Indianapolis has initiated the redevelopment process for Bush Stadium, its shuttered sports landmark. The Metropolitan Development
Commission has hired a pair of local firms for $25,000 to appraise historic Bush Stadium–a first step toward reuse or, more
likely, at least partial demolition.
White River Township in northwest Johnson County is dotted with an increasing number of high-priced homes and anchored by one of the area’s strongest school districts. But the area, known as Center Grove, also is marked by crumbling roads, poor drainage and an anemic parks system. To preserve its strengths and shore up its growing weaknesses, some in the area think White River Township needs to incorporate into its own city. The township of more than 40,000 residents faces the…
ExactTarget Inc.’s 2005 announcement that it would be moving into 30,000 square feet on Monument Circle and hiring 100 people over seven years seemed ambitious. Indianapolis was littered with the ashes of once-high-flying technology startups that had flamed out. But ExactTarget is fast becoming one of the city’s biggest technology success stories.
Lumasis.comFinding its niche Focus on small business pays off for Web design firm When Zionsville native Jamie Brown graduated from Purdue in 1995, most consumers were still in the dark about the possibilities the Internet could offer. Having been immersed in the Web while studying electrical engineering technology at Purdue, Brown linked up with a local Internet provider and started his first company, Computer Specialists. In 1997, the business morphed into Lumasis, a full-service Web site design and hosting company…
Pended home sales in the Indianapolis area fell 14.2 percent in August compared to a year earlier, according to residential real estate brokerage F.C. Tucker Co. The nine-county region generated 2,419 pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums. Such sales are signed but not closed. Tucker, which receives the information from the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board […]
Jaron Garrett hasn’t developed anything like the 25-story tower he’s proposing. And he doesn’t come close to having the financial
muscle to pull off the $30 million project on his own. But Garrett is determined to sell his vision of transforming a downtown
eyesore at Washington and Pennsylvania streets into a twisting glass-and-steel apartment tower.
The sliding value of the U.S. dollar is boosting financial results for some of Indiana’s big exporters. The dollar recently
hit its lowest point in 15 years against an index of other major currencies, such as the euro, the Chinese yuan and Canadian
dollar.
Jim Cornelius had such success selling Guidant Corp. last year that analysts can’t stop speculating when he’ll pull off a mega-merger at B r i s t o l – M y e r s Squibb, the firm he now leads. How about pairing it, for instance, with Eli Lilly and Co., where Cornelius used to be chief financial officer? “We’re about the same size. Both Sidney Taurel and John Lechleiter are former colleagues and good friends. You can never…
We don’t have to be obsessed with property taxes. All is not dreadful despite the clamor of some disaffected taxpayers. For example, La-Porte has two operating barbershops on the same street downtown. This warms the heart. Equally positive is finding an excellent housing stock in LaPorte, with many beautiful homes painted in a joyous, imaginative fashion. Can you believe the McDonald’s in Winamac opens at 4:30 a.m. and keeps its drive-through open 24 hours a day? That alone suggests a…
Hanging out at the art world’s water cooler, but don’t know how to break the ice? Here are several topics IBJ has identified that will be on the tips of the tongues wagging in the local arts scene. Read and discuss amongst yourselves. What do you think of Max Anderson’s leadership at the Indianapolis Museum of Art? Since taking over in mid-2006, staff say Anderson is constantly beating this drum: The IMA is a top-10 encyclopedic museum; it’s time we…
More than 18 months after flying out of a bankruptcy reorganization that unloaded $1 billion of debt and costly aircraft leases,
the parent of ATA Airlines still finds landing a profit elusive. Indianapolis-based Global Aero Logistics posted a loss of
$46.1 million in the first half of 2007, according to documents it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As Julian Opie’s pop art sculptures get carted away this week, officials are in talks with New York City artist Chakaia Booker
about featuring her work in next year’s public art blowout. Booker’s shtick-sculptures created entirely from used tires.
You have an auto accident, but you have insurance. You’ve religiously paid your premiums, so when you arrive to pick up your repaired vehicle at the auto body shop, you are shocked to discover that your auto insurance company has gone under, the shop hasn’t been paid, and it won’t release your car. At this point, despair sets in, but is soon replaced with hope in the form of the guaranty fund systems in place to cover claims of insolvent…
Bloomington-based Author Solutions Inc. is purchasing a big rival-a move that reflects consolidation in the self-publishing industry as firms like Amazon.com take a bigger share of the business. Author Solutions, which operates as AuthorHouse, agreed to buy Nebraska-based iUniverse. Terms were not disclosed. Since its founding in 1997, Authorhouse has produced more than 45,000 books. […]
Two of the city’s largest and most visible construction projects so far have committed roughly $300 million in contracts to minority and women business owners-a healthy sum that has the owners meeting most of their obligations. The $1.1 billion midfield terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport and the $700 million Lucas Oil Stadium are on pace to be finished the second half of 2008. All told, that’s roughly $1.8 billion in construction contracts that ultimately will be awarded. With 80…
Citizens Gas & Coke Utility shuttered its coke manufacturing plant earlier this summer, much to the relief of neighbors and
health officials who warned that its benzene emissions were a cancer threat. But regulatory filings show closing the plant
at Keystone Avenue and Prospect Street could result in more pollution downtown.
At last, we have a commission working to see if we can improve government in Indiana through reorganization. Former Gov. Joe Kernan and Supreme Court Justice Randy Shepard are leading the effort. Some of us are concerned that the commission has been established to find ways not to improve government services, but to cut local property taxes. The two goals might not work in the same direction. Public libraries are often cited as ripe for consolidation. There are 238 of…
No environmentalist would mistake Indianapolis for the poster child of green building, but local designers and contractors are preparing themselves to capture a market they expect will become an integral piece of their portfolios. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard, better known as LEED, is a benchmark of sorts for designing, building and operating environmentally friendly buildings. At least 16 projects in the metropolitan area are seeking the LEED certification, but only one so far has achieved green…
“Be Indypendent” bumper stickers are popping up all over town. They’ve been stuck to the side of Dumpsters and the back of everything from VW bugs to cable repair trucks since debuting in July. The curious who follow the message back to its Web site discover an effort to get everyday consumers interested in buying locally produced artwork. The site (www.beindypendent.org) already has had nearly 2,000 hits from seven countries and 35 states, and now campaign organizers are looking to…
I recall being on the football field at Ball State University in November of 1996, moments after the Cardinals had clinched the Mid-American Conference championship. The head coach, Bill Lynch, was exceedingly thrilled, as you might expect. But he also was exceedingly humble, deflecting the credit and making sure the spotlight was focused not on him, but on his players. Fast forward to 1999, when Ball State was in the throes of a losing streak that was to reach 21…
