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CCDC News: News Digest 11-29-2006 Board Meeting Summary

CCDC NEWS DIGEST

Date: November 29, 2006

Contact: Tiffany Metti
(619) 533-7136 or
www.ccdc.com

CCDC News Digest
Regular Meeting of the
Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC)
Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Special Notes: CCDC’s regular meetings are held at City Hall in the City Council Chambers, 12th Floor, City Administration Building, 202 C St. The next meeting will be at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20.

The following summarizes Wednesday’s meetings:

ACTION ITEMS

1.BOARD HEARS STATUS UPDATE FOR THE NAVY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING The Board heard a status update on the Consistency Determination process and pursuant to a meeting held on November 20, 2006 between representatives of the CCDC Board, CCDC staff and legal counsel, and the Developer, the following resubmission and review process will be followed:

a)    Staff will provide the Developer with revised submittal guidelines for the Master Plan and NAB (completed);

b)    The Developer will submit a revised Master Plan and revised plans for the NAB by the end of November 2006;

c)     A design meeting has been scheduled for December 8, 2006 with CCDC consultants and staff and Manchester consultants and team to review the latest Developer submittal for the Master Plan and NAB.  The results of this design meeting will be shared with the CCDC Board in January 2007;

d)    Staff will work with the Developer and legal counsels to review the format and phrasing of the staff recommendation to clarify those items 1) that are inconsistent, 2) that have insufficient plans, and 3) additional information to be submitted (especially in a narrative format);

e)    Staff and the Developer will continue negotiations on the agreement regarding Site 2A; and

f)   The Developer will offer new language regarding the indemnification of the City/Agency and CCDC with respect to this project.

2. BOARD RECCOMENDES RATIFICATION OF CCAC ELECTION RESULTS

The Board recommended City Council ratification of the November 13 and 14 Centre City Advisory Committee election results. Downtown residents and business owners elected eight new members and reinstated three existing members to the 28-seat Centre City Advisory Committee (CCAC), downtown’s community planning group.

Elected members include:

Little Italy—Residential Tenant Ken Cluskey, Residential Owner Occupant Laura Garrett and Business Owner Lloyd Russell (re-elected). East Village—Residential Tenant Marvin Maldonado, Residential Owner Occupant Bill Sauls and Business Owner David Hazan. Core/Columbia—Business Owners David M. Maiolo and Mark E. Hoekstra and Residential Tenant John W. Cunningham (re-elected). Community Organizations—Civic Seat Joyce Summer, Downtown Residents Group (re-elected) and Cultural Seat William A. Shaw, San Diego Repertory Theater. (Vote: 7-0).

3. BOARD ACCEPTS AND APPROVES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2006 The Board accepted CCDC’s Equal Opportunity (EO) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2006 which recaps the Corporation’s Equal Opportunity Program. Business contracting opportunities occur directly with the Corporation in three areas: public works construction contracts, consulting contracts for either on-call services or one-time contracting needs and vendor services. CCDC’s EO Program insures that all segments of the business community have equal opportunity to do business with the Corporation. CCDC’s 2006 Fiscal Year Achievements for consulting contracts and vendor services exceeded the 20 percent voluntary goals by 13 percent and 10 percent respectively. (Vote: 7-0)

4. BOARD APPROVES 2007 MEETING DATES The Board approved the following meeting dates for 2007; January 31, February 28, March 28, April 25, May 30, June 27, July 25, August-no meetings, September 19, October 17, November 28 and December 19. First quarter meetings will be held at 9 a.m. with all other meetings held at 2 p.m. (Vote: 7-0)

PROJECT UPDATES

• Park It On Market (North) – Park It On Market, containing 500 parking spaces, has been operating since January 2001.  For the four months ending October 31, the garage produced gross revenues of $864,194, yielding a net income after debt service of $346,424, which is approximately $108,920 above budgeted net income.  For the month ending October, the garage produced gross revenues of $190,010, which is a 26 percent increase compared to October 2005.  Overall, Park It on Market continues to perform outstandingly, with a steady trend of positive income.

