Daily Business Report: Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Midway Village development team recruits
all-star arena partner for Midway project
With the competition for San Diego’s sports arena site in full swing, one of the development teams in the running to redo the property has recruited an all-star arena partner to help elevate its bid above the rest.
Monday, the Toll Brothers Housing-led development team, Midway Village+, announced that it’s hired facility adviser CAA Icon to represent the group as it seeks to privately finance and build a 15,000-seat replacement arena alongside thousands of homes on the city’s 48-acre property in the Midway District.
“When it comes to bringing world-class arenas to life in California, CAA ICON is in a class by itself,” said Kunal Merchant, chief operating officer of Revitate, and co-project executive of the Midway Village+ team. “They’ve overseen every major arena built in our state over the past 20 years, and will bring unparalleled expertise to our project and San Diego.”
The two other development teams competing with Midway Village are HomeTownSD from Monarch Group and Midway Rising, from Zephyr Partners, Legends and Chelsea Investment Corp.
Top Photo: Rendering of Midway Village’s plan for the redevelopment of the sports arena and Midway District.
Casey Brown Company completes renovation
of Mission Valley Class A building named Contour
The Casey Brown Company has completed the renovation of its 150,000-square-foot office campus in Mission Valley named Contour.
Contour consists of a five-story Class A building totaling 76,113 square feet (9040 Friars Road), and a four-story Class A building totaling 73,762 sf (9050 Friars Road). Cushman & Wakefield’s Derek Hulse and Morgan Reno are leading leasing efforts for Contour.
Casey Brown Compan also owns and redeveloped the nearby high-profile AMP&RSAND and also 591 Tower projects in Mission Valley.
“Contour is a high-quality campus environment and a rare market opportunity offering both scalability as well as flexibility to accommodate a variety of tenants,” said Derek Hulse, managing director. “We envision the campus as either a single tenant campus or two tenant option per building.”
The upgraded Contour campus features an expansive, central common outdoor patio area with seating and collaboration areas that connects both buildings, enhanced lobbies with well-appointed interiors and lounge seating, private balconies on the second floors and above, and a revitalized state-of-the-art, third-party operated fitness center with showers and lockers. Additionally, there is a Luckybolt Café on site.
Abortion amendment heads to California voters
By Emily Hoeven | CalMatters
California voters will decide in November whether to enshrine the right to abortion and contraception in the state constitution — making the Golden State the first to put reproductive rights on the ballot after a watershed U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the federal constitutional right to an abortion.
The amendment — introduced last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature’s Democratic leaders — cleared its final legislative hurdle on Monday, when, after an emotional and passionate debate, more than two-thirds of lawmakers in the Assembly voted to send it to the November ballot.
Democratic Assemblymember Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens and state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, who lead the California Legislative Women’s Caucus: “With the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, it is vital that we in California protect an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions.”
Assemblymember Kevin Kiley, a Rocklin Republican, asked if the amendment would overrule a California law that generally prohibits abortions after fetal viability and instead allow them “up until the moment of birth.” Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Corona Democrat, answered, “This bill just ensures that all Californians enjoy reproductive freedoms, and that they have the ability to make these decisions themselves.”
Assembly passes bill to allow Californians to hold
gun manufacturers accountable for gun violence
Assembly Bill 1594, which would allow individuals, local governments and the California Attorney General to sue gun manufacturers for the harm caused from their products –– the same liability manufacturers in other industries are expected to meet for their products — has cleared the Assembly floor and heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his expected signature.
The bill would authorize a court that determines that a firearm industry has engaged in the prohibited conduct to award various relief, including injunctive relief, damages and attorney’s fees and costs.
Assemblymembers Chris Ward (San Diego), Phil Ting and Mike Gipson introduced the bill.
102 units of mixed income affordable
housing come to San Diego
Since launching its Mixed-Income Program in 2019, the California Housing Finance Agency has made loan commitments to 47 projects which, when completed, will represent more than 7,600 new affordable homes across the state.
