — the California Legislature wanted to give state and local authorities a methodical way to remove firearms from individuals who’d lost their right to bear them because of violent crimes, serious mental health issues or active restraining orders.
But what seemed at the time like a straight-forward approach to the enforcement of existing gun laws has instead become mired in chronic shortcomings, failing for years to make good on its potential. Successive administrations have vowed to fix the problems, but all have fallen short.
St. Paul’s Manor to undergo $17 million renovation
St. Paul’s Senior Services launches a $17 million capital campaign for extensive renovations to St. Paul’s Manor, an independent living community in Bankers Hill, supporting seniors of modest means for over 60 years. The Manor is the flagship of St. Paul’s Senior Services, a community that has given quality of life to thousands of independent seniors since it first opened in 1963. Now, the Bankers Hill building is in much need of both cosmetic and infrastructure updates throughout the 11-story building.
Construction will begin this year. Enhancements will include updates to the building exterior, common areas which will feature a “pub” area for socializing, upgrades to the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure, and cosmetic and structural updates to the 134 apartments as well. Construction should be completed by the fall of 2022 though applications for premium apartment selection are currently underway for potential new residents.
St. Paul’s has received $7,800,000 in gifts and pledges of its $17 million fundraising goal.
Lufthansa begins nonstop flights between Munich and San Diego
Lufthansa last week celebrated its first nonstop flight between San Diego International Airport and Munich, Bavaria, Germany via Munich Franz Josef Strauss International Airport. This is the first-ever nonstop service between San Diego and Munich. Currently, flights operate three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and will grow to five times weekly service in May when Lufthansa adds service on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The route is served by one of Lufthansa’s newest aircraft, the Airbus A350-900. This aircraft uses 25 percent less kerosene, produces 25 percent fewer emissions, and is significantly quieter on take-off. The 293-seat aircraft is equipped with a three-class configuration offering 48 seats in Business Class, 21 seats in Premium Economy, and 224 seats in Economy classes. At just under 18.4 feet wide, the cabin is more spacious than comparable models of aircraft currently in operation.
Darshana R. Patel appointed to the Commission
on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs
The Senate Rules Committee, chaired by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego), has appointed Darshana R. Patel to the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. Patel was nominated by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.
Patel is the vice president of the Poway Unified School District Board of Education Trustees. She is a member of the San Diego Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, California School Boards Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Previously, she served as a project manager and a post-doctoral research scientist for Genentech Inc.
Patel lives in San Diego, and the term is for four years. Compensation is reimbursement for actual and necessary travel expenses.
“Dr. Patel is a trusted leader in her community and tireless advocate for quality education in California schools,” Atkins said.
Kyle T. Overs selected for inclusion
in 2022 San Diego Rising Stars list
Kyle T. Overs, partner in the Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP law firm in San Diego, has been selected for inclusion in the 2022 San Diego Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers.
The list recognizes up-and-coming attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or have been practicing for 10 years or less.
Overs earned Rising Star honors for the fifth consecutive year (2018-2022). His practice is dedicated to helping clients with complex business and trust litigation. Overs represents clients ranging from individuals, to Fortune 500 companies, to single-member limited liability companies.
Overs was named as a 40 Under 40 Award winner by SD Metro Magazine in 2020 and is a recipient of both the State Bar of California’s Wiley M. Manual Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services and the Outstanding Service Award from the Legal Aid Society of San Diego.
Overs serves as a board member and Grants Committee chair of the San Diego County Bar Foundation.
He received his law degree from the University of Arizona, cum laude, in 2012 and his B.S. from Wake Forest University in 2009.
Burnham-Moores 26th annual Real EstateConference set for April 7 via ZOOM
The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate will host the 26th annual Real Estate Conference, Virtual Edition on Thursday, April 7, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics and internationally renowned trends economist, will be the keynote speaker. With a long-term accuracy rating of 94.7 percent, Beaulieu and ITR Economics have forecasted major economic events, such as the Great Recession of 2008, years in advance.
