Expanding Footprint of Some Life Science Firms is Welcome Event
REAL ESTATE: Market Must Wait for Effects of Other Recent Acquisitions
Despite a history of mergers and acquisitions that have shrunk local life-science real estate footprints, several large companies in the sector are now boosting their San Diego County presence.
Changing the Scientific Properties
REAL ESTATE: Limited Space, Competition for Talent Drives Renovations
The task of equipping today’s life-sciences corporate campus has moved well beyond installing the right number of lab centrifuges and test-tube racks.
Newmark Sets Sights on Expanding Sectors
REAL ESTATE: Firm Is Recruiting ‘Top Talent’
With a national merger and branding transition completed, the local office of the commercial brokerage firm now known as Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is looking to expand its reach in a competitive real estate climate.
Merged Firms Will Expand Their Reach in Local Real Estate
Harcourts International Ltd. Inc., an Australian real estate services company with a history dating back to 1888, recently made its arrival in downtown San Diego.
Retail Picks Up Momentum Moving Toward the Holidays
REAL ESTATE: Increases In Household Income and Population Stir Optimism
A year after completing a $20 million renovation, sales are up 8 percent year-to-date at Del Mar Highlands Town Center compared with 2011. The Carmel Valley shopping center has added seven new restaurants in the past year, and a locally based Mexican eatery Casa Sol y Mar will debut in spring in the space recently vacated by Red Robin, bringing the center to 100 percent leased.
Cautious Companies Keep Office Market Recovery in Slow Motion
REAL ESTATE: Total Vacancy Rate Is Down 4% From Previous Year
Cautious employers and bargain-hunting tenants kept San Diego County’s office market in steadily recovering but slow-growth mode in the third quarter, and experts don’t expect the pace to accelerate significantly until the nation’s political and budget picture comes into clearer focus in coming months.
Industrial Tenants Turn to Long-Term Leases as Market Improves
PROPERTY: Sector Sees 10 Consecutive Quarters Of Positive Net Absorption
San Diego County’s industrial property market continued its slow but steady recovery in the third quarter, although experts say it could be a year or two before space demand returns to pre-recession peaks.
Clean Energy Upgrades Get an Official Boost
ENERGY: PACE to Benefit Property Owners, Contractors
Local contractors are among those hoping that a new green-upgrade financing program geared to commercial properties will energize the San Diego region’s long-beleaguered construction industry.
Paradise Point Doesn’t Want Guests to Get Away from It All
TRAVEL: Technological Connections Are Crucial For Visitors, Marketing
A 50-year-old photo shows a large roadside billboard at Mission Bay, beckoning drivers in pre-GPS days to the newly opened Vacation Village hotel via a directional arrow emblazoned with the message “Right turn Anna St.”
Doubling Down on Downtown’s Drawing Power
ECONOMY: Marketing District to Put Momentum, Money Into Improvements
Property experts say a new city-authorized marketing district should give downtown San Diego office properties a boost, as the submarket looks to attract new industries, compete with neighborhoods to the north, and ward off stubborn vacancy trends of the past five years.
Green & Growing
ARCHITECTURE: LPA Finds Work Meeting Some Timely, Eco-Friendly Needs
The renovated building that LPA Inc. now calls its San Diego home — a circa-1924 East Village building that was once a Wonder Bread bakery — typifies the challenges and opportunities greeting architectural firms in the current business climate.
Local Farmer’s Markets Aim to Grow ‘Buy Local’ Campaigns
The fruits (and vegetables) of the labors of San Diego County’s more than 6,000 food growers show up daily not only in grocery stores, but at more than 50 farmers markets held year-round in local shopping centers, commercial districts and public spaces.
Company Knows It Is All in the Delivery of the Message
SERVICE: Instant Sees Opportunity to Expand In Promotional Niche
Instant Imprints CEO Ralph Askar sees growth through franchising as key to navigating a tricky business support services industry. The sector is filled not only with hundreds of mom-and-pop independent operators, but a growing number of national chains seeking to boost their niches.
