Daily Business Report: Nov. 18, 2021
San Diego’s Quarterly Economic Snapshot:
3rd Quarter 2021
By the San Diego Regional EDC
Life Sciences and Tech companies continue to shine. San Diego experienced another phenomenal quarter for VC, reaching $1.9 billion, an increase of $52 million compared to Q2, and $1.1 billion more than the same quarter last year. Life Sciences companies attracted almost $1 billion via 23 deals, with Genomatica pulling in $118 million alone. Twenty Tech companies brought in more than $940 million, with Shield AI and Wiliot attracting $410 million combined.
Demand for office and industrial space continues to climb. For the second quarter in a row, San Diego showed positive net absorption of office real estate, pushing vacancy rates down and rents up. The delivery of Amazon’s 3.4 million square-foot warehouse in Otay Mesa led to net absorption of more than 4.7 million square feet of industrial space, the strongest quarter on record.
San Diego continues to ride the wave of employment gains. Total nonfarm employment increased by 6,200 during Q3 and is up 51,300 compared to a year ago. However, gains were choppy across industries. Leisure and Hospitality led employment growth in Q3 with 7,900 jobs, as Accommodation and Food Services establishment continue to re-open and re-hire. Professional and Business services also had a positive quarter, adding 3,200 jobs to the region as venture funding fuels growth.
TOP PHOTO: Illustration via CanStock Photo
SDSU names Sycuan as inaugural
Founding Partner of Aztec Stadium
Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and Sycuan Casino Resort will be San Diego State University’s inaugural Founding Partner of the new Aztec Stadium at SDSU Mission Valley, the university announced at the stadium construction site on Tuesday.
As part of this agreement, when the stadium opens in fall 2022 both The Piers location and The Founders Club will bear the Sycuan name. The Sycuan Piers are expected to become a signature feature of the stadium.
The three piers feature 10,000 square feet of space that include 22 loge boxes, standing room for 500 individuals, three bars and a concession stand. The Piers, inspired by the coastline of San Diego, includes a section that juts out toward the field and will provide fans with a view of the action that is exclusive to the venue and will be instantly recognizable as Aztec Stadium.
Season tickets for the 2022 Aztecs football season in the new stadium will go on sale to the general public in January.
San Diego Council votes to eliminate
parking minimums for commercial areas
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved a change to the municipal code that eliminates parking space minimum requirements for many businesses. Starting Jan. 1, 2022, commercial tenants and building owners in transit priority areas and commercial neighborhoods citywide will have the option to either provide as much parking as their customers need, or use those spaces for other needs, like outdoor dining or creating outdoor spaces.
Previously, businesses in these areas were required to provide a certain number of parking spaces, which adds significant costs – up to $25,000 for installation and maintenance per parking stall – and can lead to an oversupply of parking spaces in the city. Minimum parking regulations also made it harder for businesses to adapt to changing transportation and economic trends and encouraged more driving, further contributing to climate pollution.
3 San Diego ZIP codes make list
of nation’s most expensive home prices
In a year of explosive home price growth, three San Diego County ZIP codes have made their way onto a list of the nation’s priciest.
Real estate tracker PropertyShark released its annual list of the 100 most expensive areas of the nation and Rancho Santa Fe (92067) comes in a No. 18 with a median sale price of $3.4 million. It is the first time a San Diego County ZIP code cracked the top 20.
The other San Diego County ZIPs to make the list were Coronado (92118) at No. 63 with a median sales price of $1.94 million and Del Mar (92014) at No. 74 with a median of $1.85 million.
Michele Lange joins Plant Power Restaurant
Group as director of training and development
San Diego-based Plant Power Restaurant Group announced the appointment of Michele Lange as its new director of training and development.
Lange was formerly the director of training for Del Taco and the director of field training for Chipotle Mexican Grill, two of the top U.S. QSR (Quick Service Restauraunt) brands. Prior to that she served as the director of training at The Habit Burger for over six years.
Lange is an alumnus of San Diego State University, where she received her undergraduate degree in psychology. Well-known for her involvement as the chair of the California Restaurant Foundation Board, the philanthropic nonprofit arm of the California Restaurant Association, she has also served on the executive board for the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, including as its President.
Plant Power Fast Food opened its first restaurant in San Diego at the beginning of 2016. Since that time, it has grown to a 10-unit chain with five additional new units in development including its upcoming flagship location in Hollywood.
The company was founded by Mitch Wallis, Zach Vouga and Jeffrey Harris.
David Majchrzak to lead San Diego County
Bar Asssociation in 2020
Seasoned ethicist and litigator David Majchrzak, shareholder and deputy general counsel at Klinedinst PC, will serve as the president of the San Diego County Bar Association for 2022. Melissa Johnson of Johnson Heeder LLP, will serve as president-elect.
Majchrzak’s service to the legal ethics community includes a just-completed, two-year term as co-chair of the California Lawyers Association’s first Ethics Committee and as a member of the organization’s Future of the Profession Task Force.
He is a director of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers and a member of its Future of Lawyering Committee, a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and a member of the ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility Planning Committee.
Melissa Johnson, partner at Johnson Heeder LLP, represents workers in employment-related matters. Johnson currently serves as the SDCBA’s treasurer and vice president, and previously served as its secretary.
She currently serves on the executive board of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), the preeminent bar association for California plaintiffs employment attorneys.
Where Fashion Meets STEM
By Kelsey Grey
It was a summer job on a construction site when Kylie Rios figured out her career path, announcing to her superiors that she wanted to be a fashion engineer. Her proclamation was met with curiosity. “To be honest, I didn’t even know if there was a job that existed like this,” says Rios, an electrical engineering student at the University of San Diego. “I was just putting it out into the universe.”
Rios has since discovered the job does exist. For those who might not have a clue as to what fashion engineering is, Rios identifies it as the wearable devices we already see in our day-to-day lives: smartwatches, fitness trackers and smart jewelry. Only, venture a step further and imagine something like a self-heating jacket — a new wave of clothing.
Rios’ interest in fashion and engineering began while growing up in Sacramento. The California state capital isn’t known as a fashion destination, but what it might not provide in terms of access to designers, YouTube generously makes up for.
Rios recalls falling in love with fashion thanks to the video-sharing platform. She would sit in her childhood room watching fashion shows from across the globe. On top of that, Rios says that from an early age, her favorite part of her morning routine has always been picking an outfit for the day.
Bank of America names Urban League of S.D.
and Ocean Discovery as Neighborhood Builders
The Urban League of San Diego and Ocean Discovery Institute have been named as the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders awardees for their work in San Diego addressing local issues around social and economic equality and education in underserved urban communities.
As a Neighborhood Builder, each organization receives a $200,000 grant over two years, comprehensive leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management and strategic storytelling, joins a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and gets the opportunity to access capital to expand their impact. The program continues to be the nation’s largest investment into nonprofit leadership development.
Sony Electronics becomes camera
provider for USA Today Network
San Diego-based Sony Electronics Inc. announced that it will become the imaging products provider for Gannett’s photographers and video journalists.
Gannett is the operator of USA Today Network, spanning more than 250 national and local media outlets.
The award-winning news organization will provide its team access to a wide variety of Sony’s imaging products highlighted by the Sony Alpha 1 and FX Cinema Line cameras and G Master line of interchangeable lenses.
The rollout of Sony imaging kits for Gannett will begin immediately in select markets.
IQHQ selects SageGlass for Research
and Development District in San Diego
SageGlass, a leader in electrochromic glass, was chosen by IQHQ, a life sciences real estate development company, to create one of the largest smart glass installations in the world. SageGlass will provide 150,000 square feet of SageGlass Harmony electrochromic glass, controls, and software for IQHQ’s Research and Development District, a 1.7 million square foot life science development on the waterfront in San Diego.
Electrochromic glass — also referred to as smart glass or dynamic glass — uses advanced intelligence to automatically tint throughout the day, reducing glare and regulating temperatures while letting natural light in. This technology offers both energy savings and a luxurious office experience. At RaDD, smart glass will offer unobstructed views of the bay.
Workiz raises $40 million
in Series C investment
Workiz, a home services team management company, has secured a $40 million Series C investment led by Lead Edge Capital joined by G squared and La Maison and followed by existing investors New Era, Magenta Venture Partners and Maor Investments. Lead Edge has invested in some of the world’s most successful technology companies, including Alibaba, Asana, Spotify, and Toast. The company will use the funds to scale its operations, while recruiting more talent and growing its customer base.
Today, the service is currently being used by more than 100,000 business professionals throughout the US and Canada and has grown 200 percent annually over the past two years despite the pandemic.
Novoron Bioscience raises $3 million
in Seed financing from Two Bear Capital
Novoron Bioscience, a San Diego-based biotechnology company developing therapies to reverse central nervous system damage, has secured a $3 million Seed investment from Two Bear Capital (TBC). Funding will be used to develop Novoron’s leading drug candidate, NOVO-118, which has shown the potential to both promote axonal regeneration and repair of the myelin sheath. Novoron already raised seed funding from Backstage Capital and $3 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Approximately 300,000 people in the United States live with central nervous system damage and around 18,000 new cases are added each year.
Court of Appeals reappoints bankruptcy
judge to Southern District of California
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has announced the reappointment of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laura S. Taylor to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California. Her second 14-year term will begin on Jan. 10, 2022.
Judge Taylor, 63, was appointed to the Southern District bankruptcy bench in 2008 and served as chief judge of her court from October 2012 through September 2019. Taylor has served since 2019 as chief judge of the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, or BAP, which operates under the authority of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit to hear appeals from the bankruptcy courts of the circuit.