With new construction housing projects typically taking a couple of years to complete, CalHFA is now seeing some of the first projects to receive commitments, start to open up to residents – including Valencia Pointe. The 102-unit development held a grand opening event on June 22 in San Diego.
With a mix of units, ranging from those that are affordable to extremely low-income families to those that working class Californians can afford, Valencia Pointe exemplifies what Senate pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins envisioned when she authored 2017’s Building Homes and Jobs Act (Senate Bill 2), which led to the creation of the Mixed-Income Program (MIP).
The MIP model of including units that are affordable at various income levels in the same development is beneficial for the residents living in those apartments and for Californians everywhere because these projects use state resources efficiently.
Deckard Technologies working with
City of Carlsbad to track short-term rentals
Deckard Technologies, a government-focused tech company that provides software, analytics and insights for communities to create tax fairness, has launched its Rentalscape platform to assist the heavily-touristed City of Carlsbad in identification of short-term rental (STR) properties to create equity for hotels and residential hosts alike.
Although the city has voluntary collection agreements with VRBO and Airbnb for transient occupancy taxes to automatically be collected from guests when they book through their websites, the rental companies do not supply details on where or from whom the payments are coming and do not collect and remit taxes for any bookings that happen outside of their websites. Rentalscape offers a user-friendly platform that tracks all rooms being rented out on digital platforms and reports those to the City so the finance department knows what to expect in TOTs.
“Carlsbad has become a very desired vacation destination. We have nearly 50 hotels in the community and an increasing number of short-term vacation rentals,” says Cheryl Gerhardt, finance manager for Carlsbad. “By using Rentalscape, we can see which hosts are paying their TOTs, just like hotels do, creating equity among businesses. And Deckard has been a great company to work with, very responsive, and the software was intuitive and easy to learn.”
U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Apple’s
complaint about Qualcomm’s patents
Apple and Qualcomm may have reached corporate detent in 2019, but they’ve continued legal wrangling over the patents at the core of the dispute for years. Apple’s latest attempt to keep the dispute active has failed: Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court denied Apple’s request to be heard on the matter. That would seem to drive a stake through this legal vampire’s heart, at least until Apple and Qualcomm’s current licensing arrangement runs its course.
Enjoy the San Diego County Fair
By Martin Kruming
The Fair is back with all its glamor, goodies and gobs of food and drink. As always, there’s something for everyone from the minute you enter the front gate with its huge sign reading 2022 San Diego County Fair, Heroes Reunite!
Orange Julius; Battered Potatoes and Fresh Lemonade with a flurry of Australian flags and a gondola passing overhead; Giant Western Sausage, Jumbo Corn Dogs and Outlaw Burgers; Chili Cheese Fries and BBQ Beef, and much more greet you.
Inside one of the halls, you’ll find the World’s Best Peeler, Guaranteed; Timbo’s Beef Sticks, Jerky and Dill pickles and Timbo’s Licorice Ropes (separate booths); Foldable Mobility Scooters; Heaven Scent; Toe Rings; Grizzly Joe’s; Uncommon USA, the original Telescoping Flagpole; Earth Girl Art; Lakeside Scissors Sales; Cork Hats; Ghost Scream; Tupperware; Flea Treats; Products of Israel, Premium Cashmere Co., Ltd. plus vendors selling everything from Laser Teeth Whitening to Bye Bye Puffy Eye! alongside California’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
There’s plenty of art, crafts and more, including the San Diego Automotive Museum, Machine Knitters Guild of San Diego and “A Collection Of Items Our Cat (two-year-old Sensimilla ‘Millie’ McSharpe) Destroyed,” including a $30 audio cable in less than five seconds.
Leave the food, sales and games, and head to the exhibits of photographers (amateur and professional), artisans and artists where you’ll find the Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society, the 19th Century Cabinet Shop, San Diego Scrollsaw Clubs, San Diego Woodturners, San Diego Ship Modelers Guild, California Carvers Guild and the photography exhibition where you can’t take pictures.
