Daily Business Report: Thursday, May 26, 2022
San Diego office footprints shrink as labs move in
JLL survey of tenants who downsized finds 53 percent were displaced by office-to-lab conversions
By Jack Rogers
A JLL survey that tracked 60 office tenants in San Diego who have restructured their office footprints and downsized found that more than half of them were displaced by office-to-lab conversions.
The survey also revealed that, out of a total of 2.8 million square feet of office space in San Diego that was restructured by the tenants, 1.3 million square feet has been completely vacated and is now available on the market.
The JLL survey said that 53 percent of the downsizing leases in the San Diego market were the result of office-to-lab conversions; 43 percent of those surveyed reported that they reduced their office footprints when they renewed their leases in order to right size their office needs in the wake of the pandemic.
While the thriving life sciences hub has been the primary beneficiary of the office restructuring in San Diego in terms of office-to-lab conversions, other high-tech industries as well as financial services have been reevaluating office utilization rates and reducing their office footprints, JLL said.
JLL said that its survey indicated that tech offices have downsized by 37 percent, financial services by 24 percent, healthcare by 18 percent and business services by 10 percent.
JLL listed the top 10 office reductions in its survey and said that seven of these had
been “displaced or backfilled” by biotech or other tech lab conversions. Two of the largest reductions in office footprints involved health care companies: AMN Healthcare reduced its footprint by nearly 175,000 square feet, American Specialty Health shrank its office footprint by 85,000. Finance of America reduced its footprint by 152,000, JLL said.
Top Photo: The thriving life sciences hub has been the primary beneficiary of the office restructuring in San Diego. (Credit: Can Stock Photo/kasto)
County approves $10 million for cities to address homelessness
A new grant program that makes $10 million available to cities for new emergency housing projects was approved Tuesday by the County Board of Supervisors.
The Capital Emergency Housing Solutions Grant Program is part of the county’s Framework for Ending Homelessness which was approved by the board last year. Funds from the program will be available to projects in the region’s 18 incorporated cities.
Program funds are intended as initial investments for new emergency housing projects, including shelters, safe parking lots, sleeping cabins, tiny homes, and/or expanded capacity of existing emergency shelters.
The program is expected to be up and running within the next couple of weeks. The county will individually notify all eligible jurisdictions once the application window opens.
The Workforce Partnership to provide laptops
to help young adults in their job search
To prepare underserved young adults in their search for careers or continuing education, The Conrad Prebys Foundation provided the Workforce Partnership with a $50,000 donation to cover the cost of purchasing 60 laptops equipped with Microsoft Office for program graduates of the Southeastern San Diego Live Well Career Training program. The program is currently accepting applications.
With an increasing amount of job interviews and higher-education courses occurring online,
digital equity is now more important than ever. Administered by the Workforce Partnership and funded by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, the program provides job-readiness training and career navigation services to young adults ages 18–24 who reside in Southeastern San Diego.
Major construction in front of Terminal 1 at
airport to have major impact on visitors
Visitors to Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport should expect major construction and changes in front of Terminal 1 beginning June 5 and extending through the end of 2024. Passengers are urged to plan ahead for getting to and from Terminal 1.
Among the changes:
• Parking will be significantly reduced this summer. The Terminal 1 lot will close to incoming traffic on June 5 and all cars remaining in the lot will need to exit by June 14. As of June 15, the Terminal 1 parking lot will be permanently closed.
• Also on June 15, the pedestrian bridge in front of Terminal 1 that currently takes pedestrians to the T1 parking lot and to the ground transportation island, will close permanently and be replaced by a new crosswalk in front of Terminal 1.
This construction is an important part of the New Terminal 1 project that will replace the current facility and will make way for a new Terminal 1 Parking Plaza anticipated to open late 2024, as well as a new on-airport roadway that will divert westbound traffic from Harbor Drive on to the airport property.
To learn more about construction impacts, transit options, and more, visit newt1.com.
California advances gun control bills
amid Texas school massacre
CalMatters
As news traveled around the country Tuesday of a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left at least 22 dead — including 19 children, two adults and the 18-year-old gunman — California lawmakers were advancing a package of gun control bills, including one sponsored by Gov. Gavin Newsom that co-opts the structure of Texas’ abortion ban to crack down on illegal firearms.
The striking timing highlighted a shared challenge facing California, Texas and other states: reducing gun deaths, which have ticked up dramatically nationwide amid the pandemic.
But it also served as a launchpad for Newsom — a relentless critic of Texas — and other top Democratic officials to castigate Republicans for refusing to support tougher restrictions on guns.
- Newsom tweeted: “Another shooting. And the GOP won’t do a damn thing about it. Who the hell are we if we cannot keep our kids safe. This is preventable. Our inaction is a choice.”
San Diego approves sweeping scooter crackdown
San Diego cracked down on electric scooters Tuesday with sweeping new rules that prohibit sidewalk usage, demand scooters be parked in city-painted corrals and require operators to handle complaints about their scooters within one hour.
City officials also plan to shrink the number of scooter companies operating in San Diego to four next month under a new permitting model that will make operators more accountable to the city for self-enforcement.
City Council members unanimously approved the new rules, which they called a compromise between responding to vocal complaints about scooters while still allowing the devices to become a popular new way to get around.
Independent Financial Group donates over
$230,000 to children-focused charities
Independent Financial Group LLC (IFG), a San Diego-based independent broker-dealer, donated a combined $232,500 to seven charities in 2021: Promises2Kids ($50,000); Wayfinder Family Services ($50,000); Challenged Athletes Foundation ($50,000); The Mitchell Thorp Foundation ($50,000); Just in Time for Foster Youth ($25,000); The San Diego Nice Guys ($5,000); and the Well Community For Women ($2,500).
IFG’s donations went to charities operating in San Diego and in the state of California, supporting foster children, youth, and adults; children with critical illnesses; children and adults with disabilities; and families facing economic hardships.
Pleno Inc. closes $15 million in Pre-Series A financing
Pleno Inc., a multi-omic instrument platform company revolutionizing biological target detection for clinical testing and biomedical research, announced the close of $15 million in Pre-Series A financing led by experienced life science investors and companies including
Medical Excellence Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments. The company also announced the addition of biotech industry veteran Gregory T. Lucier as chairman of the board of directors.
Port of San Diego invites public
to take Pepper Park design survey
The Port of San Diego is seeking additional feedback on the latest draft design for the National City Bayfront’s Pepper Park. The public is also asked to help decide which new park amenities – like a splash pad, child play improvements, shade structures, and more – should be added to the park by summer 2024.
Learn more and take the survey at portofsandiego.org/nationalcitybayfront.
The survey closes on Wednesday, June 8 and is in addition to the community workshop the Port held on May 5 and follows previous workshops held in March and April.
Thanks to federal stimulus funds the Port has received via the American Rescue Plan Act and the State of California’s Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund, the Port has designated $3.85 million toward redesigning Pepper Park and constructing some park improvements by mid-2024, subject to environmental review and permitting.
California readies 3,000 miles of network
infrastructure to achieve broadband for all
California is one step closer to delivering affordable high-speed internet service to communities throughout the state, awarding new contracts that will supply the materials necessary for building 3,000 miles of broadband infrastructure.
The California Department of Technology, as part of the state’s Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, awarded contracts to two vendors totaling nearly $225 million that will allow the state to purchase enough optical fiber and materials to construct 3,000 miles of the network.
“Delivering broadband to all is essential to California’s success,” said Governor Newsom. “Access to high speed internet can mean the difference between launching a successful career and being without work. Once constructed, this network will be the largest in the world – and our action today will make the promise of broadband for all a reality.”
San Diego mayor signs new agreement with
City of Tijuana to increase collaboration
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero that calls for increased collaboration to address long border wait times, the Tijuana River Valley pollution, and promote advocacy to address cross-border challenges.
“This MOU strengthens the integral ties between San Diego and Tijuana,” Gloria said. “We are an interconnected region that is stronger together, and agreements like this are a symbolic representation of our binational strength.”
The MOU, signed in a ceremony in Tijuana that had been delayed several times due to the pandemic, will allow San Diego and Tijuana to continue working together to share best practices and develop joint working programs in areas of common interest.
Under the MOU, San Diego and Tijuana will develop joint working programs to exchange information, develop a work plan and enhance cooperation between both cities. The two-year agreement is eligible for renewal upon its expiration in May 2024.
Sanford Burnham Prebys completes
major renewable energy upgrades
By Miles Martin
Sanford Burnham Prebys recently completed a sweeping round of solar energy upgrades, including the installation of 1,690 solar panels, and 50 car charging stations, which are now available for employee use. These upgrades, which also include the implementation of new power storage infrastructure, are the latest in a series of major sustainability projects spearheaded by Sanford Burnham Prebys over the last two decades.
“Energy is one of the most important resources we have, and a critical part of supporting the Institute’s biomedical research is making sure our facilities can use and maintain that resource sustainably,” says John Reed, director of facilities at Sanford Burnham Prebys. “If we can benefit employees in the process by giving them access to electric car charging and saving them some gas money, that’s just a bonus.”
The upgrades will save a significant amount of energy for the Institute and could reduce yearly carbon emissions by as much as 696 metric tons. According to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, this is as much as the yearly emissions of 83 average homes.
“This is a major shift in the way our Institute consumes energy,” adds Reed.
MiraCosta College student Liv Stone balances
academic success with pro surfing career
Juggling school, career, and life is no small task for professional surfer and MiraCosta College student Liv Stone. Every day, Liv wakes up early to train in the water, transitions to her other work commitments by lunchtime, and then uses the afternoons and evenings to attend class and finish up any coursework required for the week ahead. Then the cycle starts all over the next day.
It’s a life Liv wouldn’t change for anything but also one she wouldn’t have imagined just five years ago.
While Liv grew up playing sports in her hometown of Manheim, Pennsylvania, surfing wasn’t on her radar until 2017. That fall, Liv had the opportunity to attend a surf camp hosted by professional surfer Bethany Hamilton. As a congenital bilateral above-the-elbow amputee, Liv had always looked up to Bethany and all that she had accomplished, and she was eager to try out a new sport.
From the moment she first hit the water, Liv was in love. Over the next year, Liv went on to attend more surf camps and pursue her newfound passion as often as she could. Living in Pennsylvania made that challenging, but Liv would often drive four hours round trip from her hometown in Pennsylvania just to catch a few waves off the coast of New Jersey. Within a year, Liv found herself competing for the USA Adaptive Surf Team and soon after, her family decided to move to San Diego so that Liv could pursue surfing fulltime.
Since then, Liv has flourished in the sport. In 2019, Liv won her first gold medal at the Stance ISA Para Surfing World Championships. And that was just the beginning. Over the past two and a half years, Liv has competed against some of the best athletes in the world and has added three more gold medals to her collection.