Daily Business Report: Wednesday, May 18, 2022
New York real estate investor Sason acquires
Willow Creek Corporate Center for $25.3 million
Sason, a New York real estate investor, has acquired the Willow Creek Corporate Center in Scripps Ranch for $25.3 million and announced a $2 million renovation of the entire building and a name change to Canvas on Willow. It was Sason’s second acquisition in San Diego in the past three months.
The three-story, 121,415-square-foot office building is located on six acres near the Scripps Ranch Technology Park.
The renovation will include construction of a new tenant lounge and fitness center complete with rollup doors and access into the courtyard, completely modernizing the building’s central courtyard to create an indoor/outdoor environment for tenants to work, relax and enjoy, updating the HVAC system and controls and modernizing bathrooms throughout the building.
Partially renovated in 2020, the buildingt features three 40,000-square-foot floorplates. On-site amenities include private balconies, an interior courtyard and lockers and showers on the ground floor. The building was 71 percent leased to 10 tenants when Sason entered into contract and through creative leasing efforts led by JLL, occupancy increased to 100 percent across 12 tenants by closing.
“San Diego’s I-15 Corridor continues to be a growing business hub with a diverse tenant mix and strong labor pool,” said David Rottenberg, principal of Sason. “At Canvas on Willow, we’re creating a more dynamic indoor/outdoor work environment which appeals to the new generation of employees, fostering creativity, energy and collaboration.”
Leading the leasing efforts at Canvas on Willow are JLL’s Richard Gonor and Tony Russell. JLL Capital Markets led by Managing Directors Bob Prendergast and Lynn LaChapelle marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a joint venture between Harbert Management and Cypress Office Properties.
TOP PHOTO: The Willow Creek Corporate Center. (Courtesy JLL)
Sunroad Enterprises secures $203 million loan
for acquisition of Vive Luxe development
Sunroad Enterprises has obtained a $203 million financing loan for Vive Luxe a Class A, 442-unit multi-housing development in Kearny Mesa. JLL represented the borrower to secure the five-year bridge loan.
Built in 2022, Vive Luxe offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedrooms units with fully equipped gourmet kitchens, stainless steel appliances, wood-style flooring, quartz countertops and open-concept living spaces. The common areas include a pool clubroom, resort-inspired pool and spa, 24-hour fitness center, a resident wine lounge and a sky deck and ocean lounge. It is located at 4890 Sunroad Centrum Lane.
The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Directors Aldon Cole and Tim Wright, Associate Bharat Madan and Analyst Mariah Feghali.
“This financing concludes the final capitalization on one of the most high profile, infill developments in San Diego’s recent history,” said Cole. “The debt market aggressively pursued the opportunity and held terms through a volatile time in the market, which emphasizes the long-term, irreplaceable nature of this marquis development.”
Ex-city real estate chief: 101 Ash landlord
denied paying ‘volunteer’ adviser
by Lisa Halverstadt | Voice of San Diego
The city’s ex-real estate chief says the city’s 101 Ash St. landlord at least twice denied paying a real estate guru who volunteered for the city.
It turned out that city landlord Cisterra Development paid commercial real estate broker Jason Hughes $9.4 million for his work on city leases at 101 Ash and Civic Center Plaza a few years after Hughes publicly said he’d advise the city for free.
During an April 28 deposition, former city real estate director Cybele Thompson testified under oath that she directly asked Cisterra Development principal Jason Wood at least twice whether his company had paid Hughes, after questions from fellow city officials about fees tied to the $127 million 101 Ash lease-to-own deal that went forward in January 2017.
“He told me that he had not,” Thompson said, according to a draft transcript obtained by Voice of San Diego.
Thompson said she did not recall specifically when those conversations happened.
Anthony Evangelista and Elba Gomez join
Port of San Diego executive leadership team
Port of San Diego President and CEO Joe Stuyvesant has appointed Anthony Evangelista as the Port’s new chief of staff and Elba Gomez as the new vice president of administration/chief administrative officer.
Evangelista joined the Port on May 16 and will coordinate on many Port-wide projects while focusing on the wellbeing and success of Port staff.
He most recently served as director of Total Force Management at Navy Region Southwest. In his more than four decades of public service, he has worked around the world including in Italy and Germany, with combat service in Grenada, Beirut, and the First Gulf War.
Evangelista has been recognized with numerous military and civilian awards, and holds a bachelor’s degree in management from combined coursework at St. Leo and American Military Universities.
Gomez began her post on May 3 and leads the Port’s Human Resources, Information Technology, and People and Organizational Development departments. Her impressive resume includes serving as Madera County’s director of human resources and chief negotiator with 13 employee organizations, overseeing all human resources functions for over 30 county departments, as well as serving as secretary to the Civil Service Commission.
Gil Alvarado and Nidia Castañeda join
Conrad Prebys Foundation
Conrad Prebys Foundation is adding two new team members – Chief Financial Officer Gil Alvarado and Executive Assistant to the CEO Nidia Castañeda.
Alvarado brings more than 25 years of experience in institutional investing, private foundation fiscal management, and portfolio oversight of approximately $1 billion in assets to his role as chief financial officer.
Alvarado previously served as the president of the San Joaquin Valley Impact Investment Fund.
The fund targets investment capital to create regional opportunities to counter health disparities and reinforce grant and policy efforts of the Sierra Health Foundation and Center through capital commitments targeting community development financial institutions funds.
Nidia Castañeda joins the foundation as the executive administrator and brings more than six years of executive administration experience.
Born in Tijuana and raised in San Diego from age five, Castañeda previously served as the executive administrator for the Chicano Federation of San Diego and County Supervisor Nora Vargas’ office.