Head over to the pigs, cows and much more. Then on the way out, stop at the garden area, where on Father’s Day the Sweet Harps, a trio of family member harpists (Becky and daughters Chelsea and Amy), was playing for an early afternoon crowd.
Prices for everything – parking to popcorn – are higher this year. One Fair-goer was going to pay $30 for preferred parking but discovered it had been sold out so he took the free shuttle from Torrey Pines High School.
Bank of America awards $825,000 to 29 San Diego nonprofits
Bank of America announced more than $825,000 in grants to 29 San Diego nonprofits to help drive economic opportunity for individuals and families. This first round of grants from the bank focus on workforce development and education to help individuals chart a path to employment and better economic futures, as well as basic needs fundamental to building life-long stability. Specifically, these local grants include support for job reskilling, food insecurity, affordable housing/shelter, youth education and employment, healthcare and domestic violence.
among the grant recipients are Kitchens for Good, which works to break the cycle of food waste, poverty and hunger, and the San Diego Foundation to fund the Black Community Investment Fund.
Illumina invests in $30 million venture fund
to advance breakthroughs in human health
Illumina Inc., a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced its participation in Time Boost Capital I LP, a $30 million genomics venture fund dedicated to providing match funding to startups graduating from Illumina Accelerator Cambridge with the aim to advance breakthroughs in human health.
Illumina Accelerator, located in both San Francisco and Cambridge, is a company creation engine that partners with entrepreneurs to create genomics startups and advance innovative applications. Illumina joins a select group of US and European investors in the life sciences fund, including cornerstone investor LifeArc.
Since opening in July 2020, Illumina Accelerator Cambridge has launched 13 startups focused on harnessing genomics applications to improve human health, including novel therapeutics, diagnostics, synthetic biology, research tools, and agriculture. In addition, approximately 54 percent of Illumina Accelerator Cambridge startups have been founded by women—by comparison, in 2020, only 20 percent of all new startups over the previous year had female founders, according to CrunchBase.
Koji announces ‘Audition’ app
Koji, the leading app store for social media, announced the launch of Audition, a new app designed to help creators find talent for their latest projects.
Audition offers a place where creators can instantly connect with candidates to find talent for their latest projects. From finding musicians to feature on new tracks, to casting talent for a film, or finding the next vocal sensation, creators set the stage in their Link in Bio for their auditions by customizing the app based on their creative needs and the talent they are looking for.
Within the app, creators can upload a cover video, create a title, write a description for their project, and upload ZIP files with all the materials applicants need to complete their audition. Creators can also add a message letting people know what to expect after submitting an audition.
Ascent Funding launches success program
Ascent Funding, a leader in outcomes-based lending and student success, announced the launch of Ascent Connect, a new success program dedicated to supporting students as they navigate college and life after graduation. As of July 5, 2022, all Ascent college loan borrowers will gain access to Ascent Connect offering one-to-one success coaching and unlimited content and digital resources.
Ascent is the first student lender to seamlessly integrate success support into its loan application process. Supportive resources are typically hard to find for most college students, and Ascent Connect fills that gap. The program is designed for students to engage in the medium of their choice, whether by email, text, telephone or video calls.
Industria Power awarded construction
contract for eight microgrids in San Diego
The City of San Diego via Gridscape Solutions awarded Industria Power a construction contract for eight microgrids, saving an estimated $6 million over 25 years in avoided energy costs. Construction is moving out of engineering into mobilization and is set to conclude in December 2022.
Industria Power is the general contractor for this multifaceted microgrid project. As the project developer, Gridscape Solutions was awarded a California Energy Commission (CEC) Advanced Emergency Microgrid grant. Gridscape then brought in their long-time partner, Industria Power to complete the construction of the project. Shell New Energies US will be the asset owner and operator for 25 years.
The City of San Diego prioritized eight building sites, including three recreation centers, two fire stations, and three police stations. The facility microgrids include 930 kW of solar photovoltaic systems, 2175 MWh of battery storage, and multiple electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
