Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Will Horton Plaza's office complex foreshadow the city's homeless housing?

Todd Gloria, Nora Vargas cheering on the subsidies

Stockdale Capital Partners used well-connected downtown lobbying shops Southwest Strategies, San Diego Land Lawyers, and Allen Matkins Leck to convince then-mayor Kevin Faulconer to seal its deal to take over Horton Plaza.
Stockdale Capital Partners used well-connected downtown lobbying shops Southwest Strategies, San Diego Land Lawyers, and Allen Matkins Leck to convince then-mayor Kevin Faulconer to seal its deal to take over Horton Plaza.

A prefab unit in every backyard

The Los Angeles real estate financiers currently remaking downtown’s failed Horton Plaza shopping mall into a high-tech office hub have put another building bullseye on San Diego, based on a new help-wanted advertisement making the rounds online.

Stockdale Capital Partners, headed by Steve Yari, is seeking a San Diego-based director of construction and development for a new firm currently dubbed Domo Modular. “This role includes hiring, training, developing, and managing others, including scheduling projects, initiatives, and team workloads,” says the job notice. Specifically, the new hire is expected to “interface with the modular factory to coordinate schedules, unit and building specifications, including all non-standard components.”

L.A. financier Steve Yari has been chucking political lobbying money all over the Southwest.

San Diego is not the only planned venue, judging from the advertisement. “Frequent regional travel (southwestern US) up to 30%, including occasional overnight travel,” is required. The venture, registered with the California Secretary of State’s office as OfHiive, LLC on January 4 by Stockton Chief Financial Officer Dennis Harris, changed its name to Domo Modular, LLC on April 9, records show. Depending on the extent of its development efforts here, the venture may face controversy. Last summer, Fixx Solutions, LLC withdrew a proposal to install hundreds of modular units for the homeless on land controlled by the Del Mar fair board after beachside neighbors raised a ruckus, per a Union-Tribune dispatch of August 12, 2020.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The idea is not without support in high places, and billions of dollars in state subsidies are on the horizon. A group calling itself Big City Mayors, including San Diego Democrat Todd Gloria, wants the state to spend $20 billion of its surplus for homeless housing, with a sizable chunk going to prefab units. “In Japan and in Great Britain, about 50% of new construction is prefab, which is so much better than it used to be,” San Diego County Democratic Supervisor Nora Vargas told the U-T in a pre-election interview last year. “So why don’t we have prefab be the default for accessory dwelling units? Why don’t we just drop those prefab homes in backyards across the County or in churches like they want to do? Seems to me the County sticks to the narrow when there are other solutions that other countries, other cities are using to great effect.”

Stockdale used well-connected downtown lobbying shops Southwest Strategies, San Diego Land Lawyers, and Allen Matkins Leck to convince then-mayor Kevin Faulconer to seal its deal to take over Horton Plaza, and the financial firm isn’t afraid to mix it up in the political arena with money. Steve Yari and his brother Shawn kicked in $4000 last year to the Scottsdale, Arizona city council bid of workout club owner Bill Crawford, per a July 2020 account by AZCentral. He failed to make the runoff. “This project is a dream come true for this part of downtown Scottsdale,” Crawford, a former critic, told the city council there before its 4-3 December 2020 vote to approve a mammoth Stockdale office and retail development.

Former Faulconer insider Jason Roe was paid $10,000 to lobby on behalf of AMR, the city’s new ambulance company.

Out of the lobby

AMR, the city of San Diego’s longtime paramedic provider that lost out last month to multinational Falck, USA, after a bitter battle that included a racially charged op-ed hit piece against Falck by New York politico Al Sharpton, didn’t go down without a lobbyist. “The Denmark-based company has been accused of inequitable service and unjust practices in the United States, and there is great concern that the move could undermine San Diego’s commitment to racial equality,” wrote Sharpton in a February 5 Union-Tribune commentary. Now Presidio Public Affairs Group, founded by onetime Kevin Faulconer insider Jason Roe, reports getting paid $10,000 by AMR during the first quarter of this year to lobby for “award of contract to AMR.”

Other Presidio clients included “dockless mobility” purveyor Lime, Inc. of San Francisco, which forked over $5000 for influence peddling regarding “favorable regulations which allow the company to operate within the City of San Diego.” In January of last year, Lime announced it was leaving San Diego and laying off staff here. “As part of our path to profitability, Lime has made the difficult decision to exit San Diego and focus our resources on markets that allow us to meet our ambitious goals for 2020.”

