Light reading + who is closing

Let’s start with some real estate news from this week’s IBJ in print:

Charter Homes owner Jerry Jaquess fancies himself a white knight for King Park, a neighborhood once known mainly for its rampant crime, boarded-up homes and vacant lots. But the local builder also has stirred up several lawsuits, dozens of liens and persistent questions about whether his business is legit. Charter has built about 50 houses (Some shown here) on vacant properties surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park—lots that sold for as little as $500 a few years ago. Yet in sales disclosures, Charter claims it sold most of the homes for $450,000, more than twice what non-Charter homes in the area typically fetch. Full story

The Mayor’s Office has quietly agreed to consider selling some of the city’s more than 1,100 properties, including police stations, parks and the City-County building. The city awarded the potentially lucrative no-bid contract to Venture Real Estate Services, a politically connected firm led by John Bales. Full story

State environmental regulators are catching grief for what some businesses say is a rush to aggressive new rules for remediating land contamination. Full story

And a few small updates: