Daily Business Report: Monday, Oct. 24, 2022
SDSU Mission Valley goes online
By Vince Meehan | San Diego Community Newspaper Group
SDSU Mission Valley is ready for its close-up. It was promised that the new stadium built on the site of the former Qualcomm arena would be ready for Aztec football in 2022 and here we are. Football returned to Mission Valley on Sept. 3, and SDSU Mission Valley won an impressive sprint to the finish line in a race that had many San Diegans skeptical of success. But Snapdragon Stadium is just the first step in a massive build out that will be taking place for the next 10 to 15 years. The finished plan will not only feature an innovation center for students and non-students alike, but also plenty of support retail and housing that will benefit the San Diego community as a whole.
Gina Jacobs is the associate vice president, Mission Valley Development at San Diego State University and is pleased at the progress being made at the site. She said that much of the open area that is currently onsite will be utilized as a parking area for the stadium until permanent facilities are completed.
“The site development is ongoing, all the grading to bring the development parcels up out of the flood plain is being done,” Jacobs said. “In the short term – before we start construction on any building including the residential or the innovation district – those areas will serve as surface parking for the stadium event. Long term, we’re planning all of the great residential, innovation district, hotels, retail and all of that to get started with construction early next year.”
All this construction comes as the result of Measure G, which was approved by San Diego voters in November of 2018. Talk of a new stadium for San Diego dominated the election, but Measure G also included plans for an innovation center where private enterprises such as biotech firms could open offices alongside new SDSU facilities creating a “learn and intern” opportunity. It also allows SDSU to expand its academic as well as economic impact on the region and encourage students to stay in San Diego after graduating.
Jacobs said the next piece of the puzzle to complete will be the river park portion of SDSU Mission Valley. “The next big asset that will come online will be the river park, we began construction earlier in the year on that, but it will really go in earnest once the stadium is complete. And that is going to be completed by the end of next year.”
This river park will include recreational fields, a children’s play area, hike and bike access and even an outdoor classroom.
Rob Hutsel is the President & CEO of the San Diego River Park Foundation, and has been a tenacious advocate for maintaining the sanctity of the river area for years. He has monitored the planning of the river park from the get-go and is pleased that this concept is becoming a reality.
“The San Diego River Park Foundation is thrilled to see work starting on the river park at SDSU Mission Valley,” Hutsel said. “SDSU Mission Valley’s park is a key piece in the vision of a regional greenbelt in Mission Valley and for the entire 52-mile-long San Diego River Park. After years of advocacy by the San Diego River Park Foundation, civic discussion, and an election, it is truly amazing to see park construction starting.”
As for the other aspects of the SDSU Mission Valley plan, Jacobs said that these build outs will continue according to time lines that play out as the different partnerships fall into place. “For the rest of it, we’re in the process of selecting developers to initiate the first of the residential projects, the first of the affordable housing projects, and the first of the innovation district projects. The first of the residential and retail – because there will be ground floor retail in the first residential building – that’s anticipated to be about 450 units of residential and about 30,000 square feet of retail. And then, there is a first affordable project that will be about 100 units, and then a first innovation district project that will be two or more buildings at about 300,000 square feet.”
In the mean time, the stadium will continue to add events that will fulfill its legacy as a community facility that serves the San Diego community as promised. Jacobs says that relationships are being created to ensure that Snapdragon stadium will be able to feature entertainment events throughout the year. “Obviously it’s a football stadium that’s going to host the Aztecs, but it’s also community access so we already announced our first concert in October with Jason Mraz. We have tenants that also are going to call Snapdragon home including the San Diego Wave, the San Diego Legion, and there will be lots of other events happening at the stadium for the whole community.”
San Diegans can monitor the progress of SDSU Mission Valley via live construction cams at: https://missionvalley.sdsu.edu/community-updates
Top Photos: Renderings, clockwise, from top: SDSU Innovation District, SDSU River Park and Innovation District residences, San Diego River Park (Courtesy SDSU)
California is sending money directly to millions
of residents to help with rising costs, high gas prices
By Grace Gedye | CalMatters
The state started sending payments ranging from $200 to $1,050 this month. Whenever money might be headed to people’s bank accounts, they tend to have questions.
We’ve already answered the basics, including who is eligible for the payments, when they are getting sent out, how people will receive them, and how much you can expect to receive.
But readers responded with more questions via email and social media. We also took cues from questions people searched for a lot online. We’ve answered some of those questions here, including but not limited to:
• What happens if you’ve moved recently?
• What happens in the case of divorce?
• What happens if you’ve changed banks?
• Is there a way to track your payment?
• Are you eligible if you didn’t receive a refund on your 2020 tax return?
• What should you do if you’re having trouble activating your card?
•Why is it based on the 2020 tax year?
MiraCosta College receives
$2.9 million to support stem cell research
MiraCosta College has received a state grant to offer internships, mentoring and financial support for students pursuing careers in stem cell research and manufacturing.
