San Diego: Projects and Developments

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Comic-Con buys 3 buildings in Barrio Logan

San Diego Comic Convention, the cash-rich nonprofit that presents the pop culture extravaganza Comic-Con International every summer, bought three buildings in Barrio Logan for $6.3 million last year.

The acquisition was made in the name of a limited liability company the charity said it owns.

“It is part of a potential future business operation that is not appropriate for disclosure at this time,” Comic-Con said in a statement. “Also, there are tenants currently occupying the building and we prefer they not be bothered.”

The multimillion-dollar transaction was referenced in the tax-exempt organization’s most recent audit, which is required to be made public under California law.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...con-buildings/

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SeaWorld starts work on new submarine ride

SeaWorld San Diego announced Wednesday that it is starting construction on its newest attraction that is designed to mimic an undersea exploration with the help of a mini submarine ride and multiple aquariums.

Expected to debut by late spring of next year, the multimillion-dollar project dubbed Ocean Explorer is part of the park’s ongoing effort to grow attendance while also delivering new reasons for its most loyal visitors to continue coming back. Construction will start right after Labor Day.

The project, which will showcase a variety of marine animals, including giant octopuses, spider crabs and moray eels, will occupy a 3-acre area on the southeast side of the park where the Animal Connections exhibit and the Circle of Flags are currently located. The overall attraction is expected to appeal most to families with younger children, says SeaWorld.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...er-attraction/

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FOCUS: SAN DIEGO'S UNPRECEDENTED TRANSPORTATION GOAL
No U.S. city has quickly managed to get high numbers of residents to swap their cars for trains, buses, bikes and sidewalks

A cornerstone of San Diego’s widely lauded vision to wage war on climate change — getting people out of their cars and onto public transit, bicycles and sidewalks — has never been achieved by any metropolis in the United States on the scale and time frame called for by the city.

Leaders here seem unfazed, perhaps in part because they haven’t fully analyzed key data measuring the challenge ahead.

“It’s still very, very early in this process,” said Jack Straw, director of land-use and environmental policy for Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “We agree this is a very aggressive plan and it’s going to take a lot of work to achieve, but by no means do we think it’s impossible.”

In coming decades, San Diego’s Climate Action Plan calls for slashing the city’s greenhouse-gas emissions in half. The vision relies heavily on state and federal mandates designed to shrink emissions from California’s largest source — transportation. In fact, thanks to those regulations, the city will be able to meet the 2020 emissions benchmark set forth in its climate plan even if it fails to get any reductions from local efforts.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...-mass-transit/

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Tourism leaders oppose stadium, convention measures

Hotel and tourism leaders announced Friday that they will not be supporting two November hotel tax measures that they say would substantially harm the local tourism industry.

In a joint statement, the San Diego Tourism Authority and the San Diego County Hotel-Motel Association made formal their anticipated opposition to Measure C, the Chargers’ stadium-convention initiative, and Measure D, known as the Citizens’ Plan.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...rgers-stadium/

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New China flight planned out of Tijuana airport

Starting next year, Aeromexico has plans to beef up its air service between Tijuana and China by adding a new nonstop flight to Beijing.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, parent corporation of Tijuana′s Gen. Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport, said the new flight should begin sometime during the first three months of 2017. Aeromexico is the only Mexican airline offering a direct flight to Shanghai, which operates three days a week.

San Diego’s only nonstop service to Asia is on Japan Airlines, which operates a daily flight to Tokyo. The addition of the Beijing flight would boost the number of seats available to travelers in the Tijuana/San Diego region flying to China.

“This new flight will improve the region′s connectivity with Asia,” said Cristina Hermosillo, president of Tijuana Economic Development Corp. “It will provide business travelers with more options for traveling directly from Tijuana to China and is something that the region was demanding.”

Access to the airport from San Diego was made easier earlier this year with the debut of the Cross-Border Xpress, a new international crossing leading directly into the airport. That project included construction of a terminal on the U.S. side of the border.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...-planned-2017/

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‘Sport of Kings’ gets sandy
Beach polo returns to Hotel del Coronado’s beach

As hooves thundered across the Hotel del Coronado’s beach, the Sport of Kings galloped back into the Crown City.