• 6^th & K Parkade – The 6^th & K Parkade, containing 1,230 parking spaces, is a public/private venture with 1,000 spaces servicing the public, and 230 below-grade spaces servicing the Omni Hotel.  The garage opened to the public on August 25, 2004.  For the four months ending October 31, the garage produced gross revenues of $843,265, yielding a net loss after debt service of ($1,972), which is $60,669 above budgeted net loss after debt service.  For the month ending October, the garage produced gross revenues of $152,909, which is a 39 percent increase compared to October 2005.  The garage is currently in a start-up period; however, since opening, the garage has seen a steady increase in traffic, with monthly permits of 606 for the month ending October.

• Candy Factory/Schieffer Building – On November 3, the sale of the Candy Factory and the Schieffer Building located in the East Village Square portion of the Ballpark Project was completed with JMI Realty, Inc.  The preservation of these two historic structures was part of the Settlement Agreement between the City of San Diego, the Agency, the Padres, JMI Realty, Burnham Real Estate Services, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Save Our Heritage Organization.  The Candy Factory will be rehabilitated and developed with no less than 6,500 ground square-footage (GSF) of restaurant and retail uses on the ground-floor with the upper floors utilized as office use.  The Scheiffer Building will be developed with no less than 4,000 of restaurant use on the ground-floor, with office use in the upper floors.

• Downtown Community Plan Implementation - In the continuing work to implement the Community Plan, staff anticipates two upcoming contracting opportunities for architecture/landscape architecture/planning/urban design consultants, respectively.  Early next year, work will begin to revise the Streetscape Manual to reflect the new street types and linkages identified in the Community Plan.  The first of the Neighborhood Design Guidelines will be developed as a separate, but related effort.  The purpose of the Neighborhood Design Guidelines will be to refine planning goals and policies to offer each neighborhood the ability to define its own individual character.  The effort will be guided by continuous public input and involvement, which has already begun.

• Affordable Housing Transactions – The Corporation is celebrating three successful closings for projects that will expand downtown’s affordable housing inventory with expenditures from the Centre City Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund:

• Studio 15 (Affirmed Housing Group) – On October 24, the Agency closed on a $16.5 million loan to assist with acquisition and construction of a five-story, 275-unit low-income rental housing project to be built on a 27,000 square-foot site on the southwest corner of 15^th Street and Imperial Avenue in East Village.  The Developer secured all sources of funds for the $41.7 million project, including tax credits and housing revenue bonds, to proceed with construction.  Completion is anticipated in 2009.

• 1625 Newton Avenue Acquisition – On November 1, 2006, the Agency closed escrow on the $6.1 million purchase of the 98,000 square-foot site of the current main offices of the San Diego Housing Commission near 16^th Street and Newton Avenue at the southern edge of the downtown redevelopment area.  The site is for future development of affordable housing or other uses, to be determined after an update of the Barrio Logan Community Plan.

• Southern Hotel (Southern Hotel, LLC) – On November 13, the Agency closed on a $1.6 million transaction to secure 55-year affordability restrictions on 50 single room occupancy (“SRO”) units in the historic 89-unit Southern Hotel located at 1159 Sixth Avenue in downtown’s Core neighborhood.  The Agency recorded affordability restrictions on the property for rents to remain affordable to very-low-income persons earning 40 percent and 45 percent of area median income.  The building owners must complete a renovation of the property as a condition for receiving all of the funds.

PERMIT APPLICATIONS

Permit Applications in Process:

·       Graybill Terminal/Former Unocal Site (Graybill Ventures, LLC) – Centre City Coastal Development Permit  to allow grading, excavation, and environmental clean-up (pursuant to an approved Remedial Action Plan) of the site located at 1521-1551 National Avenue – East Village

·       Kettner/Grape Surface Parking Lot (Ace Parking Management, Inc.) - Centre City Conditional Use Permit to allow a 110-space temporary surface parking lot at 1902-1954 Kettner Boulevard, site of the approved Pier condominium project by CityMark Development - Little Italy

·       16^th and G Gateway (SD Megablock LLC) - Centre City Development Permit for 525 residential units (including 10 percent affordable units), 113,064 square feet of office space, and approximately 11,100 square feet of retail use in a 35-story building (420 feet tall); the proposed rehabilitation of the historic Snowflake Bakery building for retail and office uses; and, approximately 35,200 square feet of “urban open space” (over non-buildable areas due to seismic faults) located on the block bounded by 16^th, 17^th, F and G streets - East Village