The Oceanside college was one of 16 in California to receive grants totaling $46 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency. MiraCosta’s share is almost $2.9 million.
MTS board approves site
for region’s all-electric bus fleet facility
The board of the Metropolitan Transit System selected the new site for the agency’s new MTS Clean Transit Advancement Campus (CTAC), the region’s first all-electric bus operations and maintenance facility. This will be MTS’ sixth bus division, and will be designed to park, charge and service up to 250 zero-emission buses. The new project will allow for full bus fleet electrification, and bring up to 600 new job opportunities, apprenticeship and training programs to the local community. The board also approved the Final Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the site, wrapping up the California Environmental Quality Act process.
Nathan Fletcher, MTS board chair and chair of San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said the development of this project will get MTS to an all zero-emission bus fleet by 2040.
The CTAC site is in the Ridgeview-Webster area, on Federal Boulevard near State Route 94.
Realtors group hosts networking event
for its Young Professionals Network
The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors will host a networking mixer for its Young Professionals Network at Harland Brewing Company in One Paseo on Thursday, Nov. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. The address is 3718 Paseo Place, Unit 1300.
The Young Professionals Network (YPN) connects agents and other industry affiliates to share strategies and resources to successfully grow their business and serve their clients.
Thursday’s event is open to all regardless of membership and will feature Harland Brewing’s craft beer selection and appetizers. Admission, which is $10 for SDAR members and $15 for non-members, includes appetizers and a free drink ticket. Complimentary garage parking is also available next door to the venue.
County launches Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report
The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency is introducing a new combined Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report that will provide San Diegans with a detailed snapshot of common respiratory illness activity in the region on a weekly basis.The new report will be released each Thursday and contains, for now, both flu and COVID-19 activity, including cases, outbreak information and deaths. The report contains graphs and tables that allow the community to compare illness activity this year to activity during prior seasons.The Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report replaces the separate Influenza Watch and COVID-19 Watch reports the County released previously. San Diegans can sign up for the report here, or access it on the County of San Diego COVID-19 website and Influenza website.
SDSU part of joint $6.7 million grant for cyberinfrastructure
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has jointly awarded the University of California San Diego, San Diego State University and California State University, San Bernardino a five-year, $6.7 million grant to support cyberinfrastructure training and resources. UCSD and its San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) are the lead awardees of the grant. SDSU alumna Mary Thomas is the principal investigator (PI) for the interdisciplinary training program and computational data scientist and lead of high-performance computing training at SDSC.
For SDSU, the grant enables the hiring of a full-time Interdisciplinary Research Professional and the creation of a faculty CI fellow program, with a goal of enhancing training opportunities for faculty and staff.
New EDC study: AI and San Diego’s life sciences cluster
Together with Booz Allen Hamilton, EDC released its latest study, “Diagnosing the Future: AI and San Diego’s Life Sciences Cluster.” The fourth in a series, the report explores the impact of the region’s $27 billion life sciences cluster and the integration of AI and machine learing technologies being used to diagnose disease and develop drugs, among other lifesaving products and solutions.
UC San Diego continues East Village expansion
UC San Diego is continuing its investment in downtown with acquisition of the new Framework building, two blocks from the newly-opened Park & Market site — the future home to EDC. The apartment complex includes 87 units to house faculty and staff who commute via MTS’ newly extended Blue Trolley Line from the main campus and the Medical Center in Hillcrest.The news comes the same week the university’s new Business Stimulator program began accepting applications from aspiring entrepreneurs in underrepresented communities.
San Diego startup Seasats lands $10 million for ocean drones
Assisting in accelerating production for affordable, solar-powered autonomous surface vessels, L3Harris Technologies is investing $10 million in San Diego’s Seasats. The 10-person startup developed a rugged, hard-to-detect drone that can stay out to sea for six months — for use in counter-piracy, mine clearing, surveillance, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare.
JPMorgan Chase’s One Paseo ‘delivers the firm’ to San Diego
When JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut the ribbon on its One Paseo office in December 2021, it was more than just a way to bring the firm’s Middle Market and Private Bank teams together into one upgraded, modern office with a welcoming layout with room to grow. It was all of that, but it was also the culmination of a years-long plan to underscore the team’s commitment to the San Diego region.
SeaWorld San Diego stages strong
comeback from COVID-19 closures
SeaWorld San Diego was able to bounce back strongly from the pandemic closures of 2020, posting a triple-digit percentage increase in visitation last year and is poised to do even better this year. A newly released report on industry performance in 2021 shows that in the U.S., parks across the board were able to quickly rebound once they got the green light to reopen turnstiles to guests eager to leave behind their COVID bubbles. SeaWorld San Diego, experienced a 146 percent gain in visitation, although its total 2021 attendance of 2.8 million was not yet back to pre-pandemic numbers. Visitation last year accounted for just 75 percent of 2019’s 3.7 million visitors.
