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Much was made of speculation that total occupancy would likely be down from 1998, when San Diego last hosted the Super Bowl. Indeed that was the case, with the 64.9 percent rate down slightly from the 66.3 percent recorded in 1998. However, San Diego’s supply of hotel rooms has grown 7.5 percent since then. The number of hotel rooms sold in January 2003 was 1,030,514, an increase of 51,615 room nights from the 978,899 sold in the first month of 1998. And the average rate of a hotel room in January of $121.73 was 18 percent higher than the average rate of $103.04 in January 1998. The total of rooms sold in January 2003 was $125.4 million, up from January 1998’s $100.8 million. *** Between 2002 and 2004, the expansion of the San Diego Convention Center will generate 93 trade shows that otherwise could not have been accommodated in San Diego, the center reports. The shows will attract 876,000 delegates who will spend $819 million and pay more than $39.6 million in hotel room taxes. *** Fencing off its ships and bases, the Navy is developing two force protection projects in San Diego tidelands: an underwater swimmer detection system at Naval Base Coronado (North Island) and boat security barriers at North Island Naval Air Station, Naval Base San Diego (32nd Street) and Naval Base Point Loma (Sub Base). A sonar-based detection system is being evaluated by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. The Naval Facilities and Engineering Command will install the 82-foot-long barriers moored to buoys. *** Enlisted to chair the 2003 Fleet Week celebration is Ronne Froman, chief of business services for San Diego City Schools and a retired rear admiral. *** Starting this fall, San Diego City College students can stay on campus and earn a bachelor of science in industrial technology from California State University, Fresno. University courses will be taught in community college classrooms or offered online. Fees are $586 for up to six units; $886 for seven units or more. Participating in a four-year degree program is a first for City College, says Armando Abiña, dean of the School of Math, Engineering and Technologies. For details, call (619) 388-3875. *** Estancia La Jolla is the name of the new resort and conference center Destination Hotels & Resorts is building on the site of the former Black Family La Jolla Stables on North Torrey Pines Road. “Estancia La Jolla, meaning warm Spanish estate, evokes an image and style of a unique hospitality experience with a California rancho design,” explains David Renker, v.p. of sales and marketing for DH&R. The land is owned by UCSD and leased to DH&R. The project is valued to be between $65 million and $70 million. Construction will begin Oct. 2. Scheduled to open mid-2004, the 210-room property will have 25,000 square feet of meeting/conference space and a host of luxury amenities with convenient access to golf and the beach. It will be across the street from UCSD’s Eleanor Roosevelt College and the Salk Institute. ***
*** Downtown resident Ben Haddad, SAIC’s senior v.p. of communications, has joined a group of business leaders dedicated to securing the funding to establish a home for the San Diego Food Bank, which provided 10 million meals for county residents last year. A permanent 70,000-square-foot site at 9850 Distribution Ave. in Mira Mesa has been identified as the new home for the bank, which has been in temporary locations since 1995. The cost for building and moving is $9 million. More than $1.5 million has been raised. A $1.6 million down payment is due April 1. *** BRE Commercial/NAI has strengthened its Downtown commercial real estate presence by folding Allan Arendsee’s A. W. Arendsee Real Estate into its operation. Arendsee, who formed his own agency in 1996, has 20 years of urban leasing experience. Joining him in moving over to BRE are Patricia Areias, Ryan Jessee and Lin Martin along with support staffers Jessica Montalvo and Greta Pate. Arendsee is looking forward to the support the larger agency provides. “On a personal level, I will have a lot more time to focus on serving clients and doing deals on a daily basis, which is why I got into this business in the first place.” *** Portico LLC has broken ground on Portico Apartments, an 84-unit project at the corner of Ash and India streets in Little Italy expected to be ready for tenants by summer 2004. The developer is a wholly owned company of Sandcor. This is Sandcor’s second for-rent project in Little Italy. Its first, the 184-unit Porta d’ Italia Appartamenti, is under construction at Columbia and Grape and should open in fall. “Sandcor continues to play an important role in contributing to Little Italy’s growth and revitalization,” says Marco Li Mandri, president of the Little Italy Association. “The construction of Portico Apartments signifies our confidence in Little Italy as an ideal location for neighborhood development and revitalization,” says Keith Fernandez, a Sandcor representative. First Bank & Trust and GMAC are the lenders and Lin Martin of AW Arendsee Real Estate is handling the retail leasing. Sandcor is a partnership between Ledcor Construction and Intracorp, the managing partner. For more information about the project, call Karina Ward at (619) 544-6964. *** The San Diego accountancy of Calderon, Jaham & Osborn has been acquired by Costa Mesa-based Caporicci & Larson. The expanded firm, now known as Caporicci Larson-Calderon Jaham & Osborn, will have offices in or near the largest of California’s major cities: Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and Orange County. Calderon Jaham & Osborn began in the Imperial Valley 40 years ago and grew into one of the top regional firms. Tom Saiz remains the partner in charge of the San Diego office. *** MCSi Inc., an integrator of presentation,•broadcast•and associated network•technologies, wants you to know it has moved its San Diego operations to 6224 Ferris Square, Ste. 105. The new phone number is (858) 909-1700. The move consolidates•the local operations of the publicly traded company (Nasdaq: MCSI). A moving glitch resulted in the firm’s old phone number being disconnected with no forwarding number. *** The La Jolla Institute for Molecular Medicine will take its research into the field on July 19 when it holds its annual fund-raiser from 4 to 11 p.m. at the San Diego Polo Club. This year’s event, named Wings, features a roaring 20s theme. It will honor San Diego Metropolitan’s April 2002 cover boy Howard C. Birndorf, chair and CEO of Nanogen, for his ongoing contributions to the growth of San Diego biotech. For information, call (858) 587-8788, Ext. 139, or click on www.ljimm.org. *** The International Congress on Technology and Technology Exchange, organized by San Diego-based International Technology Institute, will hold its Technology Transfer Conference on a cruise ship leaving from and returning to San Diego. Departing Oct. 26, Holland America’s Statendam will venture on a seven day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Everyone from the technical community is invited to participate. Call (800) 477-7713 for information. ***
*** The Point Loma Waterfront Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. The weekly farmers’ market is held on the Naval Training Center grounds, across from the Sail Ho Golf Course. Proceeds from the market benefit the Jenna Druck Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides bereavement services to families who have lost a child. *** The 2003 sales forecast for Hobie Cos. was not clear in the “Good Sports” feature that first appeared online in the January edition of sandiegometro.com. The $100 million figure is for all Hobie Cos., including HobieCat and other Hobie brands. San Diego Metropolitan regrets any confusion. *** Interior designer and author Rick Shade signs copies of his new book “Harlem Style” from 3-5 p.m. March 23 at Borders Books and Music, located at Sixth and G in the Gaslamp Quarter. *** ACS, a Dallas-based premier provider of business process and information technology outsourcing programs, is partnering with the city of San Diego to reinstate its red-light photo enforcement program under a new five-year contract. The program, which was suspended in June 2001, will reactivate the cameras May 1. Under the flat-fee contract, ACS’ photo enforcement program will protect a minimum of 15 intersection approaches with a potential to expand to additional approaches throughout the city. Under the former program, the contractor earned more money as more tickets were written. A dual camera system at each intersection will ensure enhanced verification of a violation by providing a photograph that captures the vehicle at the point of violation, with the red-light signal clearly visible. ACS also will process and mail the resulting citations issued by the San Diego Police Department. *** The Association of Legal Administrators expects to draw about 1,500 attendees, 25 of whom are international members, to San Diego in April for its annual Educational Conference & Exposition at the San Diego Convention Center. The conference will fill rooms at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina. The organization is the largest international association providing support to professionals involved in the management of law firms, corporate legal departments and governmental legal agencies. *** PRA International, one of the world’s largest contract research organizations with a presence in 60 countries on six continents, has opened a San Diego office at 9171 Towne Centre Drive, Ste. 375. PRA has 28 employees and is hiring to fill its new space, which can hold up to 85 staffers. *** The National Construction Association holds its Associated Builders and Contractors national convention in San Diego March 13-16 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina and San Diego Convention Center. The keynote address will be by former Washington Redskins star quarterback Joe Theismann. For information, click on www.abc.org. *** Robert Kiyosaki, the New York Times’ best-selling author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” will appear March 10 at a Golden Hall seminar sponsored by the Learning Annex. He typically draws a crowd of more than 700. Tickets start at $45. For more information, contact Shelley McRoberts, (619) 544-9700. *** Randy Jones, Chip Owen and Larry Porter Sr. are new members of the Southeastern Economic Development Corp. board. Reappointed are Kurt Chilcott, Kathleen Garcia and Zoneice Jones. Randy Jones is a prosecutor in the general crimes unit with the U.S. Attorney, Owen owns retail, industrial and office buildings being repositioned for redevelopment and Porter is president and director of business development for Quality Telecom Engineering & Construction Co. ***
*** Local celebrities will contribute headwear and former Miss America Heather Whitestone will be in attendance when the Children’s Hospital Auxilary/Del Mar holds its “Hats Off To Children” on March 20. The event at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara benefits the speech and hearing department at Children’s Hospital & Health Center. Tammy Green chairs and Stacey Valencia co-chairs the 9:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. fashion show and luncheon. Tickets start at $75. For information, call Melissa Berry at (858) 481-5793. *** Nee-Nee Gwynn, the 17-year-old daughter of SDSU baseball coach Tony Gwynn, has released a debut single titled “No Means No.” For the week ending Feb. 20, Nielsen SoundScan ranked the record No. 20 of the top U.S. singles. The song is on a new label, Base Hit Records, formed by Nee-Nee’s mother, Alicia Gwynn.
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The Super Bowl delivered a solid kick to San Diego’s January visitor industry statistics. Preliminary figures released by Smith Travel Research show hotel occupancy of 64.9 percent in January, up 5 percent from January 2002. The average room rate of $121.73 was 16 percent higher than the $105.15 average of a year earlier.
Roel Construction is on schedule with the Renaissance Project, a two-tower, 24-story concrete Downtown condominium tower. The north tower is complete with the exception of the interior penthouse improvements and slated for completion in May. Structural work on the south tower is complete with finishes under way and occupancy beginning in April.
A 10-page spread on San Diego in the March issue of National Geographic Traveler includes a half-page photo of San Diego Metropolitan Food Editor Terryl Gavre waiting tables at her Cafe 222. Writer Andrew Nelson found the restaurant a morning refuge after a night of Gaslamp Quarter carousing.Home | Info | Cover Story | About Us | Back Issues | Search
