Daily Business Report: July 24, 2023
Westfield Mission Valley
sold for $290 million
By Drew Sitton | sdnews.com
Both parcels of Westfield Mission Valley have new owners, Westfield announced. Together, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) made $290 million from the sales.
The announcement comes two days after the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to amend the 41-year-old Mission Valley Community Plan so the smaller shopping center, Westfield Mission Valley West, is now zoned for mixed use.
Sunbelt Investment Holding, Inc. (SIHI) acquired Westfield Mission Valley West, which is smaller and home to stores like Trader Joe’s and Old Navy. SIHI is a privately-owned real estate company with offices in San Diego and Phoenix.
Both parcels now have the potential for including housing alongside the retail and dining options.
Photo: Westfield Mission Valley
Local spending on homelessness
topped $2 billion the last 7 years
Homeless service providers received $2.37 billion from local governments between 2015-2022, a San Diego taxpayers’ group announced Friday.
The San Diego Taxpayers Educational Foundation calculated the dollar amount as part of an ongoing review of how homeless service providers operate. The dollar amount includes $90 million awarded to 18 cities in the county, with the balance awarded to San Diego County.
This figure does not account for philanthropic or direct investments in San Diego County by either the federal or state governments.
Farmworkers in labor negotiations
will get free legal help with immigration
By Nicole Foy | CalMatters
California will begin paying for free legal help with immigration for undocumented farmworkers who are involved in state investigations of wage theft or other labor violations, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced this week.
The $4.5 million pilot program will provide qualifying farmworkers with referrals for legal help with their immigration status.
Roughly half of California’s farmworker population is believed to be undocumented.Fear of deportation and difficulties finding jobs can discourage workers from filing labor complaints or serving as witnesses in cases alleging unsafe work temperatures, wage theft, or employer retaliation for unionizing, officials said.
“Farmworkers are the backbone of our economy, and we won’t stand by as bad actors use the threat of deportation as a form of exploitation,” Newsom said in a press release. “In the absence of Congress modernizing our broken, outdated immigration system, California continues our efforts to support immigrant families.”
José Luis Millán joins international
initiative to study calcification in aging
Sanford Burnham Prebys professor José Luis Millán, has joined a five-year, $13 million program that will study misplaced calcification in the eyes and brains of patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
The initiative is funded by the National Institute on Aging and will be led by Francesca Marassi, an adjunct professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys and chair of biophysics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
AMD affects nearly 20 million adults in the U.S. and is the leading cause of central vision loss and legal blindness. AD affects more than 6 million people in the U.S., and it is the top cause of dementia across the globe.
Kids Care Finder launches in San Diego County
Kids Care Finder, a one-stop-shop website for all child-related services, is launching in San Diego County. The family resource website will help parents find anything for kids of all ages, in one place, from childcare (preschool, daycares, nannies, babysitters, etc.), extracurricular activities (ballet, soccer, gymnastics, swim, etc.), service providers (pediatricians, pediatric dentists, mental health providers, etc.) and more.
The first four categories – Preschools, Daycare Centers, In-Home Daycares, and Private Schools – have soft launched this month, with the next round of categories adding in September. The San Diego-based company officially launches Aug. 1 in San Diego County, with plans to roll out in other Southern California markets over the next several months.
For more information, visit www.kidcarefinder.com.
Getting at the heart of the atom
By Bryana Quintana | SDSU
One of this summer’s biggest releases, “Oppenheimer,” centers around J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team’s work on the Manhattan Project, the effort to develop the atomic bomb and help end World War II.
But nuclear physics, the scientific core of the film, is much more than what viewers will see on the screen. The science is the driving force behind an array of phenomena on Earth and in space, from making stars shine to improving medical diagnoses and treatment. Inquisitive researchers at San Diego State University study the inner workings of nuclear physics, gaining insight that contributes to the wide-ranging applications this field has to offer.
SDSU physics professor Calvin Johnson and his students use quantum computers at national labs and supercomputing facilities to build models of atomic nuclei to better understand nuclear processes.
North County home values rising
again after year of price drops
By Steve Puterski | The Coast News Group
Home values in North County San Diego fell over the past year, according to a new report from SmartAsset, but prices are rising again due to a shortage of properties on the housing market.
North County is home to five of the top 100 most expensive housing markets in the U.S., including Carlsbad (15th), San Marcos (49th), Vista (64th), Oceanside (67th) and Escondido (69th), said Ray Marek, a public relations manager for SmartAsset.
Between May 2022 and May 2023, Carlsbad saw a 3.45 percent drop in housing prices, followed by Vista (3.55 percent), Oceanside (3.81 percent), Escondido (4.75 percent) and San Marcos (5.74 percent), the report shows.
ResMed acquires sleep management
software platform Somnoware
SAN DIEGO — San Diego medical device leader ResMed has announced the acquisition of Somnoware, a sleep and respiratory care diagnostic software company in Charlotte, NC. Somnoware software solutions streamline the processes of physicians as well as sleep and pulmonary function testing labs, and serves to complement ResMed’s ecosystem of digital solutions across the patient care pathway.
CBRE facilitates $3.95 million
sale of industrial property
SANTEE — CBRE negotiated the sale of 9425 Wheatlands Court in Santee. The 13,660-square-foot industrial property sold all-cash for $3.95 million, or $289 per-square-footto a Southern California-based 1031 exchange buyer. Matt Pourcho, Anthony DeLorenzo, Matt Harris, Bryan Johnson and Nick Williams of CBRE’s Investment Properties represented the seller, Whittier Trust Company, in the transaction.
Wave to host NWSL Championship game
SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave FC has been chosen to host the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Championship match at Mission Valley’s Snapdragon Stadium — marking the first return of the championship to the West Coast since 2018. The future home of Major League Soccer, Snapdragon Stadium has already been the backdrop for major soccer events.
Travere Therapeutics to sell piece
of its liver disorder drug portfolio
SAN DIEGO — San Diego’s Travere Therapeutics has inked a $445 million deal to sell part of its product portfolio for treating rare liver and kidney disorders — providing additional cash so the company can pursue new, promising therapies. Mirum Pharmaceuticals of Foster City will acquire Travere’s bile acid replacement product line that includes FDA-approved drugs Chenodal and Cholbam. Mirum, which also specializes in rare liver diseases, will pay $210 million up front and $235 million in additional payments if sales milestones are met.
Excellos opens cutting-edge
manufacturing facility Downtown
SAN DIEGO – Excellos, a contract development and manufacturing organization for cell therapy, announced the opening of its cell therapy GMP manufacturing facilith in Downtown San Diego. The facility and laboratories feature five ISO 7 clean-room suites to support pre-clinical to commercial production of cell and gene therapies and are currently being pre-booked for immediate availability.
San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival
grabs USA Today2023 award
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival, was named winner in the 2023 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for “Best Wine Festival.” The festivalwas nominated by USA Today’s panel of experts as the top selection of the finest wine and food festivals across the country. The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival also was named the winner and the country’s best wine festival by the general public.
My Point Credit Union
takes home two coveted awards
SAN DIEGO — MyPoint Credit Union has been honored with the Large Business of the Year recognition in the North San Diego Business Chamber’s 2023 Leadership Awards, and its CEO, Dave Brooke, has been named as 1 of 16 CEOs of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal. These prestigious accolades exemplify MyPoint Credit Union’s unwavering commitment to empowering individuals, fostering economic growth, and positively impacting the San Diego community.
Aya Healthcare named to Fortune’s
2023 list of Best Workplaces for Millennials
SAN DIEGO — Aya Healthcare, the largest health care talent software and staffing company in the U.S., was named to FORTUNE’s list of Best Workplaces for Millennials for 2023. FORTUNE partnered with Great Place to Work to highlight companies that are fulfilling Generation Y’s need for a sense of purpose in the workplace. This is the second consecutive year Aya made this list and the first year making the top ten. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that millennials currently make up 35 percebt of the U.S. workforce.
Guild Mortgage named a Top Ten Lender
by Maine State Housing Authority
Guild Mortgage has been named a Maine State Housing Authority Top Ten Lender for 2022 for its work with the state’s First Home Loan Program for first-time homebuyers in Maine. Guild closed more than 100 loans totaling over $23 million with MaineHousing in 2022, earning the company a top three spot on the top lenders list. MaineHousing set a new record for the total value of new First Home loans purchased in 2022, with over $177.7 million for the year.
C3 Risk & Insurance Services announces merger
SAN DIEGO — C3 Risk & Insurance Services, a San Diego firm, announced its merger with Private Management Insurance Agency and Clark Insurance Agency, both created and led by industry veteran Matt Clark. This strategic partnership marks an important milestone in C3’s pursuit to establish a best-in-class firm that will create a lasting legacy in San Diego and throughout Southern California and offer a comprehensive suite of services to its clients.
Intersection Equities acquires
Mojave Industrial Park in Las Vegas
SAN DIEGO — Intersection Equities LLC announced the acquisition of Mojave Industrial Park, a 175,000-square-foot industrial park in Las Vegas, for $25.5 million. MDL Group represented the seller, Mojave 15 LLC., and Erik Sexton and Camila Rosales of NAI Vegas represented the buyer, a joint venture between Intersection Equities LLC and a fund managed by Equity Resource Investments LLC.
