Daily Business Report: Oct. 23, 2023
San Diego City College moves forward on
building new affordable student apartments
San Diego City College has taken the first step toward providing affordable apartment-style housing for more than 800 students. College leaders gathered today with public officials and community members for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the future site of the apartment building, which will rise eight stories above the East Village campus and offer below-market rent to some of the region’s neediest students.
While actual construction of the housing complex is still more than a year away, demolition work and site preparation has begun at the site of the college’s former Child Development Center located on the city block bounded by 16th, 17th, B and C streets. The college anticipates opening the development in fall 2028 or sooner at a total cost of around $280 million.
The current plan calls for rent per bed to be at least $500 below the market. Each unit likely will house two to four students, and the building is planned to include laundry facilities, a grab-and-go store, a communal kitchen/lounge, study spaces, and a tutoring office.
Since this would be its first foray into student housing, the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) has selected The Michaels Organization, a nationally renowned development company to develop, design, construct, and operate the apartment complex.
Photo: The campus of San Diego City College (above) will be joined by an eight-story student apartment building in 2028.
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Church congregation purchases National
City church property covering city block
Casa de Oracion, a church congregation, has acquired a 20,243-square-foot church sanctuary and adjacent educational building covering an entire city block in National City for $4 million, and plans to renovate the property.
A half-dozen bidders including churches, residential developers and a school pursued the block bounded by East 6th and 7th Streets and F and G Avenues. Casa de Oracion appeared to be the best fit for the property, the seller, and the surrounding community.
The property is located at 635 East 7th Street. The buyer intends to take advantage of the 1.43-acre site to accommodate future growth.
Robert Vallera, senior vice president and partner of Voit Real Estate Services’ San Diego office, represented the seller, the First Baptis Church of National City. Eric Knowles and Robert Fletcher of Kidder Matthews represented Casa de Oracion.
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Laphonza Butler skips the U.S. Senate race
CalMatters
U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler made herself a lame duck a little more than two weeks into the job and solidified the contours of the U.S. Senate race in 2024.
The newly-appointed senator announced last week she will not run for a full six-year term, avoiding an already crowded 2024 field that includes three fellow Democrats: U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
While her decision might indeed come as a surprise to some, if Butler had decided to run, she would have also faced multiple challenges. She would have only had less than five months to assemble a competitive campaign before the March 5 primary and catch up in fundraising. As of Sept. 30, Schiff’s campaign had $32 million in the bank, whereas Porter had $12 million and Lee, $1.3 million.
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MiraCosta College raises $10.6 million in fundraising campaign
MiraCosta College announced that it raised $10.6 million as part of its This Changes Everything campaign. This five-year fundraising initiative will help thousands of students accomplish their dreams. In addition, the school released the latest Economic Impact Report (access full report), which revealed that MiraCosta College had a $648 million impact in the region during the fiscal year between 2021 and 2022.
“The return on investment in community college is unparalleled. For every dollar invested in MiraCosta College, people in California will receive $7, a 700 percent return on investment, said Sunita “Sunny” Cooke, superintendent/president of MiraCosta Community College.
The Economic Impact Report, which analyzed the fiscal year between 2021 and 2022 and was conducted by analytics company Lightcast, found that the net impact of MiraCosta College students who have entered or re-entered the workforce amounted to $469.1 million in added income annually.
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College to screen documentary about
quest to find American MIAs
Cal State San Marcos next month will host a screening of a documentary about an organization that’s using modern science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate Americans missing in action since World War II.
The film “To What Remains” will be shown on Nov. 8 at the McMahan House on campus. The feature-length documentary, directed by Christopher Woods, chronicles the search by Project Recover for the more than 80,000 Americans missing in action since World War II.
After the screening, there will be a short Q&A session with Derek Abbey, president and CEO of Project Recover, and Jack McGrory, a member of the CSU Board of Trustees who has a relative impacted by the work depicted in the film.
Students involved with CSUSM’s Epstein Family Veterans Center and the veterans centers at San Diego State and USD – as well as community members – are invited to attend the screening, which is sponsored by Cox Communications and Viasat. Both companies support military families and have been recognized as top employers for veterans.
The event is Nov. 8 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Admission is free, and parking and food and beverages will be provided. Because space is limited, attendees are asked to RSVP by Nov. 3.
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SeaWorld determined to fight San Diego over $12.2 million back rent
SeaWorld, which shows no signs of capitulating in a legal fight with the city over more than $12.2 million in back rent, filed papers stating it is moving the entire case from San Diego Superior Court to federal court. The action, which SeaWorld says it is entitled to take without a judge’s permission, was executed just days before today’s deadline for filing its response to the city’s lawsuit. That legal brief would likely have provided additional insight into the theme park company’s position that it owes the city no outstanding rent.
