Contributing editor

Harton joined IBJ in 1984, fresh out of Indiana University’s School of Journalism. He covered banking, real estate and the business of sports before becoming associate editor in 1988. He became managing editor the following year and editor in 1990, serving in that position until 2013. Over the years, Harton’s short stories about Indianapolis real estate have been published in The New York Times and he has won statewide and national awards for his IBJ editorials and columns. Harton is also a freelance writer and is active in several community organizations.

Articles

Law firm sticks with unconventional space

With its expansion last month into the historic Eden-Talbott House at 1336 N. Delaware St., the local environmental law firm
Plews Shadley Racher & Braun now owns and occupies three historic homes and a 1950s-era office building in the same block.

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It’s a buyer’s market for apartments-WEB ONLY

When the market for single-family houses began to fall apart last fall, the prevailing wisdom was that the crash would be good for the owners of apartment complexes. But the recession is taking its toll on multi-family housing as well, putting the brakes on new developments and driving down prices of existing complexes. Projections at […]

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New downtown historic district in works-WEB ONLY

Buildings on Monument Circle and its immediate surroundings would be protected from demolition and inappropriate alteration under plans being drawn to create a new downtown historic district. The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, a unit of city government, is working on creation of the Monument Circle-Downtown Historic District using $15,000 in funding from the Central Indiana […]

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Housing market shows improvement-WEB ONLY

Housing inventories fell last month in almost all Indianapolis-area submarkets, according to a monthly report on local residential real estate, fueling hope that the market will continue improving as supply falls to healthy levels. And at least one prominent developer of new houses sees signs of a turnaround. The number of homes for sale in […]

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Rehabbed midtown building fills up-WEB ONLY

Local accounting firm London Witte Group LLC’s decision last June to take a chance on an empty midtown office building is suddenly looking like a winner. The former Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance building at 18th and Meridian streets is now essentially fully leased thanks to an agreement by Clarian Health Partners to occupy the bulk […]

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Vacant dealerships join already rocky real estate market

The owners of car dealerships slated for closure by Chrysler and General Motors face a tough environment for unloading their
real estate, but an expected onslaught of such properties has at least one company preparing to grab a slice of the business.

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Vacant dealerships join already rocky market-WEB ONLY

The owners of car dealerships slated for closure by Chrysler and General Motors face a tough environment for unloading their real estate, but an expected onslaught of such properties has at least one company preparing to grab a slice of the business. CB Richard Ellis has formed an Automobile Dealership Services group to dispose of […]

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Commentary: Jim Browning, a champion of the city

It was probably 15 years ago when Jim Browning called and invited me to lunch for the first time. I don’t recall why he extended the invitation, but I remember from the lunch that he was interested in what I had to say. And that surprised me. I didn’t know Jim then, but I knew of him through his architecture firm, Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf. I also associated him with the group of bold civic leaders who came up with…

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Commentary: Here’s the skinny on why we’re fat

A week rarely passes without news of our obesity epidemic. Fattest-state rankings and the like are a staple of our news diet. These stories are often served with dire health warnings, which politicians invoke when they encourage us to eat less and exercise more. But does anyone really stop to think about why obesity has become our national obsession? Our infamous rotundness isn’t only a byproduct of poor eating habits and a reluctance to hit the gym. Chalk some of…

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Commentary: We can learn some things from Turkey

Turkey isn’t high on the list of countries Americans visit. Tell friends you’re going to France and they congratulate you. Tell them you’re going to Turkey, and they ask why. They might follow the why with a reference to the movie “Midnight Express,” a 1978 film about an American’s nightmarish experience in a Turkish prison. Midnight Express had such a negative effect on Americans’ perceptions of Turkey that the man who wrote the book the movie is based upon recently…

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