Following Beaulieu, a second session will be led by Dan Broderick, president of the Americas West region for Cushman & Wakefield. Broderick will offer an overview of projects in San Diego. A session of experts will follow which will be moderated by Mitch Roschelle, founding partner of Macro Trends Advisors LLC.
Session guests to include: Carrie Bobb, founder and CEO of Carrie Bobb & Co. and hellojenny; Sarah Kruer Jager, partner of Monarch Group; Christopher J. Pascal, senior vice president of CBRE; and Brett Ward, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield.
U.S. News names UC San Diego graduate
programs among top 10 in the nation
U.S. News & World Report released its 2023 Best Graduate Schools ranking, naming graduate programs and professional schools at the University of California San Diego among the best in the country. The rankings placed nine of the campus’s graduate programs among the top 10 in the nation. UC San Diego is now ranked No. 1 for doctoral students studying behavioral neuroscience, up three places since it was last ranked in 2017.
In its latest 2023 report, the outlet also gave praise to a diverse selection of programs across campus. The campus’s programs in discrete mathematics and geophysics both placed sixth in the U.S., with econometrics ranking seventh, neurosciences ninth, and genetics 10th.
The rankings named UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering 10th overall in the nation and sixth among public engineering schools. In addition, the bioengineering program within the engineering school is ranked fourth in the nation. The school’s computer science specialization in systems placed in the eighth spot within its respective category.
Netradyne announces partnership
with Aim Transportation Solutions
Netradyne, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing focusing on driver and fleet safety, announced a partnership with Aim Transportation Solutions, a provider of customized fleet services designed to benefit any business that distributes or manufactures products. Through the partnership, Aim will deploy Netradyne’s advanced vision-based driver recognition and fleet safety solution throughout its fleet of vehicles.
Headquartered in Ohio, Aim Transportation Solutions is a family-owned and operated provider of full-service truck and trailer leasing; commercial truck and trailer rental; 3PL brokerage; dedicated contract carriage; professional shop management and truck and trailer maintenance.
Aim turned to Netradyne for its combination of an AI-enabled camera and scoring algorithm. Since implementing Driver•i, Aim has seen dramatic improvement across every metric, including stop sign compliance, traffic light violations and following distance. Aim drivers have also responded positively to Driver•i because of its GreenZone scoring system which shows a holistic view of the driver’s performance and helps put the driver in control.
Sempra and TotalEnergies expand
North American strategic alliance
Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra, and TotalEnergies, are expanding their North American strategic alliance through two memoranda of understanding (MOU): one for Sempra Infrastructure’s proposed Vista Pacífico LNG project in Mexico; and a second MOU for a proposed offshore wind project in California under development by TotalEnergies, as well as other renewable energy and energy storage projects under development by Sempra Infrastructure in Northern Mexico.
The MOU for Vista Pacífico LNG contemplates TotalEnergies potentially contracting for approximately one-third of the long-term export production of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility under development on Mexico’s west coast, as well as TotalEnergies’ potential participation as a minority equity investor in the project.
The second MOU provides a framework for broader cooperation in the development of North American renewable energy projects, including the potential acquisition by Sempra Infrastructure of a target of 30 percent of TotalEnergies’ equity interest in a proposed offshore wind project, which would result in 24 percent of the project, in preparation for an upcoming auction off the coast of California
Guild Mortgage named a 2022
Best Company to Work For
San Diego-based Guild Mortgage has been named one of the 2022 Best Large Mortgage Companies to Work For by National Mortgage News.
This annual survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best employers in the U.S. mortgage industry. This year’s list included 50 companies, only two of which had more than 2,000 employees. National Mortgage News honored all the winners and revealed the final rankings in a special report published on March 7, 2022.
With more than 5,000 employees, Guild made the list of Best Large Mortgage Companies to Work For, defined as companies with 500 or more employees.
To determine the rankings, National Mortgage News surveyed employees on eight topics: leadership and planning; corporate culture and communications; role satisfaction; work environment; relationship with supervisor; training, development and resources; pay and benefits; and overall engagement.
