County health inspectors have hardly blown the door down on huffers and puffers a year into the city’s smoking ordinance.
The Marion County Health Department took 209 complaints and issued citations against only nine businesses for fines totaling
$1,000 during the first year of the law.
Two new hotel brands coming to central Indiana will introduce a trend that’s hot nationwide-so-called “lifestyle” lodging offering an upscale feel at an affordable price. Hotels geared toward younger travelers account for 50,000 new rooms nationwide, said Rob Hunden, a hospitality consultant with Chicago-based Hunden Strategic Partners. That’s just 1 percent of the 4.5 million hotel rooms in the United States, but the numbers are growing fast. Locally, two area AmeriSuites hotels will be converted to Hyatt Places and InterContinental…
Two new hotel brands coming to central Indiana will introduce a trend that’s hot nationwide—so-called “lifestyle” lodging offering an upscale feel at an affordable price. Hotels geared toward younger travelers account for 50,000 new rooms nationwide, said Rob Hunden, a hospitality consultant with Chicago-based Hunden Strategic Partners. That’s just 1 percent of the 4.5 million […]
On my way into work the other day, I heard an analyst on Bloomberg Radio say he was surprised at the poor performance of the parent company of Airbus, EADS. He said he was ready for a slight earnings miss, but to fall on its face as much as it did, well, that shocked him. What shocked me was how anyone put faith in a giant conglomerate pretty much run by the French government and a few other half-baked socialist…
Since the mid-1990s, cities have been trying to take advantage of a captive audience by incorporating major public art installations into airport expansion projects. Long before Indianapolis began forging an ambitious public arts plan for its midfield terminal project, airports in Miami, Denver and Washington, D.C., commissioned millions of dollars’ worth of statues, mosaics and fountains. Smaller airports, such as Austin-Bergstrom International in Texas, which is on par with Indianapolis in terms of passenger counts, also have latched onto the…
After the passing of the restaurant’s general manager, “Mama” stepped into the grief-filled void, providing leadership while consoling the staff. During a charity silent auction, Camerone auctioned off herself as an inhome chef for an evening. She ended up generating the most proceeds, enough to make a dream come true for a child during the Make-a-Wish Telethon. Pamela Evans, customer service agent, American Airlines Evans is a customer service agent for American Airlines and her territory often can be among…
The downtown Radisson Hotel City Centre will get a new life by the end of this year, converting into the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel. Experts say the change is good for downtown and that hotel owners are trading up by switching to the Sheraton brand. “Clearly, that would be a step up for the hotel,” said Rob Hunden, president of Chicago-based Hunden Strategic Partners Inc., a firm that consults on hotels and convention facilities. “It is clearly better than…
Minority-owned companies have snagged 22 percent of the $749.1 million in contracts committed through 2006 for the midfield terminal project at Indianapolis International Airport, the airport authority said today. Minority companies received $167.5 million of the $749.1 million. Slightly more than half of the 189 minority companies that received the contracts are owned by women. […]
When The New York Times ran an article about Indianapolis’ Stone Soup Inn several years ago, owner Jeneane Life got calls from people on airplanes looking to book a room. And the phone’s still ringing in the aftermath of a fall Chicago Tribune review of the new wellness program at Life’s Villa Inn. “People will say, ‘I kept that article because I’ve been meaning to come and stay with you,'” said Life, who also owns the Looking Glass Inn in…
The Indiana Commerce Connector, those 75 miles of concrete through the Indiana countryside, was announced with great fanfare at the start of the 2007 legislative session and recently disappeared with equal aplomb. Thanks to the efforts of state Rep. Terri Austin, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, and the other members of that committee, the citizens of Indiana had ample opportunity to express their opinions on Indiana’s transportation needs. While the governor’s specific proposals for the Indiana Commerce…
Indianapolis is growing faster than Columbus, Ohio, and that concerns officials in the Ohio city, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Metro Indianapolis’ population increased 9.2 percent between 2000 and 2006 compared to 7 percent for the Columbus area; also, Indianapolis’ job numbers swelled 5.5 percent vs. Columbus’ 1.8 percent. Though Columbus has 59,500 more residents—1.73 […]
Economic development officials say networking is the first step in a process that, when successful, leads to industrial plant
expansions and company headquarters relocations. Travel, food, gifts and entertainment, they argue, are a necessary cost of
attracting jobs to Indiana.
The distinctive black-and-white façade of the Zipper Building at Washington Street and Virginia Avenue is gone, stripped away like ceiling tiles from an old bedroom. Replacing the unusual exterior of the three-story structure will be a more traditional brick and stone look-and a new moniker bearing the name of owner The Broadbent Co. Broadbent, the longtime developer of retail strip centers including Castleton Plaza, Clearwater Crossing and Fashion Mall Commons bought the downtown building last October and is set to…
The biggest acquisition in the 34-year history of ATA Airlines will steer it closer to its charter roots and further from a scheduled-service binge that led to bankruptcy three years ago. Analysts say the $315 million deal to buy Atlanta-based World Air Holdings will broaden the revenue base and bring economies of scale for ATA’s newly renamed parent, Global Aero Logistics. It also hands ATA a cargo business worth $100 million in 2005. The deal should give the Manhattan vulture…
The Indianapolis Airport Authority is ending its contract with airport manager BAA Limited in December—one year earlier than the agreement was set to expire, the authority announced today. The British company had notified the authority that, based on current corporate strategy, it would not pursue a new or extended contract at the end of the […]
Developers are planning a new 80-room Candlewood Suites hotel on the east side at 21st Street and Shadeland Avenue. Constructed is slated to start next summer on the hotel, which would be the fourth in Indianapolis for the InterContinental Hotels…
INDIANAPOLIS HAS: Seating for up to 73,000 and a retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium, set to open in 2008. The press box seats 200, but event space could be converted for additional media use. PRACTICE FACILITIES NFL WANTS: Comparable practice facilities for both Super Bowl teams, including a covered field with the same turf as the stadium, locker rooms for players and coaches, meeting rooms, and laundry service. INDIANAPOLIS HAS: The Colts’ 56th Street football complex. Bid organizers have…
Bringing a Super Bowl to Indianapolis might have little to do with weather, hotel rooms or posh practice facilities. The biggest
factor is likely to be Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, and how other National Football League owners feel about him and
the contributions he has made to their tight-knit club.
The Indianapolis advertising firm Roman BrandGroup has landed a contract with the Indianapolis Airport Authority to lure retailers to the new midfield terminal, which is scheduled to open in late 2008. Roman will help develop a theme to concessionaires and promotional materials. The facility will have 55,000 square feet of retail space.
Virtually unnoticed in the spate of bills that emerged from the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly was creation of a new officer in state government who can be extremely helpful in the state’s economic development efforts. The law creating a Geographic Information Officer, or GIO, gives official status to an important discipline that has been blossoming over the last 25 years and is increasingly relied upon in business and political decision-making. A Geographic Information System is a collection…
