Daily Business Report: Friday, April 15, 2022
Sempra to give record profits to investors
on heels of SDG&E customer bill spikes
by Camille von Kaenel | inewsource
Sempra Energy, the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric, is paying out its highest profits ever to its investors this month.
The upcoming payout to investors on Friday comes on the heels of a massive spike in bills for many SDG&E customers, who already shoulder the highest per-unit electric prices in the country. SDG&E executives blamed inflation and an unusual spike in the cost of natural gas for the higher utility bills. The spikes came after the utility raised its rates for the year.
The payout also comes as consumer advocates say SDG&E’s rates and profit margins, which the utility is negotiating with a state regulator, are too high.
San Diego County wine sales
up 19 percent to exceed $44 million
Wineries in San Diego County received $44.1 million in gross sales last year, a 19 percent increase from 2020, the San Diego County Vintners Association reported. That figure did not reach the local winery industry’s all-time-high of sales in 2019, which was $46.2 million.
The number of active wineries on the county also rose to 160 in 2021.
About 1,370 acres of vines were harvested in the region last year, producing 3,073 tons of wine grapes with a production value of $5.2 million. These figures are down from pre-pandemic 2019 when San Diego County vineyards harvested 3,596 tons of wine grapes, generating a $5.58 million production value, with a sales price of $1,552 per ton, a record amount achieved in the region. About 81 percent of growers surveyed reported excellent to good harvest quality, the strongest seen since 2016.
The top three varietals produced in the county last year retain their rankings from prior years – Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Sangiovese, respectively, with Grenache and Merlot tied for fourth, and Chardonnay and Petite Syrah tied for fifth. This is the first time that a white wine varietal has appeared in the top five for regional varietals.
Construction completed on Veterans
Affairs’ ‘one-stop-shop’ outpatient clinic
Construction is complete on the Veterans Affairs (VA) Outpatient Clinic at 8875 Aero Drive in San Diego. Ware Malcomb provided architecture, planning, interior design, civil engineering, branding and building measurement services for the project.
The clinic, an anticipated “one-stop-shop” for hundreds of veterans’ health care needs, is situated on 7.74 acres in the second largest suburban office submarket in San Diego County. The project was a conversion of an existing two-story, 100,000-square-foot former bank vault building into a 130,000-square-foot medical office space by adding first-floor additions on the north and west sides of the building.
The existing building once guarded as much as $1 billion in cash and coin and was built like a bunker with a two-ton vault door. With the new clinic, Veterans Affairs will increase its services to include mental health, audiology, radiology, prosthetics, physical therapy, dental, and women’s health. The facility also hosts an eye clinic, a specialty clinic, a pathology lab, and a large primary care department.
Project construction was led by general contractor Lusardi. Protea Properties, the project’s developer, is based in San Diego.
California life sciences industry attracted
$12.5 billion in venture capital in 2021
California’s life sciences sector directly employed 313,230 people, attracted $12.5 billion in venture capital and received $5 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2021, according to a report by California Life Sciences, a life sciences membership organization.
“Our annual Sector Report provides a wholistic assessment of our complex ecosystem and our state’s overall impact to the broader industry and economy,” said Mike Guerra, president and CEO of California Life Sciences. “This report reveals the impact of the pandemic, access to capital, valuations, employee recruitment, health equity, supply chain challenges, clinical trials, M&A, outsourcing, company culture and more. Despite the challenges, the industry has responded with resilience and continued growth.”
The full report can be downloaded here.
Amy M. Sitapati named 2022 Leonard Tow
Humanism in Medicine Award recipient
Honoring those who demonstrate the highest standard of compassion and sensitivity in their interaction with patients, Amy M. Sitapati, M.D., chief medical information officer for Population Health at UC San Diego Health and clinical professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, has received the 2022 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
Sitapati credits this award with her practice of Kelee Meditation, which she states has provided her with mental strength and stillness that has enabled her to be centered in order to provide compassionate care, a strength she relied upon heavily during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a career spanning more than two decades, Sitapati began as an 18-year-old volunteer at a children’s hospital working with patients facing terminal cystic fibrosis.
During summer breaks in college, she served as a peer support and secretary for an oncology team, where she witnessed the fortitude of children with cancer.
The Mather Group acquires San Diego’s Avenue Advisors
The Mather Group LLC, a wealth management firm with 11 offices across the country and more than $8.2 billion in assets under management, has announced its acquisition of Avenue Advisors LLC, a registered investment adviser (RIA) firm based in San Diego.
Avenue Advisors had approximately $85 million in assets under management, and was led by managing member Jean Sinclair, who joined TMG as part of the acquisition.
“Moving to TMG brings so many resources that I believe will be meaningful to my clients,” said Sinclair. “Being able to leverage the broad and deep technical experience of TMG’s highly credentialed professionals, having a team of people supporting me and providing greater accessibility for clients, and tapping into a robust technology platform will all be beneficial.”
