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Airport’s 104-acre land sale may not take off: Runways, private owners could hamper development

As city and airport officials begin to develop a marketing strategy for 104 acres just north and east of the Indianapolis International Airport, they will likely focus on the land’s best attributes: access to the airport, Interstate 465 and a rail line. Buyers will need to examine the fine print to learn why the land isn’t likely to become a smaller version of the bustling Plainfield industrial and retail areas to the west. Chief among those less-than-desirable features: The land…

INVESTING: Gold, other commodities still glimmer, despite declines

Commodities have taken it on the chin lately, with the CRB Index (a measure of most of the major commodities) falling more than 6 percent in a week. Gold is down 7 percent. Even copper, a market that seemed to forget how to go down, is taking a hit. Let’s find out what it all means. A few weeks ago, I wrote that I was selling my energy stocks because they had become extremely overbought. I was not turning bearish…

NOTIONS: Of battles, musicals: Let kids think for themselves

My son Zach was in town two weeks ago. He came to take photographs for a school newspaper story written by his twin brother, Austin. My sons’ words and images, published Feb. 10, told the tale of two recent graduates of their high school (Fort Wayne Homestead) who were entering the Marine Corps via a military processing center in Indianapolis. After finishing their story, Austin and Zach talked a lot about their close-up view of the USMC’s front gate: How…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Those who put head in sand put next generation in peril

I have always been fascinated with one particular aspect of the life story of Al Smith. Here was a poor, unsophisticated, relatively uneducated kid from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who showed up at the New York Legislature in 1903 as a nobody, but in the space of 10 years became a major power broker, ultimately running for president. The secret to his success? Unlike his socializing, partying colleagues, Al Smith spent his evenings actually reading legislation. When it…

Standard stock sinks close to crucial mark: As shares hover around $1, company launches effort to raise $25 million

Standard Management Corp. shares are sliding into a dangerous price range as the Indianapolis-based company tries to raise $25 million to continue growing its health-services business. The stock price dipped briefly below $1 earlier this month in NASDAQ trading. It rebounded to close at $1.17 Feb. 10 before slipping back to $1 Feb. 15. NASDAQ imposes a $1 minimum bid price for shares to continue trading on its exchange. Market watchers say Standard is in no danger of suddenly being…

Forum to focus on global business:

A forum hosted by the International Center of Indianapolis will tackle global business challenges March 1 at the Dow AgroSciences headquarters on the northwest side. The seminar, focusing on the rapid growth of China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, will explore how Indiana companies can attract a diverse work force and compete globally. Several local and international diversity experts are scheduled to speak. Jerome Peribere, president and CEO of locally based Dow AgroSciences, will launch the day’s discussion with…

EYE ON THE PIE: Coffee, doughnuts and liberty

There is nothing like the aroma of strong, fresh coffee. So it was as I woke one recent day. My executive officer had left for work, but graciously left the coffee and its aroma for me to enjoy. Down the stairs I tottered with my dog (who pretends to be too feeble to manage the stairs by himself). I let him out, let him back in, gathered a cup of the brew, and entered my office. “Hi,” she said in…

Duke’s Earth Services Inc.: Environmental services firm cleaning up on spills Haz-mat niche paying off; business expected to double

When a truck carrying a load of frozen chicken crashed on Interstate 74 near Batesville last month-mixing the meat with less-than-appetizing ingredients like diesel fuel and coolant-Duke’s Earth Services was high on the invite list for the impromptu barbecue. The Mooresville-based environmental services company specializes in such unpleasant jobs: cleaning hazardous materials spills, removing underground storage tanks, and checking construction sites for contaminated soil. And business is good. Duke’s posted revenue of $3.5 million in 2005, and leaders expect to…

Buckingham makes big plans for Carmel: Developer awaits OK on 116-acre urbanist development

The makeover of midtown Carmel, driven by the ambitious City Center master plan, could get a boost from a nearby development that could rival the project in scope. Local real-estate developer Buckingham Properties will present its proposal to the Carmel Plan Commission Feb. 21 to transform the 1960s-era Mohawk Hills apartment complex and its golf course into a modern urbanist neighborhood. The development, called Gramercy, could take a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars to complete. The 116-acre tract…

North Binford district looks for shot of development: Area hopes to rebound from surprising business slump

There are 22,200 households within a five-minute drive of 71st Street and Binford Boulevard, according to a recent market study. The median income inside those homes tops $53,000, about 16 percent higher than the U.S. median income. Despite those favorable demographics, area retail establishments and businesses have been dwindling. On the southeast corner of 71st and Binford, for example, there once existed a Preston-Safeway grocery store, an Osco drugstore, a Great Clips hair salon, a pizza parlor, a printing shop,…

Conflict avoided, but not revealed: Director didn’t participate in hiring Sallie Mae unit for $15M state project

Records filed with the Indiana Ethics Commission show that Goode last July removed himself from involvement in vetting the contract his department later OK’d between the Indiana Department of Revenue and General Revenue Corp., a Cincinnatibased subsidiary of the student-loan giant. General Revenue, which pursues overdue payments for Sallie Mae, was hired in August to help the state collect $255 million in back taxes through a tax amnesty program last fall. But the Department of Revenue never sought competing bids…

Hospitals battle for bone biz: St. Vincent’s ortho upgrade ups ante in lucrative niche

St. Vincent Health is spending $9 million to capture more of the city’s lucrative market for orthopedic care, a specialty that could trigger a new arms race among local hospitals. The Catholic hospital network is reworking existing space at its 86th Street campus to create a 61-bed St. Vincent Orthopedic Center that will open in July. The new center aims to consolidate care in one location and raise the quality bar to new heights. “We think we’re creating something that…

Development plans percolating in five urban corridors: East 10th Street, Fountain Square lead FOCUS pack

DataSmith Technologies owner James Smith started looking almost two years ago for a building to house his business, his home and possibly a revenue-generating tenant. What he ended up with was a dilapidated former bar on a struggling section of East 10th Street that had become a haven for vagrants. Smith took a chance on the building at 2032 E. 10th St., most recently home to Mustang Sally’s tavern, largely because of the involvement of the East 10th Street Civic…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Slow-moving lawmakers have an economic upside

Is the wall finally crumbling? After years-or decades-of assiduously avoiding certain issues because they were so fraught with controversy, lawmakers now seem to be tackling them … and, at least in some cases, are finding their actions are met with a collective public yawn. Last year, spurred by Gov. Mitch Daniels, legislators confronted the controversial matter of daylight saving time, long considered the last “third-rail” issue of Hoosier politics and policy. The issue had not even been debated in recent…

David Marsh to buy Jodi $435,000 home:

Former Marsh Supermarkets President David Marsh will buy ex-company spokeswoman Jodi Marsh a $435,000 north-side home as part of the couple’s divorce settlement, court records show. David Marsh had been with the grocery chain 25 years when the board dismissed him Feb. 8. He is the son of CEO Don Marsh. Jodi Marsh resigned as vice president of community relations for the grocery chain Jan. 27, nearly two months after she filed for divorce from David. She has since joined…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Tenants-in-common pacts grow as investment vehicle

The real estate boom has created vast amounts of wealth for investors nationwide. As those investors seek to capitalize on that appreciation by selling properties, they will often reinvest in other real estate in order to delay the related tax bill through a likekind exchange. Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 allows taxpayers to defer income taxes on the sale of property if the proceeds are reinvested in similar or “like-kind” property. In the case of real estate, nearly all real…

BEHIND THE NEWS Safety firm’s sale a bonanza-and that’s no accident:

Aearo Technologies Inc., the maker of earplugs and other protective gear, has long been a quiet company. But given its recent performance and the announcement this month that a private equity firm is buying it for an eye-popping $765 million, no one would call it a sleepy one. Indeed, interviews and a review of regulatory filings show the northwest-side company has been on a tear, boosting sales from $284 million in fiscal 2001 to $423 million in fiscal 2005. In…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: The Fortune 500 begins to dance with blogs

Ford and GM do it. So do Sprint, Sun, Boeing and Xerox. But Raytheon, 3M, Kmart, McDonald’s, and most of the rest of the Fortune 500 don’t. At last count, only 22 of the Fortune 500 did it, according to Socialtext.net. Why do so few companies blog? Before going on, let’s define “blog.” A “blog” is shorthand for “weblog,” which is essentially an online diary anybody can read and anybody can annotate with comments. Blogs are not strictly Web sites,…

BULLS & BEARS: Trading too much in stocks a great way to erase profits

A common hindrance to creating wealth from stocks is overtrading. Investors feel compelled to take a profit because, as they like to say, “If you don’t sell, the gain is just ‘on paper.'” However, some of the world’s best investors commit funds to a stock and hold it for fairly long periods; not forever, but quite a while. According to the mutual-fund-ratingservice Morningstar, there is an inverse correlation between turnover and performance in the funds they monitor. Sure, some folks…

New FBI facility: tough case to crack: Government struggling to find site to build field office for bureau

The highly-sought-after job of developing a new building for the FBI’s Indianapolis field office is still in play, but it’s hampered by the federal government’s inability to find a site for the building. A bevy of local and national developers are expected to throw their hats in the ring to develop the building, which the Government Services Agency says needs to be 110,000 square feet. For the winner, it would be a high-profile project and one of the more significant…