Described by Forbes Magazine as "America's Best Place for Business and Careers" in 2002, San Diego continues to build on its advantages as a good business location. A thriving business base offering a multitude of services, coupled with unprecedented development during the past two decades, makes Downtown an ideal location for anything from start-up ventures to well-established multimillion-dollar enterprises.

Office Market

More than 2.5 million square feet of new office space has opened in Downtown San Diego since 1975. Available space ranges from funky loft space to high-tech office towers. High-rise office towers are now under construction, which will add more than two million square feet to the Class A inventory.

Downtown Office Market Facts

Total Square Feet	9,017,660
Total Square Feet Under Construction	800,000 +
Number of Buildings	61
Number of Buildings over 100,000 Square Feet	n/a
Total Vacancy Rate	10.4%
Absorption	-9,824 sq. ft.
Source: BRE Commercial, 2004; Centre City Development Corp., 2004.

Transportation

Downtown San Diego serves as the hub of a well-developed regional transportation network. Commuters use a combination of bus, car, trolley and a train service called the Coaster. Three interstate freeways converge on Downtown with multiple exits leading to 55,000 parking spaces dispersed conveniently throughout the city. The center city is also served by Amtrak with daily service to Los Angeles. San Diego International Airport is a short drive from Downtown and the Port of San Diego has two cargo facilities and a cruise ship terminal.

Technology Infrastructure

Nicknamed at one time "Bandwidth Bay," San Diego has more than 75,000 strand miles of fiber optic cabling running under its streets. Many of the new office towers being built downtown offer broadband as a standard part of the building's infrastructure and a few even offer free Wi-Fi access.

Tax Climate

• One of the most competitive sales tax rates in California
• Lowest business tax rate of 20 largest U.S. cities
• Lowest transient occupancy (hotel and motel) tax
• Lowest bonded indebtedness rate
• Lowest real estate transfer tax in California
• No city income taxes
• No utility taxes on citizens

Tax Facts

Corporation income tax and franchise tax	8.84%
Sales and use tax	7.25%-8.25%
Property tax	1.1% of taxable value
Telecommunications surcharges and taxes	0%-3.8%
Transient occupancy tax	10.5%

Workforce Training

The San Diego Workforce Partnership is a comprehensive workforce development organization that ensures a skilled, productive workforce for business. A new Workforce Alliance Project is fostering dialogue between industry and education to focus on educating and training San Diegans to fill jobs in the biotech, telecommunications, electronics manufacturing and other demanding occupations.

A Few San Diego Area Companies

• Qualcomm
• Nokia
• Sony
• Sempra Energy
• Golden Eagle Insurance Corporation
• SBC
• American Specialty Health
• PEOPLEFIRST.COM
• KPMG
• Thermo Electron Corp.
• Pfizer
• AMCC
• SAIC
• Gateway
• HP
• Sanyo North America
• Solar Turbines
• Gen-Probe