At issue is the city’s contention that SeaWorld was in breach of its lease by failing to pay its minimum annual rent during the height of the pandemic when the San Diego park was closed for several months. SeaWorld has previously maintained that it was not required to make its minimum rent payments during forced shutdowns, but city officials have insisted that the company’s rent could be deferred but not waived.
Alaska Airlines adds new nonstops from
Anchorage to New York City and San Diego
Alaska Airlines is connecting Anchorage to both New York City and San Diego with seasonal nonstop service this summer. Daily flights to New York JFK begin June 13, 2024, and weekly flights to San Diego start May 18, 2024. Flights are available for purchase now at alaskaair.com. “Alaskans love nonstop flights to and from the state. We like having great travel options and adding places such as New York and San Diego definitely fit the bill,” said Marilyn Romano, regional vice president for Alaska Airlines.
Ashley Tate named senior director of human
resources for local Realtors organization
Ashley Tate has been named senior director of human resources for the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors. Her job is to direct the routine functions of SDAR’s Human Resources Department. She is tasked with creating an exceptional work culture through advocation of diversity, equity and inclusion. Tate has spent the last 10 years growing biotech companies in San Diego. Her teams have worked on projects like algae biofuel, a DNA processing machine and COVID test manufacturing.
Perficient to acquire San Diego’s SMEDIX Inc.
Perficient Inc. a leading digital consultancy transforming the world’s largest enterprises and biggest brands, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire SMEDIX Inc., a $12 million revenue health care software engineering firm headquartered in San Diego, with offshore operations located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Nearly 175 skilled professionals will be joining Perficient as part of the acquisition.
MTS board approves new transit-oriented housing development
TheMTS Board of Directors unanimously approved a new transit-oriented housing development at the Spring Street Transit Center in La Mesa. The housing development is part of MTS’ growing effort to repurpose its park and ride lots into affordable housing solutions across San Diego County. The development will span 2.2 acres and feature 147 affordable housing units (30-60 percent of Area Median Income). Construction is anticipated to begin in February 2025 and take approximately two years.
Southwestern College nursing program among top five in California
For the fifth time in as many years, Southwestern College’s nursing program ranks among the top five in California, according to an annual list of the state’s best nursing schools. The rankings, which were released by PracticalNursing.org, identified California’s top 50 schools listed Southwestern College as No. 4 in the state. PracticalNursing.org is an online resource for students pursuing careers in nursing.
Japanese government selects San Diego
for Beyond Japan startup program
Aiming to increase Japanese startups and international business, the Japanese government chose San Diego as a host city for its new Beyond Japan program. Showcasing San Diego’s thriving life sciences ecosystem in partnership with UC San Diego’s Institute for the Global Entrepreneur, the program helps Japanese startup executives learn the U.S. market while strengthening their San Diego connections.
Iambic lands $100 million in Series B funding
San Diego-based biotech company lambic Therapeutics secured $100 million in Series B funding from investors, including Illumina Ventures. lambic will use the funds to perform more trials on its AI-powered drug discovery platform that automates both chemical and biological experimentation.
Nuvve Holding Corp. closes $1.1 million public offering
Nuvve Holding Corp., a global technology leader accelerating the electrification of transportation through its proprietary vehicle-to-grid (V2G) platform, announced the closing of an underwritten public offering of 7,142,857 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $0.14 per share. The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
FDA grants Fast Track Designation to Aspen Neuroscience drug
Aspen Neuroscience announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for ANPD001 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) to improve motor function. ANPD001, is a personalized (autologous) cell therapy under investigation to treat PD by replacing lost dopamine neurons. The purpose of Fast Track Designation is to get important new drugs to patients earlier.
Debut closes $40 million in Series B funding
Debut, a vertically integrated synthetic biology company that unlocks a new generation of cosmetic bioactive ingredients using the most advanced biomanufacturing approaches, announced that it will develop bio-identical and novel fragrance molecules, having closed a total of $40 million in its Series B funding led by BOLD, the venture capital fund of L’Oréal.
9amHealth expands into health plans sector
9amHealth, the first-of-its-kind virtual cardiometabolic care clinic, is proud to announce its expansion into the health plan sector with a forward-looking partnership with Medicare Advantage plan, eternalHealth. This venture marks a significant milestone for 9amHealth as it brings its innovative and comprehensive care approach to the Medicare Advantage sector for the first time.