·       Riva Trigoso (Zolezzi Enterprises) - Centre City Development Permit for 40 residential units and approximately 11,000 square feet of commercial retail space and 12,000 square feet of commercial office space in a seven-story building (88 feet tall) on the approximately 15,000 square-foot site located on the south side of Date Street between State and Columbia streets – Little Italy

·       Hotel Indigo (Six Continents Hotels) - Centre City Development Permit for a 12-story (118 feet tall) hotel with 210 rooms and ground-floor café on the approximately 17,000 square-foot site located on the northeast corner of Ninth and Island avenues – East Village

·       7-Eleven (7-Eleven, Inc.) – Centre City Conditional Use Permit  to allow the off-site sales of alcoholic beverages (Beer and wine only) within an existing 3,018 square-foot convenience store located at 427 Ninth Avenue – East Village

·       7-Eleven (7-Eleven, Inc.) – Centre City Conditional Use Permit to allow the off-site sales of alcoholic beverages (Beer and wine only) within a proposed 2,123 square-foot convenience store to be located at 1010 Second Avenue – Core Redevelopment District.

·       First and J – Marina Development Permit  for 172 residential units and 22,600 square feet of street-level retail in a 38-story (438 feet tall) building located on the full-block site bounded by J Street and First, Second, and Island avenues. The project will involve an Owner Participation Agreement and the vacation and conversion of J Street into a public park/plaza – Marina

·       Monarch School – Centre City Development Permit  for a 30,000 square-foot K-12 charter school for homeless children in a three-story (50 feet tall) building located along the north side of Cedar Street between Pacific Highway and California Street (railroad right-of-way) – Little Italy

·       Sprint Nextel @ 202 Island – Centre City Conditional Use Permit  to allow 12 architecturally integrated panel antennas and a rooftop equipment cabinet on the existing residential building located at 202 Island Avenue – Marina

·       Solara Tower (Solara Phase II Partners) – Centre City Development Permit   for a mixed-use project consisting of 185 residential units, 15,000 square feet of office, and 8,000 square feet of retail space in a 2/23-story (240 feet tall) building located along the north side of Beech Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues - Cortez

·       15th & Market (CJUF II Lankford Market LLC) - Centre City Development Permit  for a mixed-use project consisting of 274 residential units and 25,000 square feet of retail space in a 5/22-story (240 feet tall) building located along the west side of 15th Street between Market and G streets - East Village

·       Cracker Factory (AFJR Partnership) - Marina Development Permit  for the conversion of, and addition to, an existing building to provide 7,000 square feet of office, 7,000 square feet of retail, and 11 live/work units at the northwest corner of Market and Columbia streets – Marina

·       Wonderbread (CityMark) - Centre City Development Permit for a mixed-use project consisting of 200 residential units and 44,500 square feet of commercial space in a 19-story (209 feet tall) building located on the east side of 14th Street between L Street and Imperial Avenue. This project is pending completion of revised drawings - East Village

·       India & Beech (JQA Investments, L.P.) - Centre City Development Permit 2006-37 for a 27-story (303 feet tall) building with 73 residential units and approximately 9,600 square feet of commercial space located on the southwest corner of India and Beech streets. This project is pending completion of revised drawings - Little Italy

·       Shapery Park Tower (12^th and A Hotel Partners) – Centre City Development Permit for a 39-story (407 feet tall) building with 138 residential units and approximately 2,500 square feet of commercial space located at the northeast corner of Eleventh Avenue and A Street. This project is pending completion of revised drawings - Core

·       Monaco (Ghods Builders Inc.) – Centre City Site Development Permit for 286 units and approximately 9,800 square feet of commercial space in a  34-story (350 feet tall) building on the north side of Broadway between Eighth and Ninth avenues. This project is pending completion of revised drawings - Core

·       Riviera Condominiums (Ghods Builders Inc.) – Centre City Development Permit for 409 units (31 affordable) and approximately 47,870 square feet of commercial space in a 37-story (380 feet tall) building on the north side of A Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. This project is pending completion of revised drawings - Cortez