Firm Moves Strategically in Recovering Real Estate Market
PROPERTY: Cassidy Turley San Diego Aims to Expand, Tap Key Sectors
Like other commercial brokerage firms large and small, Cassidy Turley San Diego has ridden through a turbulent period for U.S. real estate in general during the past few years.
Consumer Confidence Opens the Door for Retail Sales
RETAIL: Revenues Rise for Firms as Old Items Are Replaced
Steadily growing appetites for big-ticket items like cars and furniture have recently bolstered revenue for some of the largest local private companies, partly spurred by pent-up demand after years of consumer and corporate belt-tightening.
Construction Firms Still Depending on Public Projects
BUILDING: Mixed Signals Keep Industry in Caution Mode for Private Plans
Companies operating in San Diego County’s construction industry are long accustomed to tempering expectations about prospects for new work assignments, even as a brightening housing and employment climate offers reasons for optimism.
Firm Knows Quality And Calories Count
DINING: Garden Fresh Has History of Healthful Menus
The field of healthy-dining chain restaurants was relatively sparse when Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. opened its first Souplantation in San Diego nearly 35 years ago.
Specialty Manufacturer Plans Move to Lakeside
EagleBurgmann EJS, a Santee-based maker of pipe-expansion and related components used in several industries, has signed a $12.5 million, 15-year lease for a build-to-suit industrial facility being built in Lakeside.
New Restaurants Join Hillcrest Retail Center
Two new restaurants have joined the lineup at The Shops at Hillcrest, an 8,360-square-foot retail center owned and managed by San Diego-based Westcore Properties.
San Diego Tops California Travel Destinations
San Diego was the fourth most popular destination for U.S. travelers in the first half of 2012, according to a recently released report by the travel booking website Hotels.com.
SDG&E, Sudberry Announce ‘Smart Energy’ Plans for Civita
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Sudberry Properties have announced plans to create a “smart energy community” at Sudberry’s master-planned Civita development in Mission Valley.
Regency Buys Clairemont Retail Center for $59.5M
Regency Centers Corp. has purchased Balboa Mesa Shopping Center, in San Diego’s Clairemont neighborhood, for $59.5 million.
McCarthy Gets $34M Contract for Waterfront Park
McCarthy Building Cos. Inc., which has local regional operations, has been awarded a $34 million contract to design and build a planned new San Diego County Administration Center waterfront park and parking structure in downtown San Diego.
Zone Expansion Brings Business Opportunities
ECONOMY: Enterprise Area Provides Incentives And Climate for Growth
Economic development leaders are counting on the newly expanded San Diego Regional Enterprise Zone to bring more job-creating manufacturing firms to the area, following in the footsteps of companies such as Soitec, Alliant Techsystems Inc., Kyocera and Shire Regenerative Medicine.
Retail Renovation and Repositioning Are On the Rise in Region
RETAIL: Shopping Center Conference Draws Industry to S.D.
Many among the thousands of industry pros attending a major shopping center conference in San Diego were expected to stop by Westfield UTC, the Westfield Group mall that is abuzz with construction as it prepares to welcome a slew of new tenants amid a $180 million renovation.
Redevelopment’s Exit Blocks Plans’ Entrance
PROPERTY: New Stadium Waits on Land-Use Decisions
The demise of local redevelopment agencies has thrown yet another wrench into plans to build a downtown stadium for the San Diego Chargers.
New Train Horn System Aims to Stop Noise in Its Tracks
The City of Del Mar is using a relatively new, high-tech method to deal with the old-school issue of loud train noises, which have long irritated residents and property owners in its downtown commercial district.
Port Approves Environmental Report for Convention Center Project
San Diego port commissioners have approved the environmental impact report on the proposed $520 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center.
Skin-care Retailer Kiehl’s Opens Store at Westfield UTC
New York-based skin-care products retailer Kiehl’s Since 1851 has opened a new store at Westfield UTC, one of seven local malls owned by Westfield Group.
Frontier Airlines Adds Service to Colorado Springs
Frontier Airlines recently expanded local service to Colorado, launching new direct flights between San Diego and Colorado Springs.
California Pacific Airlines Taking Resumes for Upcoming Hiring
California Pacific Airlines, a new locally based carrier planning to offer daily flights out of McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, has begun accepting resumes for flight attendants and dispatchers, according to Tom Morrow, senior vice president of communications.