City wants to return unclaimed money owed to public
The City of San Diego has identified more than $840,000 that can be returned to nearly 1,070 residents and business owners. The money belongs to individuals who have paid for City of San Diego services or have done business with the city during the last three years. Individual refund amounts are in the range between $1 and $77,500.
The most common types of unclaimed monies are returned checks for overpayment of business taxes, overpaid utilities and other fees paid to the city. Checks that remain uncashed after six months become unclaimed money.
Last year, the city returned approximately $600,800 to 75 recipients listed on the Unclaimed Monies Report, meaning only 42 percent of the unclaimed monies were returned. The average claim was $8,011.
Payees have approximately one year after check issuance to claim their money. For checks issued before April 1, 2021, the last day to submit a claim is Monday, June 20, 2022. Unclaimed funds will be transferred to the City of San Diego General Fund on July 1, 2022. To view the Unclaimed Monies Report, visitsandiego.gov/finance/unclaimed.
Hone Maxwell LLP opens Tijuana office
Hone Maxwell LLP, a California-based tax and business law firm that serves clients in the U.S. and abroad, has opened a new office in Tijuana. It also launched a new look for its brand.
“Hone Maxwell began 10 years ago as a California law firm founded by two law school friends and is now an international firm serving clients across Asia, Mexico and elsewhere,” said Managing Partner Josh Maxwell. “It is important to me to maintain strong ties to the Mexican community. With many clients, attorneys and staff — and my wife — all from Mexico, I am professionally and personally proud to establish our Tijuana office and to be able to work more effectively with our clients and partners south of the border.”
While the company is known for providing tax guidance for businesses operating on both sides of the border, dual citizens and foreigners investing in the U.S., the firm’s staff and attorneys are already immersed in Tijuana’s business community and culture. The office will operate from a central location at Centro Corporativo Dayco, Blvd. General Gustavo Salinas #11050, Suite 602, Col. Aviacion, 22014 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico.
The firm also is launching a top-to-bottom rebrand that includes a modern, prominent logo and a new website.
General Atomics opens new office in Canada
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has opened a new office near Confederation Park in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In a related move, the company appointed Michel Lalumiere as its international strategic development director for Canada. Lalumiere will be based in Ottawa.
The Canadian government recently announced a request for proposal (RFP) for its Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Project. GA-ASI’s coalition of Canadian businesses, which includes CAE Canada, L3Harris Technologies’ Canadian subsidiary WESCAM and MDA – known as Team SkyGuardian Canada – is preparing its submission.
“This is part of our building a long-term relationship with Canada,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “We will lean on the knowledge and experience Michel has gained over his years with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for the numerous projects we have ongoing in Canada with the Government of Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and other departments, including our hope that our Team SkyGuardian Canada offering will play a central role for the Canadian Government’s RPAS plan.”
Rising interest rates, climbing home prices
moderate California home sales in April
California home sales retreated in April as rising interest rates and higher home prices depressed housing demand even as the statewide median home price set another record for the second straight month, primarily due to strong sales at the top end of the market, the
California Association of Realtors reported.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 419,040 in April, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local Realtor associations and MLSs statewide. The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2022 if sales maintained the April pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
April’s sales pace was down 1.9 percent on a monthly basis from 426,970 in March and down 8.5 percent from a year ago, when 458,170 homes were sold on an annualized basis.
California’s median home price set another record in April at $884,890 — surpassing the record of $849,080 set just the previous month.
Jack in the Box selects Jolt as exclusive
food safety software vendor
Jack in the Box Inc. has selected Jolt, a leader in digital food safety and operations execution software, to be their exclusive vendor for digital food safety solutions at all 2,200+ Jack in the Box locations.
With Jolt, Jack in the Box will cut down on the time it takes to do food safety checks, complete daily location checklists, and employee training. Jolt will be rolled out in all Jack in the Box locations this year.
“We evaluated several companies before selecting our next generation Digital Food Safety Platform, and ultimately decided on a partnership with Jolt, because we were impressed by everything that the platform could do to help us monitor and maintain food safety and quality, which is critical to our commitment to our customers,” said Jody Johnson, vice president of food safety at Jack in the Box.
Voyager’s Space Micro completes delivery
of computers to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
San Diego-based Space Micro Inc., powered by Voyager Space, recently delivered a total of seven flight-level Single Board Computers to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of Pasadena, for the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE).
Slated for a 2024-2025 launch, SunRISE will collect data obtained by a small-sat array to help scientists better understand how the Sun generates and releases solar particle storms into space and how these storms influence the interplanetary environment. Space Micro’s SBCs contribute contribute to the mission by performing on-board data processing.
According to JPL, SunRISE relies on six solar-powered CubeSats – each about the size of a toaster oven – to simultaneously observe radio images of low-frequency emission from solar activity and share them via NASA’s Deep Space Network.
U.S. General Services Administration and Department
of Energy select Dalradal heat pump for field validation
The U.S. General Services Administration and the Department of Energy have chosen San Diego’s Dalrada Corporation’sLikido ONE heat pump to held reduce greenhouse emissions from commercial buildings through high-performance, low-carbon solutions set forth by the Green Proving Ground program. Likido ONE will now be evaluated under dynamic, real-world conditions in federally or privately-owned commercial buildings.
“Programs like the GPG highlight the growing need for bold energy solutions and accelerate the adoption of clean technologies,” said Jose Arrieta, director of emerging technologies on the Dalrada Board of Directors, and former chief information officer and interim chief data officer of the Department of Health and Human Services. According to Arrieta, “distributed energy resources (DERs), like the Likido ONE heat pump, will help tackle the climate crisis by cutting costs, improving public health, and significantly reducing emissions.”
