Case Study
Cubic secures headquarters redevelopment in San Diego
ServiceEconomic Incentive Consulting
Serving clients in the defense and transportation industries, Cubic Corp is a global company with clients on nearly every continent. The company has called Kearny Mesa home for 50 years in an aging set of buildings that have not kept pace with the evolution of the company.
Cubic needed to modernize and redevelop its campus to help attract talent, and provide adequate facilities for the next 50 years. As a result, EDC worked hand-in-hand with its team to secure the necessary incentives to keep San Diego a competitive option, despite pressure to relocate facilities out-of-state.
Utilizing both state and local programs, EDC was able to leverage its expertise in incentives consulting to help this 50 year old staple stay in California.
Company
Cubic Corporation
Challenge
Despite its long history in San Diego, Cubic was evaluating options to pursue a headquarters location in a lower-cost state. The company’s facilities were antiquated, inefficient, and split into two major campuses in the Kearny Mesa area, creating a lack of cohesion among the company’s business units. With competition for tech talent at an all-time high, company leadership was concerned its outdated facilities would discourage potential hires. Lastly, Cubic was experiencing pressure to build its HQ in a lower-cost state such as Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida, where the company already had established operations.
EDC Solution
After meeting with Cubic’s real estate team in July of 2018, EDC developed a strategy to capture a number of incentive programs to offset the cost of rebuilding its headquarters in San Diego. Additionally, EDC worked as an intermediary to both the City and State on Cubic’s behalf to ensure processes were staying on track and that the campus redevelopment was seen as a priority by all parties.
Results
Cubic was awarded a CalCompetes Tax Credit worth $8 million, as well as the Research and Development Tax Credit. Locally, the company was able to secure expedited processes through the City of San Diego, in addition to a Business Incentive Program and Business Cooperation Program award. In total, the incentives and expedited processes provided gave Cubic the necessary offsets to commit to redeveloping its Kearny Mesa headquarters.
“Since our founding in 1951, we have established strong roots in the San Diego community and it was very important for us to remain headquartered here. San Diego Regional EDC was an integral resource for our redevelopment. They were able to strategically bring key partners together and secure incentives that best positioned us to redevelop our headquarters in the Kearny Mesa area ”
– Anshooman Aga, evp & CFo, cubic corporation
About Cubic Corporation
Cubic is a publicly-traded American corporation providing diversified systems and services to the transportation and defense markets worldwide. Cubic Corporation is the parent company of three major divisions: Cubic Transportation Systems, Cubic Mission Solutions, and Cubic Global Defense.
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