|
August 11, 2000 The
median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California
during the second quarter of 2000 was $240,760, an increase of 9.2 percent
from the same period of 1999 and the highest quarterly median price on
record, report the California Association of Realtors and
Transamerica Intellitech, a real estate information
service.
In San Diego, the median price of a home the second
quarter hit $269,890, a 16.8 percent increase from a year earlier. Sales
activity was off 7.4 percent, probably as some would-be buyers gasped for
air.
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes
in California amounted to 545,340 for the second quarter of 2000 at a
seasonally adjusted annualized rate, a 0.1 percent increase from 544,790
in the second quarter of 1999.
In a sorta-good-news category, no
San Diego community was among the states top 10 in median price. That
honor goes to Atherton, $3.375 million; Los Altos Hills, $2.463 million;
Hillsborough, $2 million; Monte Sereno, $1.725 million; Belvedere/Tiburon,
$1.45 million; Woodside, $1.44 million; Saratoga, $1.3 million; Los Altos,
$1.29 million; Malibu, $860,000; and Palo Alto, $829,000.
***
Speaking of real estate values, JMI
Realty, master developer for the 26-block ballpark redevelopment
district, says that private development efforts for the area now exceed
more than $600 million in assessed property values, more than doubling the
firm’s obligation to the city of San Diego.
“Our original
commitment under the Memorandum of Understanding between the city of San
Diego and the San Diego Padres called for $267.5 million in private
office, retail and hotel development,” says John Kratzer, president
and CEO of JMI Realty, the real estate development and investment
arm of JMI Inc., a John Moores company. “Our planned
developments now total approximately $600 million and our development
program has been expanded to include much needed residential -- a vital
component to making the area surrounding the ballpark a vibrant 24-hour
live, work and play neighborhood.”
Kratzer attributes the increase
to focusing on projects that have urban scale and which have the kind of
density and mix of uses that will work in this setting.
“There is a
need for a certain critical mass to make these projects work, especially
given the scale of the ballpark,” he says. “In addition, there is
phenomenal investor interest in the district which is being driven by
recognition that the ballpark, coupled with the convention center
expansion and planned office, hotel, retail, and residential development,
presents a unique investment opportunity.
“Two years ago, it was
difficult to convince a developer to spend $25,000 to pursue a deal in the
Ballpark District,” Kratzer says. “Now, developers are clamoring to be a
part of one of the most exciting downtown redevelopment undertakings in
the nation. These are real commitments illustrated by the fact that
developers are closing on millions of dollars of land and spending similar
amounts on architectural and consultant costs. This is proof that the
redevelopment of the district is not only working, it is exceeding
expectations. Despite this, bonds for the ballpark have yet to be
issued.”
Initial development plans as drafted in the MOU between
the city and Padres called for 600,000 square feet of office space,
150,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, and 850 hotel rooms.
Today, these plans have expanded to 766,000 square feet of office space,
221,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, 1,237 hotel rooms (which
includes the Del Mar Marriott, a 284-room hotel being developed
within the city by JMI Realty), and 590 residential units. This private
development is in addition to the 46,000-seat ballpark and two large
parking structures that total over 2,000 parking spaces.
“This has
been and will continue to be a real team effort with the city and the
Padres taking the lead on the ballpark, and JMI Realty and the Centre
City Development Corp. directing private development within the
26-block district,” Kratzer says. “It should be noted that these plans do
not include our Phase II development which could include a convention
hotel and an additional office project, nor do they include projects being
pursued by other developers. We expect as much as $300 million in
development from other private developers to occur at about the same time
that ours does.
“The city of San Diego and CCDC should be commended
for recognizing the tremendous potential of this location and for securing
our development commitment in conjunction with the ballpark,” Kratzer
says. “Hopefully, the City will issue bonds so that these private
development project won’t be delayed.”
In a statement, Kratzer also
points out Moore’s investment in a downtrodden area.
“The fact that
John Moores committed the money and resources necessary to facilitate the
transformation of this blighted area into a thriving economic and
entertainment center is a tribute to his vision for making this project
much ‘more than ballpark,’ as the original campaign slogan stated,”
Kratzer says. “It is also a tribute to his commitment to the city and
people of San Diego. The district is already serving as a model for other
cities looking to revitalize their centre city areas.”
JMI Realty
is a San Diego-based real estate development and investment company that
is focused on high quality real estate opportunities throughout Southern
California. The firm’s portfolio is valued in excess of $600 million and
reflects a broad multi-national effort in the lodging, multi-family and
office sectors. Additionally, the company is under way on more than $400
million in new commercial and residential development in markets
throughout the region.
***
Diversa Corp., a San Diego
biotech that specializes in looking for feats of nature that have
commercial potential, has signed an agreement with Arctos
Pharmaceuticals Inc. giving Diversa rights to discover genes and
commercialize products from samples extracted from habitats in Alaska and
neighboring territories.