Port of San Diego and USS Midway Museum
advance plans for ‘Freedom Park’ on Navy Pier
The Port of San Diego and USS Midway Museum have reached an agreement that lays out a plan to fully convert Navy Pier into a new public park, proposed to be called “Freedom Park,” on San Diego Bay’s North Embarcadero.
The Board of Port Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that includes the Port’s commitment of $11.7 million in federal stimulus funding received via the American Rescue Plan Act and the Midway’s contribution of no less than $30 million to the project.
The project plans call for the demolition of the headhouse on the pier, completion of pile improvements and pier reinforcements, as well as buildout of the park with amenities reflecting San Diego’s military history, pedestrian walkways around and through the park, landscaping, benches, signage, restrooms, and parking. The full cost of buildout of the park is to be determined as the park is further designed.
State offers grants for cleanup
of illicit cannabis plants on public lands
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced two upcoming funding opportunities through the Cannabis Restoration Grant Program (CRGP). Each solicitation will offer up to $10 million for qualified projects.
The first opportunity is the draft Public Lands Cleanup and Remediation Solicitation for the cleanup and remediation of illicit cannabis cultivation impacts on qualified public land. The second opportunity is the draft Watershed Enhancement Solicitation for enhancing watershed and communities through road improvements, cleanup and remediation on private lands, wildlife and habitat enhancements, and/or water conservation projects.
CDFW will host an online workshop on April 22, 2022, at 10 a.m. to provide an overview of the two draft solicitations. See CDFW’s CRGP page for additional details about the workshop.
Tower 16 Capital Partners acquires 322-unit
apartment building in Tucson, Ariz.
San Diego-based Tower 16 Capital Partners has acquired Nottinghill Apartments, a 322-unit multifamily property in Tucson, Ariz., in an off-market transaction for $35.5 million. Nottinghill is Tower 16’s third investment in Tucson since entering the market in late 2020. The San Diego-based multifamily investment firm has identified Tucson as one of its primary target markets and with the acquisition of Nottinghill, Tower 16 is now halfway to its goal of building a local portfolio of 1,500 units by the end of 2023.
Nottinghill Apartments is located at 2660 N Alvernon Way. The property includes a leasing office, clubhouse, and four pools.
Tower 16 will be overseeing more than $8 million in upgrades and renovations at the property including modernized unit upgrades, exterior and common area improvements and landscaping enhancements. In addition to updating the pool area, Tower 16 also will be adding outdoor amenities including, barbeques, seating and gaming areas.
JLL Income Property Trust acquires
South San Diego Distribution Center
JLL Income Property Trust, an institutionally managed daily NAV REIT, announcedthe acquisition of South San Diego Distribution Center, a three-building, 665,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in San Diego. The three properties are 96 percent leased to eight tenants, and the purchase price was $158.5 million.
“Industrial properties continue to be a target overweight for our portfolio given sustained tenant demand and strong, long-term outlook for the sector that we believe will yield stable income for our stockholders,” said JLL Income Property Trust President and CEO Allan Swaringen. “South San Diego Distribution Center aligns well with our strategy, given its location near irreplaceable transportation infrastructure and San Diego’s strong industrial rent growth.”
San Diego June 7-9 GS1 US conference
to focus on optimizing supply chain
GS1 Connect 2022, the June 7-9 conference and exhibition hosted by GS1 US, will feature speakers from more than 100 leading companies that will share strategies for optimizing today’s supply chain. A sampling of companies includes: Amazon, Bumble Bee Foods, Chipotle Mexican Grill, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Dillard’s, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, Macy’s, McDonald’s Corporation, Ralph Lauren, and Under Armour.
The event will be held at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego. To view the agenda, visit www.GS1Connect.org.
This year’s conference features live and on-demand content across four industry tracks (retail, grocery, foodservice and health care) and two horizontal tracks (tech and innovation). Sessions represent a range of topics, such as supply chain visibility, data quality, digital commerce, traceability, sustainability, radio-frequency identification (RFID) best practices, regulated healthcare and food, cold chain management, automation, emerging technology and more.
Report: U.S. rental prices soar by nearly
20 percent in just two years
U.S. rental prices grew by nearly 20 percent from March 2020 to 2022 during the pandemic, according to the Realtor.co Monthly Rental Report. Additionally, two-year rental trends indicate some redistribution of higher rents across the 50 largest markets during COVID, as renters migrated from expensive big-tech cities to relatively more affordable areas. Sun Belt metros topped the list of fastest-growing rental markets from March 2020-2022, led by Miami, Riverside, Calif. and Tampa, Fla., while big-tech hubs posted many of the country’s smallest two-year rent gains.
The U.S. median rental price hit a new high of $1,807 in March, up 19.3 percent in just two years, highlighting a roller coaster ride of change since the pandemic began. Following a slowdown in 2020 at the onset of COVID, rents significantly made up lost ground in 2021
and have since maintained a feverish pace of annual rent growth. In fact, March marked the eighth consecutive month of double-digit annual rent gains (+17 percent), even as the pace moderated slightly over February (+17.1 percent).
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