GilChrist & Soames, an Indianapolis company that supplies toothpaste to hotels across the globe, has started recalling toothpaste made in China because samples were found to be contaminated with diethylene glycol. The chemical is used as a coolant, and in cork, printing ink and other products, and has been involved in several mass poisonings. The […]
Touring the expansive grounds of the former Central State Hospital west of downtown is like taking a trip back in time-evident by the crumbling buildings that are as dated as the site’s original Hospital for the Insane name. But a redevelopment in the final stages of city approval could breathe new life into a 150-acre parcel surrounded by blighted neighborhoods to the east and north and Hispanic storefronts to the south along West Washington Street. The proposal features a mix…
When Ed Beilouny bought property at the southwest corner of Massachusetts and College avenues in 1977, many of his friends and family members thought he was crazy. The neighborhood wasn’t much to look at. In the eyes of some, it was downright dangerous. But Beilouny, who was born in New York, had a vision that would take 30 years to develop. The land is now home to the flagship building of Beilouny Luxury Properties, a privately held company that has…
Although the opening of a 22,000-seat arena in Louisville is still three years away, officials here are already bracing for
a raid on Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse events. Several Indianapolis interests will be watching Aug. 20 as the Louisville
Arena Authority unveils designs for the arena along the Ohio River.
Local hospitality firm’s early work with Lilly helped it carve out a major niche in the pharmaceutical market.
With the gospel of global warming raising the call for “green-ness” to a near-hysterical pitch, there’s a growing sense that
creating an earth-friendly image will bring companies a strategic advantage. Yet the contradictions between what companies
do day in and day out and what they do to improve the environment can create a marketing minefield.
Now that this year’s Brickyard 400 is behind us, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is making major capital investments that will lay the groundwork for another new era at the Brickyard. To the tune of several million dollars, crews are now preparing to repave the track and alter the former F-1 course for the introduction of motorcycles in September 2008. These are the latest improvements in a string of many over the last dozen years that have paid off for both…
The Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association hopes to soften the blow from the loss of two national trade shows with a campaign persuading Hoosier companies to choose the city for events and meetings. ICVA officials plan to launch the loosely dubbed “Bring it Home” effort Sept. 1 with a letter to corporate executives that expounds the virtues of Indianapolis. The aim is to bring business to the hospitality community during what is expected to be a slow time the next…
For many people, the sign of a good musical is that you leave the theater humming the songs. But what are we to make of the recent onslaught of shows where you hum the songs going in? These “jukebox musicals” raid the song catalogues of singers, composers or bands (The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, et al.) to cobble together a score. While the practice of creating a musical out of preexisting songs goes back through music and film…
When it comes to advertising and marketing, the city’s two tallest skyscrapers are Class A, all the way. But throw out that
notion at tax time. The owners of Chase Tower and OneAmerica Tower–and some of the city’s other large office buildings–have
successfully lobbied for lower building “grades” that save them big bucks on property taxes.
Here’s a preliminary rendering of the Penn Centre development planned along Pennsylvania Street between Maryland and Georgia streets. The J. Greg Allen project is being designed by locally based Browning Day Mullins…
Premier Properties has unveiled some of the details of its $750-million plan for a huge mixed-use development at the southwest corner of 86th and Keystone Avenue. The project is called Venu, a…
Locally based Urban Space Commercial Properties is working to fill space in a new hotel/retail project at the northeast corner of Meridian and South streets, company founder Brian Epstein said today. Here are preliminary renderings for the project, which is…
A Houston firm has agreed to buy Pan Am Plaza’s office building, skating rinks and the plaza itself. The company, Principle Equity Management, is planning a low-rise, restaurant-anchored development that would…
The son and grandson of hotel managers, Maarten van Wijk became general manager of the historic-but-ailing 2,000-member Columbia
Club in May. His first priority is to polish the venerable private club’s tarnished quality standards to a lustrous sheen.
One of the two massive trade shows forced to leave Indianapolis because of a convention center space crunch isn’t coming back
as soon as expected. Locally based Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association is changing course three years after
agreeing to return its fall CEDIA Expo to Indianapolis for four years beginning in September 2010.
A Texas firm has agreed to buy Pan Am Plaza’s 12-story office building and skating rinks and is planning to replace the rinks
with a more-than-$50-million restaurant and retail development.
As I sat last month enjoying my first College World Series week in Omaha, Neb., an evening game between the North Carolina Tarheels and the Rice Owls, it became clear to me that this nationally u n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d event would be perfect for Indianapolis. Or better said; Indianapolis would be perfect for the College World Series. Now, before CWS purists begin to chant “57 years!” “57 years!,”…
On an Ambassadair trip to Athens, Greece, in 1987, one of the tour members suddenly got up from the breakfast table, saying he had to hurry to a class he was teaching that morning. After he left, his wife explained to the puzzled group that he had Alzheimer’s disease, which was diagnosed the year before his retirement in 1986. She said wistfully that they had saved their money so that they could travel after he retired from his job as…
By popular demand, here’s the other rendering of West Merrill Tower. You can also see it here. This is the side of the building that would face downtown:
