Daily Business Report-Feb. 6, 2019
The Mission Hills-Hillcrest Harley & Bessie Knox Public Library. (Photos by Brady Architectural Photography)
Fancy New Mission Hills-Hillcrest Library completed
It’s 4 times the size of former library
C.W. Driver Companies announced the completion of the $17.9 million Mission Hills‐Hillcrest Harley & Bessie Knox Public Library. The new one-story, 15,000-square-foot building is four times the size of the former library and will serve the Mission Hills and Hillcrest neighborhoods.
Located on the southwest corner of West Washington and Front Streets, the construction project includes a 30,000-square-foot, two‐story underground parking structure with 85 parking spaces and the formation of an adjacent cul‐de‐sac at the end of Front Street.
Manuel Oncina Architects and Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects worked alongside C.W. Driver Companies to design the library, incorporating both traditional craftsman and contemporary styles. The mission-style entry opens to a lobby with 25‐foot‐high ceilings featuring trusses, trellises and a skylight, as well as a traditional reading room. Environmentally efficient elements such as rooftop solar panels instill energy cost savings and ensure LEED Gold certification. The surrounding landscape incorporates drought tolerant plants.
The new library is also designed to incorporate how community members learn, work and utilize civic space in the new era, providing larger gathering spaces and technological resources. The library’s community room will be the focal point for extensive library programs and community gatherings, such as hosted author talks, civic events and community celebrations. This spacious adaptable room features audiovisual equipment and opens to the 1,400-square-foot outdoor patio, considered the building’s “front porch,” with large accordion-style glass doors.
The 1,600-square-foot children’s area features its own computer lab and a themed story time area akin to the Hobbit houses seen in the “Lord of the Rings” movies. Other features include a 384-square-foot teen area, a 400-square-foot garden, a large meeting room, four study rooms, an adult computer area and an idea lab that offers 3D printing and other technology. The Friends Room creates a visible retail space for Friends of the Mission Hills-Hillcrest Branch Library book sales.
The new Mission Hills-Hillcrest Harley & Bessie Knox Public Library is located at 215 West Washington Street, on the site of the old International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) office building and parking lot.
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La Jolla ivory traffickers convicted
Carlton Gallery, its owner and an employee to pay $210,000 in fines
San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott announced that the Carlton Gallery in La Jolla, its owner, and an employee will pay combined fines of $210,000 after pleading guilty to trafficking ivory in defiance of California law.
Carlton Gallery’s owner Victor Hyman Cohen, was convicted on 11 counts, and a salesperson, Sheldon Miles Kupersmith, was convicted on 8 counts. The Gallery and Cohen were each fined $75,000, and Kupersmith was fined $60,000. Cohen and Kupersmith were also placed on three years of probation, violation of which will result in an automatic 364 days in custody and an additional $100,000 fine per defendant. The defendants will also be required to complete 200 hours of court-ordered work service at the San Diego Zoo within the year.
The fines are the largest ever imposed for ivory trafficking in California.
These convictions resulted from the largest seizure of ivory products by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife since a state law banning their sale took effect in 2016. Wildlife officers seized from the Prospect Street gallery and its warehouse more than 300 pieces of ivory and items containing ivory with an estimated value of $1.3 million.
A law banning the sale of nearly all ivory in the state of California was authored by state Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins of San Diego and took effect on July 1, 2016.
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Civic San Diego Board Actions:
Front and Beech Project
The Civic San Diego Board approved the design review with a 7-0 vote for the Front and Beech project, a 7-story, 95-foot tall residential mid-rise building located in the southeast corner of Beech and Front Streets. The development will be comprised of 78 residential units with 57 of those being living units at 40 percent AMI (permanent supportive housing), 19 at 50 percent AMI (very-low income), and 2 property manager units. The proposed project will also have 7 off-street parking garage spaces and 36 bicycle storage spaces. The innovative project will include a bicycle maintenance room on the first floor to accommodate residents as well as the general public as it will be situated in front of the two-way cycle track on Beech Street. The building will also include a multipurpose room for meetings that will be for residents. The project is proposed by Affirmed Housing and designed by Carrier Johnson.
Block F Makers Quarter Project
In an 8-0 vote, the Civic San Diego Board approved the Block F Makers Quarter project, a 32-story, 332-foot tall tower on a partial block bounded by 15th, 16th, F and G streets in Downtown San Diego. The proposed project would include 405 dwelling units and 48,518 square feet office space in a five-story brick podium/building. The space is also designed to include 19,695 square feet of commercial/retail space, 479 parking spaces (3 levels below grade and 6 level above grade), 10,165 square feet of public/private urban open space plaza with outdoor seating and a 1-story coffee kiosk/café. The development also includes plans to create exterior art walls, one facing the street and another that screens the parking garage which would be observable from the future East Village Green Park to the west. The project is proposed by Foulger-Pratt Companies and designed by Carrier Johnson.
Kettner & Hawthorn Project
The Civic San Diego Board approved the Kettner & Hawthorn project, a six-story, 96-foot tall office development on the full block bounded by West Ivy, West Hawthorn, Kettner Boulevard, and the MTS Trolley tracks, in a 7-0 vote. The project includes over 177,000 square feet of office space and is estimated to generate nearly 400 permanent jobs, continuing Little Italy’s evolution as a cohesive, mixed-use waterfront neighborhood. The building also includes 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail/restaurant space and 280 parking spaces. The project is proposed by Kilroy Realty Corporation and designed by Gensler.
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UC San Diego Health Expands
Leading-Edge Cancer Care in Hillcrest
Living with cancer means frequent visits to the doctor during a time when illness can be debilitating and utterly exhausting. To make it easier for patients to receive care from San Diego’s only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, UC San Diego Health has added a new multidisciplinary cancer clinic in Hillcrest, staffed with physicians who specialize in some of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies.
“Through Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego Health has been at the forefront of developing and testing advanced cancer therapies that are changing how we treat cancer, not just in San Diego but around the world,” said Joseph Califano, M.D., Moores Cancer Center physician-in-chief. “Our priority is delivering innovative therapies that save lives. By expanding cancer services at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, we are fulfilling our mission to provide compassionate care to our community by offering cutting-edge services at a more convenient location for people who live in central, eastern and southern San Diego neighborhoods.”
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Hera Labs reports largest graduating
class in business accelerator program
Twenty-four women have graduated from Hera Labs’ winter business accelerator program, making it the organization’s largest graduating class to date. For the first time, the program took place in two locations simultaneously: The San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center (WBC) at Southwestern College in Chula Vista and the Hera Labs headquarters in Solana Beach. During the program, entrepreneurs were coached on launching, scaling and sustaining a profitable business.
“We’re incredibly proud of these graduates and of our partnership with the Women’s Business Center, which allows us to serve more women countywide, regardless of their industry, startup expertise or location,” says Silvia Mah, executive director of Hera Labs. “It’s easy for founders to get turned down by traditional business accelerators if their business doesn’t fit a mold, and we’re here to say no, let’s give every viable idea a chance to become a profitable business.”
Each week, founders learned a new skillset, such as marketing, business development, fundraising and more, with the added benefit of learning alongside other founders with different backgrounds and from different industries.
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San Diego selected for national skilled immigrant integration program
San Diego has been chosen as one of eight U.S. communities to receive customized technical assistance to advance its skilled immigrant integration efforts. The San Diego Workforce Partnership, as a partner of Welcoming San Diego, was selected for the program.
Based on their track records of supporting immigrant professional success through local programs and initiatives, the cities of Anchorage, Alaska; Boston; Des Moines, Iowa; Lincoln, Neb.; Pittsburgh, Penn.; Portland, Maine; and San Diego, as well as the state of Texas (where the program will be anchored in Austin); were chosen to participate in the 2019 program by the Global Talent Bridge program of World Education Services,
a national organization dedicated to helping skilled immigrants fully utilize their talents and education in the United States.
“By learning from peers across the nation, we envision all civic, business and government leaders in our region to see immigrants of all skill levels and their children as vital to the talent pipeline for economic growth and a critical source of cultural dynamism that will elevate the region’s global competitiveness,” says Brooke Valle, Workforce Partnership VP of strategy.
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Scripps Clinic named first Center of Excellence
in county for treating prevalent heart disease
Scripps Clinic has been designated a Center of Excellence by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, becoming the first location in San Diego County to be recognized for outstanding treatment of this common genetic disease, which involves an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle.
HCM, which often goes undetected for decades, is the second most common form of heart muscle disease, affecting up to 1 million people in the United States and 1 in 300 in the general population. HCM often is inherited within families, and several gene mutations have been linked to the disease.
Diagnosis can involve an echocardiogram (ultrasound imaging), an electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood tests. Treatments include beta-blocking drugs or other medications that slow the heartbeat, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and surgery to remove heart muscle tissue blocking blood flow.
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Personnel Announcements
Michael Kulis joins Nuffer, Smith, Tucker
Michael Kulis has joined Nuffer, Smith, Tucker as director of public affairs and government relations of the full-service agency.
Kulis joins NST with 27 years of experience in various leadership positions developing and managing legislative and regulatory policy. Most recently, he spent 15 years serving as director of inter-governmental relations at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, where he strategized and oversaw all activities involving agency interaction with elected and appointed officials and managed the organization’s legislative and regulatory advocacy program.
At NST, Kulis will manage public affairs and government relations for a variety of clients, including California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program, while continuing to grow the practice area. Kulis also served on a variety of volunteer positions within the San Diego community, including the public policy committee of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the governance and public finance issues subcommittee of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, and is a current member of the American Association of Airport Executives. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Villanova University.
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KTUA Landscape Architects hires one new principal and 2 associate principals
KTUA Landscape Architects welcomes one new principal and two new associate principals.
Brooke Whalen, associate principal, has a broad range of project experience, including parks, hospitality, health care, and student housing. She is involved in all phases of design and construction documentation through construction, along with master planning. As a project manager, she focuses on maintaining regular communication with her clients and collaboration with teams. Graduate of Colorado State University.
Joe Punsalan, associate principal/senior transportation planner, manages large-scale active transportation- planning projects that include complete-street plans and corridor studies; active transportation plans; first/last mile connectivity and transit-supportive plans; and trail and accessibility studies. Holds a B.A. in Geography from Sacramento State.
Aynsley Gilmour, associate principal, is a planner in the Federal Planning Department. Gilmour has contributed to a wide range of federal planning projects including area development plans, basic facility requirements, economic analysis and special studies. In previous positions, she has acted as team lead in support of asset evaluations for an excess of 1050 Bureau of Medicine and Surgery facilities on 160 installations and special areas worldwide. Holds a B.S. in geography and planning from Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
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Dan Hedstrom named VP and CIO for Cubic Corporation
Cubic Corporation announced the appointment of Dan Hedstrom as vice president and chief information officer to lead a broad range of information technology initiatives in support of the company’s 5,600+ employees in 75 locations worldwide. Hedstrom will manage Cubic’s global IT team, including information security and platform services as well as business support. Hedstrom will report to Bradley H. Feldmann, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Before transitioning to CIO for Cubic, he served as the vice president of system solutions and services for the Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) business division. He oversaw CTS’ commercial IT team in North America, U.K. and Australia where he established Cubic’s first Global Operations Center located in Stockton-on-Tees, U.K. serving CTS’ global customer base. Prior to Cubic, Hedstrom was the senior director of IT for Newport Corporation, a high-tech manufacturer of photonics technology, where he led global IT Operations while the company transformed the business with the implementation of a global enterprise resource planning platform.
Hedstrom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is an advisory board member for the Technology Services Industry Association and a member of the Society for Information Management.
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Henry Zahner joins Intersection as a senior director
San Diego-based commercial real estate company Intersection, formerly known as The Heritage Group, has hired Henry Zahner as a new senior director in its brokerage division. Zahnwe is a seasoned professional with more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate.
Prior to joining Intersection, Zahner spent the majority of his career with Colliers International, and most recently Voit Real Estate Services. Zahner’s deep knowledge and extensive background in real estate offers new insight to Intersection and a valuable new member to the well-rounded group of experts. His specialties include landlord representation, tenant representation and build-to-suit/facilities consultation. Henry has completed over 650 transactions in his core market area, successfully finding solutions to his clients’ Real Estate needs.
Zahner’s success throughout his career has had a positive impact for others, earning him the John Cosh Award presented by the city of Vista for notable contributions to the Vista Economic Development Association and the Vista Community.
Zahner achieved a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of San Diego and is a graduate of Culver Military Academy.
Intersection is currently recruiting brokers with 6 openings in both its Downtown San Diego offices and new office opening in Carlsbad.