This region contains a variety of unique
Arctic and boreal ecosystems including dense rain forests, permafrost and
alpine tundra, mountains, estuaries, lakes, geothermal springs, and
extensive coastline, as well as significant volcanic and hydrothermal
activity in locations throughout the state.
Diversa will support
sample collection efforts and pay royalties on Diversa's revenue from any
products developed from samples provided.
Arctos already has signed
agreements with Alaskan landholding companies that belong to Native
corporations, individuals, and other entities.
"Diversa pioneered
direct DNA access from the environment for the identification of novel
genes,” says Jay M. Short, president and CEO of Diversa. “Its
unparalleled legal access to biodiversity and proprietary ultra-high
throughput discovery and evolution technologies have the potential to
displace traditional culturing methods for gene discovery. The speed and
efficiency of Diversa's gene-based discovery is yielding a valuable
product pipeline and Diversa recognizes that the countries of origin
should benefit from the value contained in their ecosystems."
***
Sempra Energy has named Edwin
A. Guiles as president of the company's regulated business units and
chairman of both SDG&E and Southern California Gas Co.
Together, the two utilities provide energy delivery service to 21 million
people in central and Southern California.
Talk about timing.
Guiles succeeds Warren Mitchell, who retired last month as group
president and chairman of both utilities. His retirement coincided with
the largest run up in electric utility bills in San Diego
history.
Guiles has served as president of SDG&E since 1998. He
also holds the position of president of SoCalGas' Energy Distribution
Services unit, which serves residential and small-business
customers.
Replacing Guiles are president of SDG&E is Debra
L. Reed, who formerly served as president of SoCalGas' EDS since July
1998. Lee M. Stewart continues to lead SoCalGas' Energy
Transportation Services unit.
***
Starting Dec. 10, Southwest Airlines
will offer two new nonstop flights from Lindbergh Field:
•
One added daily roundtrip nonstop flight between Albuquerque and
San Diego (for a total of four). The one-way unrestricted price is $182,
while a seven-day advance purchase pushes the price down to $116.
•
One added daily roundtrip nonstop flight between Nashville and San
Diego (for a total of two). The one-way unrestricted fare is $315 while a
seven-day advance purchase lowers the price to $199.
The fares
require roundtrip travel and an overnight stay (any night). Tickets must
be purchased by Dec. 10 and Customers must travel between Dec. 10 and Jan.
19, 2001. Seats are limited and will not be available on some flights that
operate during peak travel times. Tickets are nonrefundable, but unused
tickets may be applied toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest.
Fares do not include airport taxes of up to $6 roundtrip or federal excise
taxes of up to $2.75 per segment.
***
Rancho Santa Fe Technology Inc.
has been awarded a contract to install a sophisticated, high-speed
structured cabling system for the San Diego Jewish Academy's new
eight-building, 185,000-square-foot K-12 school campus at 11860 Carmel
Creek Road in Carmel Valley. The contract was announced by Trestand
Conrique, president of Rancho Santa Fe Technology.
The
design-build project will include the installation of more than 700,000
feet of Category 6 copper cable and four-stranded fiber optic cable to
more than 1,000 workstations. The cable will connect the campus's video
security signaling devices, amplified speakers, Internet cameras,
televisions and clocks. Separate cable will interconnect the campuses
video surveillance cameras and televisions.
"The structured cabling
infrastructure installed by Rancho Santa Fe Technology will support this
state-of-the-art campus by accommodating virtually any type of network
interaction, including time clocks, public announcement system, voice
communications, intercom systems, security cameras and video monitors,
computer work stations, the fire, life and safety system, and the smart
boards used by students and teachers in each classroom," Conrique says.
"In addition, the technology will allow students and their families to be
interconnected from their homes to the school, as well as connecting the
campus to the worldwide Jewish community via the Internet and the World
Wide Web."
Doug Reiss, the academy's director of operations,
says the new campus -- which includes the first Jewish high school in San
Diego County -- is being built in several phases on a total of 40-acres
just east of Interstate 5 off the new State Route 56.
The first
phase, which will open Sept. 5, will accommodate students in kindergarten
through 10th grade. Grade 11 will be added in 2001 and Grade 12 in 2002.
Open in September will be classrooms for grades K-12, a central plaza, an
administrative building, tennis courts, an outdoor hockey rink and a
soccer field. A kitchen facility will open in January 2001, followed a
gymnasium possibly opening later in 2001.
"The school, which serves
all branches of Judaism, has been designed for the 21st Century," Reiss
says. "Our educational philosophy involves what we like to term an
'integrated curriculum', or not just teaching subjects in their separate
boxes, but how they relate to one another -- science and math, English
literature and history, for example. In order to do that, we have
redesigned how students learn in the classroom, with each learning area
comprised of five teachers serving 72 students in four flexible-sized
classrooms."
Barry Friedman, San Diego Jewish Academy's
director of development, says the school's capital campaign has raised
more than $24 million in private funds. The campaign's goal is $30 million
by fall and a full goal of $36 million by the end of the year.
***
Click Below to View Previous Daily Business
Reports
|