·       777 Beech (J. Peter Block Companies) – Centre City Development Permit  for a seven-story building containing 74 residential units and 4,200 square feet of commercial space along the south side of Beech Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, directly north of the El Cortez historic building. This project is pending redesign option being presented to the CCDC Real Estate Committee - Cortez

• 16th and J (Katalyst) – Centre City Development Permit for 80 residential units and approximately 3,900 square feet of commercial space in an eight-story building (92 feet tall) located on the southeast corner of 16th and J streets. This project is on hold pending an appeal of the Historic Resource Board designation for one of the buildings located on the project site - East Village

·       1909 State Street (Martin Schmidt) – Centre City Development Permit/Variance  for an expansion of an existing commercial office building located at 1909 State Street to allow the addition of three residential units and an office suite. This project is pending completion of revised drawings; a public hearing on the requested variance from street wall development standards is planned for mid-November - Little Italy

·       Ballpark Skylofts (Ballpark Skylofts, LLC) – Centre City Development Permit  for 16 residential units in a seven-story (75 feet tall) building located at 542 16th Street on the west side of the street between Market Street and Island Avenue. This project is pending resolution of a Building Code conflict - East Village

·       Mondrian (Gray Development) – Centre City/Site Development Permit for 846 residential units (79 affordable) and approximately 33,000 square feet of commercial space in a 39-story (410 feet tall) tower located on the full block bounded by Eighth and Ninth avenues, and A and B streets. The project requires final approval by the Planning Commission, anticipated early summer - Core

·       445 West Ash (445 West Ash, LLC) – Centre City Development Permit for 82 residential units and approximately 7,000 square feet of commercial space, and 22,000 square feet of office space in a 32-story (362 feet tall) tower at the southeast corner of the intersection at Columbia and Ash streets. This project is pending completion of revised drawings - Columbia

·       Pacific Pointe (Pointe of View) – Centre City Development Permit  for 403 residential units and approximately 12,000 square feet of commercial space in 5/39-story (450 feet tall) buildings located on the east side of Eleventh Avenue between Broadway and E Street. This project is on hold pending an appeal of the Historic Resources Board designation for one of the buildings located on the project site - East Village

• Permit Applications Approved Since Last President's Report:

·       Kettner/Grape Surface Parking Lot (Ace Parking Management, Inc.) - Centre City Conditional Use Permit  to allow a 110-space temporary surface parking lot at 1902-1954 Kettner Boulevard, site of the approved Pier condominium project by CityMark Development - Little Italy 

REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY/CITY COUNCIL

On November 14, the City Council (Council) Approved:

§      One Year Extension of the Project Area Committee

On November 14, the Redevelopment Agency (Agency) Approved:

§      Downtown San Diego Quiet Zone – Memorandum of Understanding with North County Transit District (NCTD) to Reimburse  NCTD for Design Services (Phase Two) and Project Update

On November 28, the Agency/Council Will Hear:

§      Monarch School – Acquisition/Disposition of Property at 808 West Cedar Street for Continued Operation and Future Expansion of Monarch School and Basic Concept/Schematic Drawings and Centre City Coastal Development Permit for Monarch’s Redevelopment of the Site – JOINT PUBLIC HEARING; and

§      Children’s Museum Park – Request to Advertise, Bid, and Make Findings

On November 8:

The Budget/Finance/Administration Committee Approved:

§      Equal Opportunity Annual Report Fiscal Year 2006; and

§      Agreement with Kane Ballmer & Berkman for Special Legal Counsel Services; and

§      Fiscal Year 2006 Audited Financial Statements Pertaining to the Operations of the Corporation

And, Heard:

§      Parks and Fire Station Funding – Information/discussion

The Real Estate (Planning & Projects) and Budget/Finance/Administration Joint Committees Heard and Directed Staff to bring back to Committee:

§      Seventh & Market Request For Qualifications/Proposals – Ranking of Development Team Finalists/Confirmation of October 11, Joint Committee Direction

And, Heard and Continued to Special Board Meeting:

§      Broadway Square Apartments – Update on Developer Negotiations

The Real Estate Committee Approved:

§      Gaslamp Quarter Planned District Ordinance and Gaslamp Quarter Planned District Design Guidelines – Proposed Changes

And, Directed Staff to Return to Committee:

§      777 Beech – Design Review and Agreement Affecting Real Property; and

§      Solara Tower – Design Review

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS NEWS

CCDC’s Derek Danziger Named Public Relations Professional of the Year - San Diego’s Public Relations Society of America chapter president, Derek Danziger, APR, Communications Director of Centre City Development Corporation, was awarded this year’s Deb Baker Public Relations Professional of the Year award at the 2006 Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence Awards on October 19. The event drew approximately 300 public relations professionals from all over San Diego County. Mr. Danziger was awarded this prestigious honor for his exemplary behavior as a professional within the public relations industry. Mr. Danziger has contributed to downtown redevelopment in a way that exceeds his role as a public relations practitioner. His leadership of downtown's Paradise in Progress and Downtown Communications Council require great management and organizational skills. He has created an extensive network that provides data and information from many resources – redevelopment agencies across the state, the City of San Diego, Port District, Convention Center, contractors and developers.

The Downtown Information Center (DIC) Assists Over 11,000 People In The Third Quarter - During the Third Quarter of 2006, a total of 11,124 people were assisted by the DIC and other CCDC community outreach programs:

Community Relations Efforts Continued Strong Throughout November - On a weekly basis, Sheila Hardin, Community Relations Manager, was actively engaged in meetings and networking activities with the Encanto Real Estate Group and the Southeast Rotary Club.  The Encanto Real Estate Group will be celebrating the holiday season with a party at the DIC on Friday, December 1, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Her community outreach efforts targeted the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women, the Ocean Beach Community Planning Committee, Uptown Planners, the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee and the Torrey Pines Community Planning Group.

National visitors attending a conference for the Construction Owners of America were greeted at the DIC by Sheila Hardin to learn about the history, as well as the accomplishments of CCDC. Gary Bosse, Senior Project Manager - Construction, conducted a comprehensive tour of the Balboa Theatre construction site and Donna Alm, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, provided a thorough presentation about the western waterfront development with a focus on the Navy Broadway Complex.

Dr. Lily Cheng, Professor, San Diego State University, and dignitaries from Thailand and China participated in a Downtown Redevelopment Bus Tour conducted by Sheila Hardin. 

November Kicks Off Downtown For The Holidays Events and Activities - Throughout the month of November, the major thrust is encouraging everyone to come “Downtown for the Holidays!”  A comprehensive program about all of the action, fun and excitement as downtown San Diego comes alive with holiday spirit is available at www.sandiegodowntown.org.  Lights, music, ice skating, sledding, gingerbread and more await you! The kickoff event was held Thursday, November 16, with the ice-skating rink opening on Horton Square. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Save the Date:

The regionally award winning Submarine Sandwiches for Subcontractors, or “Subs for Subs” event will be held June 22 and 23, 2007 at the San Diego Cruise Ship Terminal again. There will be more information to follow.

Events:

Anne Marie Mowatt-Molina, CCDC’s Equal Opportunity Administrator attended the following events since the last report:

Sunday, October 29, through Wednesday, November 1 - National Minority Supplier Diversity Council’s National Conference
Thursday, November 2 - San Diego County Water Authority’s “Paths to Partnerships”
Thursday, November 2 - Asian Business Association’s Annual Awards Dinner
Monday, November 6 - Urban League Annual Awards Dinner
Tuesday, November 7 - San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Annual Business
Expo
Thursday, November 16 - San Diego Supplier Development Council’s Annual Executive Awareness Event
Tuesday, November 28 - American Society of Civil Engineers - William Yee, Keynote Speaker, Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge

Outreach/CCDC Website:

All outreach efforts include: ccdc.com, Blue Hornet (e-based mail system),

Ethnically/trade/community-focused organizations and publications, 12 multiple public agencies, and surrounding municipalities.

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CCDC is a public, non-profit corporation established in 1975 by the City of San Diego to plan and facilitate the redevelopment of the 1,500-acre downtown area.

About CCDC
Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) is a public, nonprofit corporation established in 1975 by the City of San Diego to plan and facilitate the redevelopment of downtown’s 1,500 acres. To learn more, visit: www.ccdc.com

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