August 18, 2008
Brian MannDear lenders: Perhaps you have seen the recent headlines that declared suburban Indianapolis among the best places in the
country to live and raise a family. Perhaps you've also taken note that there are a lot of things happening in our communities.
Big projects abound in the Indi anapolis area, including Lucas Oil Stadium and the Midfield Terminal at Indianapolis International
Airport. People are so excited about the new stadium they lined up for hours trying to get a tour...
More
August 18, 2008
Scott OlsonThose ubiquitous retail strip centers are beginning to wither under a housing slump that has cast a dark cloud over much of
the U.S economy. Heavily dependent on new-home construction, strip-center developments have been hurt by tough residential
real estate conditions that have spread into the commercial arena and dampened retail activity. Nationally, the volume of
strip-center investment transactions is down 77 percent from a year ago, according to a June commercial report from the Chicago-based
National Association of Realtors....
More
August 18, 2008
Cory SchoutenThe signs for Leading Edge Commercial Real Estate Services are hard to miss on the south side. And soon, they could be popping
up all over central Indiana. The 3-year-old, Greenwood-based brokerage firm has grown from three employees to 14 and now is
looking at adding two new offices, including one on the north side. The firm has more than 120 listings, up from about 60
at the start, mostly for office leasing and sales of smaller commercial properties. The...
More
August 18, 2008
Scott OlsonNow a developer is banking on a new roadway and airport terminal to attract office tenants, although some brokers familiar
with the area aren't sold on the idea. The local office of Chicago-based Verus Partners LLC finished purchasing 200 acres
along the east side of the Reagan Parkway and plans to build a 60,000-square-foot, two-story speculative office building.
Verus' mixed-use office and industrial park is called GreenParke at Airwest and could be ready for occupancy by next summer.
Infrastructure work...
More
August 18, 2008
Cory SchoutenJohn E. Huguenard is on a roll. He's got $1 billion in active industrial listings and is on track to top his $700 million
deal volume from last year. The low-key super-broker for the local office of commercial real estate powerhouse Colliers Turley
Martin Tucker has closed 17 deals worth a total of $250 million already this year. And that's no fluke: Huguenard, 45, has
sold or leased more than 100 million square feet of industrial property in more than...
More
August 11, 2008
More than 1,000 people from nine states attended an auction Saturday of hundreds
of items seized from Christopher P. White, the founder of bankrupt developer Premier Properties USA Inc.
More
August 4, 2008
Cory SchoutenA local developer known for its strip centers has stopped building new projects, scaled back its staff, and is trying to
unload several of its properties in an apparent bid to survive. Williams Realty Group earlier this year
shuttered its custom-home-building operation, DayMarc Homes, and now observers are wondering if owners Dave
Crockett and Marc Freije can keep the rest of Williams afloat.
August 4, 2008
Greg AndrewsThe past 12 months have been hard to take, with all the gloom-anddoom headlines about the weak housing market, subprime credit
crisis and softening economy. We're all ready for some good news. Unfortunately, I can't provide it here. That's because executives
on the front lines of Indiana business-those most tuned in to the twists and turns of the state's economy-aren't ready to
call a turnaround yet. In second-quarter conference calls with analysts, the executives are trumpeting their firms' ability
to...
More
August 4, 2008
Chip CutterThe locally based headwear retailer Hat World made a name for itself by snatching up competitors and opening hundreds of
stores around the country. However, after sluggish sales in the fiscal year that ended Feb. 2, the company--a
unit of Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc.--says it plans to open fewer stores than usual this year so
officials can put their focus back on existing operations.
July 28, 2008
Cory SchoutenTwo giants of local business are preparing to slug it out in court over a soured sublease deal. Marsh Supermarkets filed
suit in Hamilton County this month to enforce a deal with Swiss pharmaceutical and medical-equipment powerhouse
Roche to sublease the grocer's entire 148,000-square-foot headquarters in Fishers. The deal, worth more
than $47 million over 18 years, is one of the largest of its kind in central Indiana in years.
July 28, 2008
Scott OlsonA housing crunch resulting from a flood of foreclosures has cast the spotlight on the deceptive practices that cause borrowers-particularly
those with weak credit-to unknowingly pay more than necessary for a mortgage. The Federal Reserve earlier this month unanimously
approved new lending rules in an attempt to tighten standards and prevent another such crisis. The changes will apply to all
mortgage lenders and take effect Oct. 1, 2009. In the subprime category, a lender will have to assess a borrower's...
More
July 28, 2008
Peter SchnitzlerMarion County economic development officials are proud of their latest headquarters attraction. Bowen Engineering Corp.
will inject 103 high-paying jobs into the Indianapolis economy immediately. And over time, the company expects
to add another 138. Their average salaries will top $70,000. The deal didn't require Mayor Greg Ballard
to travel to Japan, or even to another state. Bowen Engineering is moving all of 8.4 miles, from its former
home in Fishers to the 8800 block of North Meridian Street.
July 28, 2008
Greg AndrewsJust a few years ago, Carmel businessman Edward Okun was living the high life. By last year, his personal holdings had grown
to include four mansions, a helicopter, three airplanes, 20 automobiles, and a 130-foot yacht. Today, Okun is in a Virginia
jail, is represented by a public defender, and faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars. And, angry
investors say, rightfully so. They charge-and government investigators agree-that Okun financed his lavish lifestyle by misappropriating...
More
July 28, 2008
Chip CutterAt a time when Starbucks is closing hundreds of stores nationwide, he and other local independent
coffeehouse owners say they're doing just fine, largely because they're infusing their stores with personality
and offering consumers an experience chain stores can't replicate.
July 21, 2008
Cory SchoutenAt least 10 local Starbucks stores are slated to close by early next year as part of a 600-store nationwide purge. The chain
has named only 50 of the stores it plans to close, including two in Indiana, but it has notified the others. Those include
at least six in Indianapolis and stores in Carmel, Greenwood and Beech Grove.
More
July 7, 2008
Cory SchoutenNine former Noble Roman's franchisees and a current operator have filed a lawsuit charging that the Indianapolis chain lied
to them about the costs and risks of opening one of its pizza and sub restaurants. The franchisees say the 1,000-restaurant
chain aggressively marketed its stand-alone, dual-brand Noble Roman's and Tuscano's Italian Style Subs restaurants without
testing the concept--a scheme they contend was designed to inflate the company's stock price so owners could unload shares
at a profit.
More
July 7, 2008
Cory SchoutenA trendy bar and an upscale hotel have agreed to anchor the 11-story Ralston Square project slated for South Street between
Meridian and Pennsylvania streets. The developers of the $60 million mixed-use project are moving forward after landing the
tenants necessary to secure a loan commitment, said Brian Epstein, president of locally based Urban Space Commercial Properties
and a partner on the project.
More
July 7, 2008
Chris O'MalleyAs motorists rush to buy antacid pills with each $4.25-a-gallon fill-up, the same car dealers who got pudgy five years ago
selling SUVs with $6,000 profit margins are scrambling to profit from Aveos or anything else with decent mileage.
More
June 30, 2008
Cory SchoutenThere was a time when residents of Meridian Kessler, Butler Tarkington, and Broad Ripple viewed North Meridian Street as a
connection between their neighborhoods. These days, the road feels more like a divide-an intimidating commuter highway between
downtown and the northern suburbs that discourages pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A partnership of community groups including
the Meridian Street Foundation is hoping to change that by giving the neighborhoods a collective identity--Midtown--and mixing
private and public money to fund major infrastructure improvements.
More
June 30, 2008
Cory SchoutenA Maryland company has taken ownership of downtown's 28-story M&I Plaza just three months before a major tenant departure
leaves the skyscraper 70-percent vacant. The new owner is CapitalSource Inc., a commercial finance and investment firm based
in Chevy Chase, Md. It had been a lender to the former owner, which defaulted.
More
June 30, 2008
Anthony SchoettleLocal advertising powerhouse Young & Laramore signed a new contract with Steak n Shake, one of its flagship clients, just
two weeks ago, but ad industry observers can't help but wonder if the 18-year-old relationship is about to run its course.
Before the ink on the contract was dry, the struggling hamburger chain had a new board chairman who is likely to shuffle Steak
n Shake's executive suite and take the company in a new direction.
More
June 26, 2008
Cory SchoutenPremier Properties USA Inc. founder Christopher P. White was taken into police
custody early this morning and released after he posted bond.
More
June 23, 2008
Cory SchoutenUndeterred by a rocky economy, locally based electronics retailer HHGregg is trailblazing into new markets on a quest to quadruple
in size. The firm's "price and advice" mantra seems to be catching on. That's no surprise to Jerry Throgmartin, a 33-year
veteran of Gregg who has served as the company's chairman and CEO since 2003.
More
June 16, 2008
Cory SchoutenThe Marion County Prosecutor's Office on
Monday filed three felony charges against Christopher P. White, the founder of bankrupt development firm Premier Properties
USA Inc.
More
June 16, 2008
J. JeffreyFor the past 10-plus years, central Indiana has benefitted from growth in the distribution/logistics industry with hundreds
of new jobs and millions of square feet of new facilities. We've seen massive facilities go up one right after another, often
topping the square footage of our tallest downtown skyscrapers. In the past eight years alone, the square footage of central
Indiana distribution centers has more than doubled from 20 million square feet to 51 million square feet. And we're not just...
More
on Facebook & Twitter
Follow IBJ's Tweets on these topics:
Back to Top
Additional Hosting & Delivery by
Doug Henning!
These guy were thugs — they grew up in freaking Haughville! Smh, sigh. If the mayor needs/wants "quality" Black Hoosiers who are NOT corrupt, give me a call — I know plenty. Land bank info here - http://www.kubepharm.com/indylandbank/IndyLandBank.html
Magician and illusionist!
The basic idea of nice apartments with parking and retail is a good one, but this design seems overwhelmingly big/tall for Broad Ripple. The size could be disguised a bit with lots of big trees/landscaping, but the complex is too massive to blend in easily. That section of canal between College and Westfield will also need to be upgraded on both sides. Nice apartments facing onto a nice promenade with shade trees/plantings could bring together the canal towpath/Monon recreation, the outdoor seating at existing restaurants, and this project into something that upgrades the whole area. A plan for the whole stretch makes more sense than facing nice new housing onto what looks like a ditch. Is there a plan? Does the public have input? Who pays? The apartment idea seems to be reasonable, but Whole Foods is not a good idea for appropriate retail. Besides the store being physically too big, there are already Fresh Market at 54xCollege and Whole Foods in Nora for fancy groceries. Good Earth and Kroger are within walking distance of the Shell site. There are at least 7 grocery stores within a safe bike ride. Whole Foods would add nothing but traffic congestion. This design is on the right track, but there needs to be more work done to ensure that it blends in with and enhances the existing community. A project that large will set a tone for that whole part of town. It could be a real asset, but only if done right.
I did not move to Zionsville to live in Carmel. This and the subsequent developments to follow will ensure a vanilla uniformity of strip malls and apartment buildings as we seek to bring our town down to the least common denominator. We were warned before recent elections that pro-development council members would make sure their friends (landowners and developers) would be able to make their millions off of the exploitation of Zionsville. Why in God's name would we sell out the best preserved small town in the State of Indiana?