The Polo America Beach Polo Cup tournament began Saturday and concludes today, with four teams of world-class players from Argentina, Switzerland and the U.S. competing in morning and afternoon chukkers.

“This will be a real quick, hard-hitting game,” said Ardeshir Radpour, a Hollywood stuntman (“Batman v. Superman,” HBO’s upcoming “Westworld”) and professional polo player. “These are the cream of the cream.”

Opening day drew a full house, all 425 seats under the hangar-sized white tent filled with fans who paid as much as $250 for the spectacle. Polo regulars said this contest on the sands was a must-see rarity.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...-del-coronado/

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Soledad cross case concludes, leaving memorial in place

More than 25 years of lawsuits, court rulings, aborted sales and property transfers over the landmark Mt. Soledad cross in La Jolla have finally come to an end, closing one of the longest legal battles over religious symbols on public property in the country.

On Wednesday the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one-page ruling ordering the end to the latest round of appeals and dismissal of the case, because the central issue — a religious symbol standing on government property — was moot.

That’s because in July 2015 the Mount Soledad Memorial Association agreed to purchase the cross and the land beneath it for $1.4 million from the Department of Defense. While that was seen as the beginning of the end, the plaintiffs in the suit who were seeking removal of the cross needed time to review the terms of the sale and work out other details.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...soledad-final/

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Legoland’s 2nd hotel will be a castle
City smiles on theme park’s construction plans

The Carlsbad Planning Commission had nothing but praise this week for Legoland California’s plan to build a second hotel at its theme park property off Cannon and Palomar Airport roads.

The new hotel would have a castle theme and would join the hugely successful Lego brick-themed inn the company opened in 2014, officials said.

“It’s a great product,” Commissioner Marty Montgomery said of the proposed hotel.

Legoland California General Manager Peter Ronchetti presented the company’s construction plans to the commission, which unanimously recommended approval for the 250-room hotel and signed off on a separate multilevel parking structure for park employees.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...ill-be-castle/

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• Video Link

Chargers to San Diego voters: Make rival fans pay for new stadium

The San Diego Chargers unveiled a new campaign advertisement Friday that emphasizes exactly who will and won’t pay for their proposed new stadium.

The project would not impose any new taxes San Diego citizens, the ad says. Instead, the $1.8 billion new stadium and convention center will be paid for by “Raiders, Broncos and Patriots fans.”

It’s a clever political argument for the team this summer as it tries to convince local voters to approve increasing the local hotel room tax from 12.5% to 16.5%. The proposed increase would help fund $1.15 billion in bond payments for the project, with the other $650 million coming from the Chargers and the NFL.

The public portion of the project’s costs therefore mostly would be paid by tourists and business travelers, the ad says, including fans of visiting teams attending games in San Diego.

Voters will decide the issue in the Nov. 8 election. The new campaign video is narrated by former Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...eles/88629534/

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Life sciences eyeing office spaces
More light-filled, creative interiors attract tenants

San Diego’s industrial market is going creative.

Just like startup offices with airy, noncubicle layouts, obsolete industrial buildings are getting makeovers that appeal to local life-sciences companies.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brokerage said in its most recent industrial market review that “Class C” industrial buildings — the least attractive properties — are attracting growing investor interest.

“San Diego’s life sciences industry is currently red hot, as is demand for creative office space,” the report said. “This gives owners of under-performing assets something to consider via space conversions and also presents opportunities for investors.”

It pinpoints the most opportunity in Sorrento Mesa and Sorrento Valley because of the proximity to Torrey Pines and UC San Diego’s biotech cluster. Other submarkets, such as Carlsbad, also show promise, as seen in Alvarez & Marshal Capital Real Estate’s purchase of a 48,500-square-foot biomed building at a cost of $156 per square foot that is 41 percent leased.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...ce-conversion/

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Mid-Coast Trolley line gets $1 billion federal grant

The long-planned Mid-Coast Trolley line has a received a $1 billion federal grant, the last key financial step to stretch the railway from UC San Diego and the Sorrento Valley biotech hub to downtown and the border.

The Federal Transit Administration announced on Wednesday that the region received the money in order to build the nine station, 11-mile northward-extension to the existing Blue Line that runs from San Ysidro to downtown’s America Plaza Station. Construction is scheduled to begin in late-October and the first paying riders are expected in 2021. The project will cost $2.1 billion to complete.

The grant means that two disparate economic hubs — the border at Tijuana and San Ysidro and the technology corridor in the Golden Triangle — will eventually be connected by the trolley system, and riders will be able to travel between the two destinations without having to get out of their seats.

The new rails will be placed alongside Interstate 5 from the Old Town Transit Center to University City where it switches to a 3.5 mile stretch of elevated track. From there it would briefly continue north before turning east at UC San Diego and then turn south to the terminus at Westfield University Town Center. A span of the extended Blue Line will make use of existing rails between America Plaza to Old Town. From there to stations north the trolley will use new tracks.

The extended Blue Line is expected to serve riders in Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, UCSD, University City and other areas. An anticipated 20,000 people are expected to ride per day, many of which currently don’t have trolley lines in their suburban neighborhoods. Trains are expected to arrive every 15 minutes in both directions when the line opens for service in five years, and every 7 ½ minutes shortly thereafter.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...913-story.html

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Acee: Chargers value climbs past $2B

Forbes on Wednesday released its annual valuations of NFL teams and valued the Chargers at $2.08 billion. That’s a 36 percent increase over last year, almost double the 19 percent growth in the average value of the 32 NFL franchises.

The Chargers were valued at $1.525 billion in 2015, 22nd in the NFL. They are now 21st. A total of 24 teams are valued at $2 billion or more.

The reality is that how much more the Chargers are worth should figure into the stadium vote no more than what the team’s win-loss record is. Neither has anything to do with whether a public investment of this size is worth San Diego’s approval.

“The last time I checked, there were no poor football team owners,” said Fred Maas, the point man in the Chargers’ stadium campaign. “If people want to focus on that, they can ride the train to (see) the Chargers in L.A., where football owners get really rich.”

There is certainly no doubt a new stadium and/or a move to Los Angeles creates a significant increase in value.

Forbes explained the jump in the worth of the Chargers and Oakland Raiders (up 47 percent to $2.1 billion) was attributable to their options. The Chargers have a deal in place to join the Rams in Los Angeles if a stadium in San Diego doesn’t happen. The Raiders are considering a move to Las Vegas and have the second option in L.A.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...914-story.html

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Faulconer ally backs Chargers' stadium initiative

The Chargers stadium initiative on the November ballot got a boost on Friday when the leader of Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s 2015 stadium task force endorsed the measure.

Adam Day, who led the Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group, praised the initiative – Measure C on the ballot – as well-crafted, sensible and something likely to boost the local economy.

“It's time for San Diegans to come together to support the San Diego Chargers and Measure C," Day said. "Chargers football is part of the fabric we call the 'San Diego experience'. In a time when it's easy to focus on what divides us, our hometown sports teams can unify us around a common San Diego identity.”

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...916-story.html

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Terminal 2 garage starts construction

Construction officially began Wednesday on the $127.8 million, 2,901-space parking garage at Lindbergh Field’s Terminal 2. The three-story structure is expected to be completed in early 2018 and operational by that summer.

“There is great demand for more close-in parking at the airport,” said San Diego County Regional Airport Authority President and CEO Thella Bowens. She said it will improve service for customers needing the park for a short period.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...914-story.html

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New pathway to U.S. border for Tijuana pedestrians

A new 437-yard-long elevated walkway that opened this week in Tijuana already is making a big difference for thousands of pedestrians who cross the border each day at San Ysidro.

The structure, much of which looks like a corridor with windows and overhead lighting, leads to PedWest, the new U.S. pedestrian entrance at the San Ysidro Port of Entry that opened on July 15. It replaces a hastily built provisional walkway on the Tijuana side that drew protests on both sides of the border, and complaints that it was unsafe, unsightly and difficult for navigate for users who were handicapped, pushing strollers or pulling luggage.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...914-story.html
http://myinforms.com/en-us/a/3855775...rder-entrance/

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Legoland adding to Star Wars land, water park

Capitalizing on the popularity of all things “Star Wars,” Legoland will add still more iconic characters and scenes to its themed miniland next year, drawing inspiration from last year’s “The Force Awakens.”

In an announcement Thursday previewing its planned attractions for 2017, the Carlsbad theme park also revealed it will be expanding its water park with a water slide raceway and “spray ground,” all designed to evoke the feel of a California beach.

Surfer’s Bay, as the Legoland water park expansion is being called, is being designed for young children to compete against one another as they lie face down on a mat and race down one of six water slides. There’s also an area with multiple spray pads where water spritzes up and the kids can run through the area without getting completely doused. Amid the so-called “spray ground” will be Lego models like a dog surfing and a female surfer.

In addition, Legoland is at work developing a second themed hotel located within the park. Park officials on Thursday released for the first time renderings of the 250-room hotel, which has been designed to look like a castle.

The Carlsbad Planning Commission approved the project last week, but because some of its 55-foot tall architectural components exceed the city’s 45-foot height limit, it will also require City Council approval. Construction is expected to start in January, assuming the council approves the project. It will be located west of the existing hotel near the main entrance to the resort on Legoland Drive.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...914-story.html

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Midway one of top museums in U.S.

TripAdvisor has ranked San Diego’s USS Midway Museum as the sixth best museum in the country, right ahead of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and just behind the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

That’s an improvement over last year’s ranking of No. 9 in its annual Travelers’ Choice awards for the best museums. The decommissioned aircraft carrier was transformed into a floating naval museum in 2004 and has been breaking attendance records for the last six years.

Midway marketing director Scott McGaugh credits the work of the museum’s 800 volunteers, most notably the 400 docents who interact daily with the more than 1 million annual visitors. He said the museum is on pace to break yet another attendance record this year. Some 1.4 million visitors are expected this year, 100,000 more than in 2015.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...914-story.html

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Port projects carrying out district's 50-year vision

San Diego’s waterfront is facing a dramatic makeover as a result of key decisions by the port board in the last nine months.

1. Shelter Island:

A $9.5 million boat launch was approved last month to handle the 50,000 and growing launches a year, believed the busiest such facility in the state. Construction is due to begin early next year.



2. Harbor Island:

Two key changes are likely the elimination of a high-rise hotel at the so-called “elbow” of land that connects the man-made peninsula with Harbor Drive; a low-rise hotel is more likely, given previous California Coastal Commission preferences; and the elimination of a new port headquarters building in light of the projected $60 million cost.



3. Grape Street piers:

The so-called “Crescent,” where Harbor Drive bends to the south, has wooden piers that need to be replaced and various ideas to increase recreational opportunities, such as the inclusion of a man-made beach.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...915-story.html

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4. Solar Turbines parking lot:

Port President Randa Coniglio says the goal is to move parking off the bayfront but replacement parking and mobility issues remain unclear.



5. North Embarcadero Visionary Plan:

The port completed the $30 million first phase between B Street Pier and Broadway Pier last year, but the end to redevelopment financing makes it problematic to move forward on the next phase.



6. B Street Pier:

The cruise ship terminal will get a $1 million escalator to improve passenger access but the long-term replacement of the old warehouse will have to await long-term commitments to cruise ship companies to home porting in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...915-story.html

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7. Anthony’s/Brigantine:

a $13 million “Portside Pier,” which includes a steak-and-seafood Brigantine, Miguel’s Mexican and Ketch Grill & Taps plus an expanded dock-and-dine pier.



8. Navy Facilities Engineering Command:

The Navy once sought $26.5 million in relocation payments and discussions have proceeded behind the scenes to negotiate a change.



9. Lane Field InterContinental Hotel:

Construction began earlier this year on the 18-story, $215 million, 400-room hotel, a twin to the Marriott hotels building to the north.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...915-story.html