Added the company statement: “We appreciate the partnership we’ve enjoyed with San Diego and remain hopeful we can reintroduce Lime back into the community when the time is right.” ...Nora Vargas, who loaned her successful campaign for county supervisor $20,000 last year, has been paid back, per her end-of-year February 1 disclosure filing.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Next Article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Stockdale Capital Partners used well-connected downtown lobbying shops Southwest Strategies, San Diego Land Lawyers, and Allen Matkins Leck to convince then-mayor Kevin Faulconer to seal its deal to take over Horton Plaza.
Stockdale Capital Partners used well-connected downtown lobbying shops Southwest Strategies, San Diego Land Lawyers, and Allen Matkins Leck to convince then-mayor Kevin Faulconer to seal its deal to take over Horton Plaza.

A prefab unit in every backyard

The Los Angeles real estate financiers currently remaking downtown’s failed Horton Plaza shopping mall into a high-tech office hub have put another building bullseye on San Diego, based on a new help-wanted advertisement making the rounds online.

Stockdale Capital Partners, headed by Steve Yari, is seeking a San Diego-based director of construction and development for a new firm currently dubbed Domo Modular. “This role includes hiring, training, developing, and managing others, including scheduling projects, initiatives, and team workloads,” says the job notice. Specifically, the new hire is expected to “interface with the modular factory to coordinate schedules, unit and building specifications, including all non-standard components.”

L.A. financier Steve Yari has been chucking political lobbying money all over the Southwest.

San Diego is not the only planned venue, judging from the advertisement. “Frequent regional travel (southwestern US) up to 30%, including occasional overnight travel,” is required. The venture, registered with the California Secretary of State’s office as OfHiive, LLC on January 4 by Stockton Chief Financial Officer Dennis Harris, changed its name to Domo Modular, LLC on April 9, records show. Depending on the extent of its development efforts here, the venture may face controversy. Last summer, Fixx Solutions, LLC withdrew a proposal to install hundreds of modular units for the homeless on land controlled by the Del Mar fair board after beachside neighbors raised a ruckus, per a Union-Tribune dispatch of August 12, 2020.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The idea is not without support in high places, and billions of dollars in state subsidies are on the horizon. A group calling itself Big City Mayors, including San Diego Democrat Todd Gloria, wants the state to spend $20 billion of its surplus for homeless housing, with a sizable chunk going to prefab units. “In Japan and in Great Britain, about 50% of new construction is prefab, which is so much better than it used to be,” San Diego County Democratic Supervisor Nora Vargas told the U-T in a pre-election interview last year. “So why don’t we have prefab be the default for accessory dwelling units? Why don’t we just drop those prefab homes in backyards across the County or in churches like they want to do? Seems to me the County sticks to the narrow when there are other solutions that other countries, other cities are using to great effect.”

Stockdale used well-connected downtown lobbying shops Southwest Strategies, San Diego Land Lawyers, and Allen Matkins Leck to convince then-mayor Kevin Faulconer to seal its deal to take over Horton Plaza, and the financial firm isn’t afraid to mix it up in the political arena with money. Steve Yari and his brother Shawn kicked in $4000 last year to the Scottsdale, Arizona city council bid of workout club owner Bill Crawford, per a July 2020 account by AZCentral. He failed to make the runoff. “This project is a dream come true for this part of downtown Scottsdale,” Crawford, a former critic, told the city council there before its 4-3 December 2020 vote to approve a mammoth Stockdale office and retail development.

Former Faulconer insider Jason Roe was paid $10,000 to lobby on behalf of AMR, the city’s new ambulance company.

Out of the lobby

AMR, the city of San Diego’s longtime paramedic provider that lost out last month to multinational Falck, USA, after a bitter battle that included a racially charged op-ed hit piece against Falck by New York politico Al Sharpton, didn’t go down without a lobbyist. “The Denmark-based company has been accused of inequitable service and unjust practices in the United States, and there is great concern that the move could undermine San Diego’s commitment to racial equality,” wrote Sharpton in a February 5 Union-Tribune commentary. Now Presidio Public Affairs Group, founded by onetime Kevin Faulconer insider Jason Roe, reports getting paid $10,000 by AMR during the first quarter of this year to lobby for “award of contract to AMR.”

Other Presidio clients included “dockless mobility” purveyor Lime, Inc. of San Francisco, which forked over $5000 for influence peddling regarding “favorable regulations which allow the company to operate within the City of San Diego.” In January of last year, Lime announced it was leaving San Diego and laying off staff here. “As part of our path to profitability, Lime has made the difficult decision to exit San Diego and focus our resources on markets that allow us to meet our ambitious goals for 2020.”

Added the company statement: “We appreciate the partnership we’ve enjoyed with San Diego and remain hopeful we can reintroduce Lime back into the community when the time is right.” ...Nora Vargas, who loaned her successful campaign for county supervisor $20,000 last year, has been paid back, per her end-of-year February 1 disclosure filing.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Next Article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader