Barratt American’s Pattinson Elected
President of Building Industry Association
Affordable housing advocates and builders are concerned about amendments to the state’s prevailing wage law.
Gov. Gray Davis recently signed a bill making clarifications to the law. It requires prevailing wages, which could be similar to union wages, be paid to workers on publicly funded construction projects.
Senate Bill 975 exempts the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income people.
However, “If you read the law, it’s very, very narrow on what sort of affordable housing funding is excluded,” said Elizabeth Morris, chief executive of the San Diego Housing Commission, the city’s agency for providing affordable housing options.
“If (a project’s) got anything else in it, like our local housing trust fund, then it’s different,” Morris said. Legislators she spoke with said they thought affordable housing was exempted, but she said some ambiguities remained in the bill.
“We’d be seeking a technical amendment in the next legislative session to make sure the intent is clear for affordable housing,” Morris said.
According to the California Building Industry Association, most privately developed affordable housing projects receive some form of public subsidy. Requiring those developers to pay prevailing wages could increase the cost of affordable housing by as much as 30 percent, according to the association.
Morris noted the prevailing wage law was originally drafted to address large municipal projects, such as courthouses and bridges with construction costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“In a small rehabilitation project, there’s less administrative staff to handle that,” she said.
– – –
New CalBIA President:
Michael D. Pattinson, president of Carlsbad-based Barratt American Inc., was elected president of the California Building Industry Association, a trade organization representing homebuilders and other housing industry professionals.
Pattinson has served on several committees and task forces for the Building Industry Association of San Diego County. He has been a fund-raiser for construction dispute litigation reform and has been involved in legislative reform.
During his term as president, Pattinson said he wants to address affordable housing issues, construction dispute law reforms, and restoring balance and common sense to environmental laws.
Fifth On Fifth:
San Diego-based ISD Capital LLC is planning for its fifth condominium project in Downtown San Diego, at a site on K Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
The developer, a division of Canadian housing developer Intracorp, plans to build 140 units in a six-story and a 10-story building. About 19,000 square feet of street-level retail space and 174 underground parking spaces are also planned. The project is designed by Studio E Architects in San Diego.
– – –
Growth Factors:
The San Diego chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, also known as NAIOP, and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. are presenting an event titled, “Growth Factors for San Diego Tech Companies.”
The program will take place from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. Nov. 8 at the Hyatt Regency in La Jolla. A panel of local real estate and business representatives will discuss site selection for technology companies.
The cost is $40 for NAIOP and EDC members and $50 for nonmembers if registration is completed by Nov. 15. The price increases by $5 for registrations accepted after Nov. 5 and at the door. Call (619) 615-2969 for more information or go to (www.acteva.com/go/edc) to register online.
Sales:
McMillin Commercial/Hillwood Development of San Diego has sold the 117,156-square-foot Parkway Center Two building in Poway to Ernest and Lisa Auerbach for $12.35 million. The building is leased to two automotive industry tenants, Mitchell Repair/Snap-On and Xcellis/DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Phil Monroe and Adam Edwards of San Diego-based Burnham Real Estate Services/ONCOR International represented the seller. Bob Mooney of BRE Commercial of San Diego and Jeff Gan of ReMax Direct in San Diego represented the buyers.
– – –
New Contract:
The Colliers International Real Estate Management division in San Diego recently won two new management contracts. In October, Colliers took over management of Palomar Pomerado Health System’s real estate portfolio of several countywide office/medical facilities totaling 155,000 square feet.
Also, Colliers will manage the Genesis Corporate Centre and Common Area Association, a nine-building, 102,000-square-foot office campus in the Carlsbad Research Center.
Company News:
Engineering firm Kleinfelder, headquartered in San Diego, was sixth on the list of Best Civil Engineering Firms to Work For in the October issue of CE New Magazine.
Los Angeles-based Pardee Homes recently unveiled its Living Smart program in San Diego, which gives homebuyers the opportunity to add state-of-the-art environmental, energy conservation and health and safety features to their new homes.
Some of the features include central vacuum systems, air filtration systems, solar power, energy saving appliances, and cellulose insulation. Pardee’s new community of Santa Barbara in Pacific Highlands Ranch will be the first in San Diego to offer the Living Smart options.
San Diego-based SC Design, a full-service design center for the residential building industry, has a new Web site at (http://www.scdesigninc.com). The site offers an online appointment-setting function for the Downtown San Diego design center, as well as virtual design consultations.
Send residential and commercial real estate news to Jackson via fax at (858) 571-3628 or via e-mail at mjackson@sdbj.com. Jackson can be reached at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 114.
