The Cobb Chamber’s 2022 Strategic Leadership Visit brought 45 Cobb County professionals to tour the San Diego region and experience the successes and challenges of another metro area. Here are a few of the takeaways from our visit.
Sunny San Diego attracts leading technology companies and research organizations with its established life sciences ecosystem, the largest military concentration in the world, and a strong tourism industry. Positioned at the border of the United States and Mexico, San Diego is part of a binational region, including San Diego County, Imperial County, and Baja California. This region is a leader in advanced manufacturing, producing medical devices, aerospace parts, and semiconductors. Considering these factors, San Diego has one of the most dynamic economies in the country.
Jerry Sanders, President & CEO of the San Diego Chamber, noted the city’s unique position within the state – San Diego is located at the southern end of the state, not near other large metros. Leaders have learned that you must embrace working with other organizations and entities to move projects forward. Throughout our trip we learned ways various business organizations, universities, military, and government entities work together.
“The Cobb Chamber’s Strategic Visit to San Diego in 2022 was one of the most impactful and informative trips I have attended. The quality of the content and knowledge I gained on this trip has positively impacted my business and ignited long-lasting relationships with key stakeholders. Additionally, in observing best practices in another community, my perspective was expanded on how we as a community can continue to grow, foster, and advocate for a successful future in Cobb.” – Chris Sizemore, Incisive
Thanks to a collaboration between the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) and the Cajon Valley Unified School District, schools are exposing students to potential career paths every day through the World of Work program. The Launch Pad is a new addition to the program that transforms a middle school library into a career center. Students can try on different careers, hear from local speakers, and get the answer to the question, “Why am I learning this?” The Launch Pad blends the Work of Work curriculum with the SDWP’s research and labor market information. Learn more here.
The SDWP also works with San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to provide the Second Chance program, a workforce readiness training for the reentry population. Based on it’s success, SDWP was awarded $2.4 million to expand its offerings to a wider audience of justice-involved individuals.
To learn more about the SDWP’s work with justice-involvement in California’s southern border region, review this report.
San Diego Association of Governments is using “5 Big Moves” to creating a transportation system that addresses traffic congestion, creates equal access, and meets climate action and clean air mandates.
“The Cobb Chamber’s Strategic Visit trip always provides a great opportunity to learn best practices from our peer communities throughout the country. Our visit to San Diego last year was very insightful into the growing world of Bioscience and allowed attendees to learn from both developers and end users as to what has led to their success in that market.” – Greg Teague, Croy Engineering
San Diego is the third largest life sciences market in the U.S., after Boston and San Francisco.
The life sciences cluster is a major driver of San Diego’s innovation economy. Major pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Takeda maintain a presence in San Diego to foster collaboration with major research institutes, universities, and small biotechnology companies.
Two key resources service the life sciences industry: Biocom California and the San Diego Biotechnology Network. Today, many of the biotech life sciences companies are in the northern part of the city. Two new research and development districts—Campus at Horton and IQHQ—are bringing Class A office space and labs downtown.
Our group toured Campus at Horton, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment project located at Horton Plaza, a former five-level outdoor mall in downtown San Diego. Once completed, Campus at Horton will be the largest tech campus in the Western U.S.
Our tour guide shared how sustainability is a top priority for the project. Most roof surfaces feature solar panels and the project has the first private blackwater system in the city, which will reduce its water footprint. By the project’s end, it’s expected to generate 3,000-4,000 jobs.
A life science district 5 acres of green space, retail, outdoor dining, and office and lab space – it’s the largest urban commercial waterfront site along California’s Pacific Coast.
A downtown development, IQHQ is a work-live-play campus poised to attract life science tenants and talent with its Class A office and lab space. The Research and Development District (RaDD) is the first urban waterfront campus dedicated to life sciences. The first phase of the project is set to be completed the summer of 2023.
Located at San Diego State University, the Mission Valley Innovation District is an expansive project featuring roughly 1.6 million square feet of office, technology, and research space, a 35,000-capacity stadium, housing, a hotel, retail space, and 80 acres of parks and open space. The project was developed through public private partnerships with the mission to facilitate internships and new educational experiences, advance technology and foster new research.
“The Cobb Chamber’s Strategic Visit was an incredible opportunity to spend several days with leaders from across Cobb’s public, private, and non-profit sectors and better understand our unique challenges and the lenses through which we see one another, ultimately identifying opportunities our organizations could better collaborate back home. It also gave me the chance to think about my own role from a different perspective – meeting with innovation and economic development leaders at another University gave me new ideas and approaches for the work that we are doing at KSU.”
– Tyler Reinagel, Kennesaw State University
San Diego doesn’t just have a strong military community presence; the military is tightly woven into the fabric of the region.
During our visit, attendees heard from the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC) and Zero800.
SDMAC is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) organization that advocates on behalf of the military, veterans, and their families living in the San Diego region. SDMAC’s advocacy efforts include facilitating the partnership among the military, elected officials, civic leaders, and the business community to improve the understanding of the important contributions made by the military.
Zero800 offers support to service members, their spouses and families before, during and after their transition from military to civilian life. This support is free and available a year prior to military separation and up to one year after military separation. Zero800’s team of trained professionals have lived the military experience and are devoted to assisting transitioning service members to devise and implement their desired post-military experience.
With such a strong military community in San Diego, many business organizations – from the San Diego Chamber of Commerce to BioCOMM – collaborate to offer veteran job placement services. A strong commitment from the city, the business community, and military and veteran-focused organizations is evident to keep this community growing.
“I had an amazing experience on the Cobb Chamber’s 2022 Strategic Visit to San Diego. The trip was a great opportunity to connect with other business leaders from Cobb County, build relationships, and learn more about San Diego’s business community. We were able to gain valuable insights on what’s working and not working in San Diego, and how we can apply those learnings to our own businesses and community back in Cobb. The visit was not only informative but also enjoyable as we had the chance to explore the city together and strengthen the relationships we built. These strategic visits are a great way to learn, build relationships, and connect. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who is looking to gain new perspectives and build lasting connections. Thank you, Cobb Chamber, for organizing such a valuable experience!” – Chad Koenig, Cushman Wakefield
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