JLL Managing Director Ginsburg Joining Hughes Marino
San Diego-based real estate services firm Hughes Marino, which represents commercial tenants in leasing and purchase transactions, has named Scot Ginsburg as senior vice president.
Port District Opening New Downtown Waterfront Park
The Port of San Diego on Sept. 20 is scheduled to mark the opening of Ruocco Park, the 18th waterfront park overseen by the port district.
Karl Strauss Brewing Opens 7th Brewery Restaurant
Locally based Karl Strauss Brewing Co. recently opened its seventh brewery restaurant in the 4S Ranch community near Rancho Bernardo.
Del Mar Installs New Horn System at Downtown Rail Crossing
The city of Del Mar has launched a wayside horn system, aimed at reducing noise from trains crossing Coast Boulevard as they pass through the city’s downtown.
Green Buildings Show Some Big Advantages
ENERGY: City May Join Effort to Support Upgrades
The San Diego region’s green office buildings are out-performing their less environmentally friendly counterparts, posting lower vacancy and commanding higher rents so far in 2012, according to a recent report by the brokerage firm CBRE.
REIT Moves its Headquarters from New York to San Diego
REAL ESTATE: Portfolio Mix Drives Decision To Consolidate Offices
Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.’s acquisition focus has moved westward over the years, and now so has its corporate headquarters.
Los Angeles-based Caruso to Develop 48-Acre Carlsbad Property
Commercial developer Caruso Affiliated has signed an agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to purchase a 48-acre Carlsbad parcel currently owned by the utility firm for a future development.
Technological Tools Cut Construction Costs, Time
BUILDING: Firms Use Software to Share Ideas, Make Real-Time Changes
Local construction, engineering and architectural firms continue to weather a tough economy by keeping costs in check, while pursuing what remains a limited number of lucrative new projects.
Realty Income to Buy American Realty Capital Trust
PROPERTY: $2.95B Deal Increases REIT’s Profile Outside of Retail Sector
Realty Income Corp. of Escondido is poised to become the nation’s 18th largest real estate investment trust, after its recently announced deal to acquire New York-based American Realty Capital Trust Inc.
SeaWorld’s Manta Coasts to Theme Park Industry Award
SeaWorld San Diego has ridden its new Manta roller coaster attraction to its first Turnstile Award, given out annually by the theme park industry magazine Amusement Today.
Microbrewer Helm’s Coming to Kearny Mesa
Helm’s Brewing Co., a new locally owned and operated microbrewery, will join the tenant roster this fall at Cabrillo Commerce Center in Kearny Mesa.
Excel Teams With Chicago Firm to Redevelop Carlsbad Retail Center
Excel Trust Inc. has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Chicago-based GEM Realty Capital Inc. to redevelop La Costa Towne Center in Carlsbad, which Excel purchased earlier this year for approximately $23.5 million.
Sunstone Hotel Investors Sells Hilton Del Mar
Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. is selling the 257-room Hilton Del Mar, as part of a larger sale of three hotels to an undisclosed buyer for a total of $107.1 million.
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Sold for $62M
Maryland-based Chesapeake Lodging Trust Inc. has purchased the 429-room Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina hotel for $62 million.
SpringHill Suites to Break Ground in Oceanside
A Sept. 18 groundbreaking is planned for a new Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel being built in Oceanside, according to a statement from developer GF Properties Group LLC.
Convention Center Plan Ready for Public Review
The Port of San Diego has completed a report on the environmental impacts of the proposed San Diego Convention Center expansion and hotel project.
Cinepolis Planning More U.S. Movie Theaters
Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas, which has its U.S. headquarters in La Jolla, plans to open its first Los Angeles County location and second Orange County theater within the next few months.
Harper Gets $28M Order for Military Hangar Project
Harper Construction Co. Inc. of San Diego has received a task order of approximately $28 million to build an aircraft maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona.
The Needle Moves Up on Apartment Supply
PROPERTY: North County Should See More Projects
North County’s apartment supply has recently been inching upward to meet what experts say is long pent-up demand, as new construction has been rare in that region during the past decade.
