Billionaire philanthropists Mel and Bren Simon are laying the groundwork to donate Asherwood–their extravagant Carmel estate
and golf course–to the Indiana University Foundation, potentially to house a new think tank. The couple plans to downsize
into a home just outside the town square in the nearby Village of WestClay.
Symphony Bank’s palatial branch along East 96th Street-outfitted with a copper roof, towering domed ceiling and heated parking lot-was designed to telegraph wealth and stability. But instead, the $5 million Taj Mahal became the most prominent symbol of the bank’s excesses and one reason the startup has lost money every year since its founding in June 2005. The bank, which has no other branches, has torn through two management teams and piled up annual losses of $2 million or more…
Encouraging new development-residential and commercial-is such a high priority in many communities these days that one would think both the private and public sectors would rush to break ground before the impulse passes. But as ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso often responds each Saturday during the season to the observations of others, “Not so fast my friend.” Before construction actually starts, all parties involved in a proposed project, if it is to be successful, must reach consensus on a…
Last week, after spending $71.83 to fill up my car, I said to myself, “Tomorrow, I’m taking the bus.” So I did. It wasn’t my first time on the new IndyGo commuter bus from Carmel; it was my fourth in the last five weeks. On that particular day, I was fed up. It was the first time that gassing up cost me more than $70, and it made an impression. I guess that’s what it’s going to take for all…
In terms of eco-friendliness, few homes in central Indiana boast much more than a high-efficiency furnace or low-flush toilet. But a Carmel-based custom-home builder is so certain the region is ready to embrace the green movement that he is willing to risk investing in a residential community designed to achieve national environmental recognition. Frank Redavide, president of Castalia Homes LLC, is finalizing financing for the project and plans to start construction within 60 days. The 144-lot development, called Villages of…
John Sebree is launching Watermark Residential as a partnership with the owners of Carmel-based Thompson Thrift, a development and construction firm best known for its retail strip center projects. Thompson Thrift was eager to diversify its business, and apartments are as attractive as ever: The subprime mortgage meltdown has reduced the volume of new single-family homes, and the condo market also is hurting. Meanwhile, apartment occupancy rates are sky high in many markets, including Indianapolis, and the prospects for rent…
For Dr. Tim Story, frustration was the mother of invention. The Carmel internist didn’t like the cost or complexity of the electronic medical record systems he had seen. So he created his own. And now he’s trying to sell it to other doctors. “I wanted an EMR that I could use, that I could understand,” said Story, 55, who also chairs the largest group of physicians at Clarian North Medical Center. Story is by no means alone. Hundreds of doctors…
As gas prices approach $4 a gallon and economic growth grinds to a standstill, many retail shops are feeling the pain. Consumers who don’t have as much disposable income are cutting back on clothing and accessories purchases. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped to its lowest level in 26 years last month, and several reports find that consumers will likely be spending their so-called economic stimulus payments on bills, not shopping sprees. But one retail category already is…
This week’s print IBJ is heavy on real estate news, just the way I like it. Check out some highlights:
Big plans for Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square Mall could look a lot like the…
A locally based property management firm is struggling to find a buyer for its downtown apartment complexes, even as the city’s
rental market continues to thrive. The privately owned Zender Family Limited Partnership, which was founded 38 years ago,
placed its 18-property apartment portfolio up for sale in November.
Carmel-based Allied Solutions LLC, which sells insurance, lending and market products to financial institutions, said today it has acquired a similar company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., for an undisclosed price. The Kansas City company, MJB Insurance Services Inc., operates in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. MJB owner Mike Button is remaining with Allied Solutions as […]
Bill Corley, who announced today that he will retire after 25 years as CEO of Community Health Network, says doctors nearly ran him out of the hospital within months of his arrival in 1984. Doctors mutinied because they tied Corley’s appearance to a new approach by the federal government to limit reimbursements for certain services. […]
Angela Braly, Wayne DeVeydt and the rest of the top brass at WellPoint Inc. face wrath over the company’s recent stock swoon
from a new group: ex-employees. Four former WellPoint workers have filed lawsuits against the Indianapolis-based health insurance
giant over the losses its 401(k) retirement plan suffered in March when the company slashed its profit forecast for the year.
Since arriving at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Tiffany Wedekind has rubbed shoulders with comic book characters, connected schoolteachers to learning activities, and made plans to travel abroad to help gather ancient Egyptian artifacts. She is not a seasoned veteran of the museum field, but a 22-year-old intern who will graduate from Marian College in December. What’s more, Wedekind is not alone. She is among at least 22 college students who will share similar experiences there this summer. Exposing interns…
Conseco Inc. hired one upper-level executive and promoted another one this week. The Carmel-based insurer hired Michael Farley as senior vice president and annuity and life actuary. Farley, 45, joins Conseco from ING Re, where he served from 2001 to 2007 as chief financial officer and chief insurance risk officer. Conseco also made its interim […]
HAMILTON COUNTY Carmel to sing virtues of Great American Songbook Carmel’s new 1,600-seat Regional Performing Arts Center has attracted a permanent resident. The Feinstein Foundation for the Education and Preservation of the Great American Songbook plans to relocate its headquarters there. The Feinstein Foundation, currently based in Los Angeles, holds museum artifacts that originally belonged […]
This month, 65-year-old Bill Corley gave his 18 months’ notice that he will be retiring as CEO of Community Health Network,
the third-largest hospital network based in Indianapolis. Perhaps Community’s board of directors needed so much time to replace
a man who has held his post so long-nearly 25 years. When Corley arrived in 1984, Community consisted of just one hospital
on Indianapolis’ east side. Today, it has five.
In 2000, gasoline cost 99 cents a gallon, you could barely give recyclable plastic away and the idea of manufacturers “going green” was a pioneering thought. Allegiant Global started that same year as Heritage Interactive Services, with one client and little market awareness of what industrial recycling and reuse initiatives meant. Heritage Interactive was started by principals of locally based Heritage Environmental Services, which was-and still is-involved in more traditional waste-disposal services. When one of Heritage Environmental’s clients, Michigan-based Lear…
Locally based HotBox Pizza plans to introduce its pies to a nationwide audience. The pizza chain won regulatory approval last week to begin selling franchises in Indiana, Michigan and Texas. The chain is…
It’s not easy filling the shoes of a 26-year news veteran. But Kristen Leigh Porter is going to try. Officials for the Indianapolis Star recently announced that Porter has been named to replace…
