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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: What you can do if you’re concerned about your pension

Will your company’s traditional pension plan be there when you retire, and what can you do now to prepare for the possibility that it might not be there? The last few years have seen the implosion of several major corporate pension plans, particularly in the airline and steel industries. Hundreds of other companies have reported to the federal government that if their pension plan ended today, they wouldn’t have enough money to pay their future obligations. But there are steps…

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Busy session for insurance forces: Compact passage highlights plethora of industry-related legislation considered by the General Assembly

State lawmakers also killed a bill that offers “mandate lite” health coverage and kept the topic of vicious dogs at bay during the 2005 legislative session. Insurance lobbyists and regulators say they just wrapped up one of the busiest sessions in recent memory. Topics ran a wide gamut and crowded committee calendars. Last year, five industry-supported bills made it through the General Assembly, according to Dan Tollefson, corporate counsel for the state Department of Insurance. This year, 15 did, and…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Here’s the skinny on 70 mph

Remember back in 1973, at the height of the Arab oil embargo, when President Nixon mandated a 55-mileper-hour speed limit on the nation’s interstates? That nearly drove me crazy. Like many Americans, I made a habit of fudging on the existing 70 mph limit. I cruised the highways at around 80 mph, making excellent time to all my destinations. Fifty-five put a major crimp in my style. We had a chance to go back to 70 mph when President Clinton…

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A business-friendly approach: New insurance boss hopes to speed approval process, attract firms to state

Jim Atterholt may not have been the governor’s top choice to lead the Indiana Department of Insurance. But the former state representative who has dedicated his career to public service is no consolation pick, either. Those who know the 43-year-old Atterholt say his calm demeanor and his sharp people skills should serve him well in his new role as an administrator. He took the helm as commissioner Feb. 22, about a month after Harold Calloway declined the appointment. Atterholt since…

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Competition stakes claim on hospital’s turf: Dialysis center would sit 1 block south of Methodist

A real estate company has filed plans to build a medical office building and dialysis center downtown, in the shadow of Methodist Hospital and Clarian Health Partners. A and T Realty wants to plop a 13,416-square-foot office on what now is a parking lot a block south of Methodist, according to plans filed with the city. The development has no connection to Clarian, according to Mike Quinn, a lawyer representing A and T. Clarian, whose three downtown hospitals all offer…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Big investors turn up heat on tiny Century Realty

Big money from the coasts has been pouring into one of the nation’s most obscure publicly traded real estate companies-India n a p o l i s – b a s e d apartment owner Century Realty Trust-helping to propel the sleepy stock more than 50 percent higher over the past year. Here’s a sure bet: The investors didn’t become interested because they’re suddenly enamored with 74-year-old Chairman Jack Bradshaw’s slow-and-steady management approach. Quite the opposite, says one of the…

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Mansion tenant’s HQ networks with history: Levey building’s interior design mixes new with the old

At the Louis Levey Mansion on North Meridian Street, the blending of past, present and future greets visitors as they walk through the heavy arched doors of Networks Financial Institute’s headquarters. In the entry hallway, a receptionist with all the latest technology on her desk sits under a Victorian-era stained-glass skylight. Around her, contemporary art hangs next to elaborately carved wood molding on the walls. Futuristic glass-and-chrome lighting fixtures hang from the ceilings, one of which has an original painted…

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Vote sets up big switch for Standard: Company awaits insurance department’s approval of sale

With two key shareholder votes in his favor, Standard Management Corp. Chairman and CEO Ron Hunter made major strides last week in remaking the Indianapolis holding company. Common-stock shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale of Standard Life Insurance Co. and Dixie National Life Insurance Co. to Louisville-based Capital Assurance Corp. May 18. Later that day, the company announced most of the holders of its trust-preferred securities agreed to a plan that preserves more than $20 million in cash for Standard in…

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Heartland Golf Cars and Equipment Co.: Golf cars have become hot commodity Local firm has ridden the trend to profitability ram said. He credits solid financing at startup as key to the success of Heartland. To anyone interested in starting a business, he

ram said. He credits solid financing at startup as key to the success of Heartland. To anyone interested in starting a business, he advises, “Don’t go into it on a shoestring. You have to have a business plan and be committed to working long hours. It’s not only working harder, it’s the workmanship, too. It may sound like an old cliché, but it’s very true.” * Golf cars are no longer just for sport. These electric- or gasoline-powered cars may…

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Elite execs raking it in: As pay swells, critics urge restraint

Special Report: Elite execs raking it in As pay swells, critics urge restraint Highest-paid Indiana public company executives in fiscal ’04. Includes salary, bonus and other annual compensation, as well as long-term pay and stock option grants. 1) includes $1.7 million signing bonus received upon becoming CEO and president in August 2004 Turns out life’s certainties stretch way beyond the cliché about death and taxes, especially in corporate Indiana. If you’re a top executive at one of Indiana’s biggest public…

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Stutz’s future includes condos: Developer envisions high-rise, nightclub as part of biz center

Stutz Business Center owner and visionary Turner Woodard last month rolled out a 10-year master plan for the Stutz that could bring condominiums, retail and a high-rise tower to the former auto-manufacturing plant at 10th Street and Capitol Avenue. Right now, Woodard concedes many of his plans are dreams. But with a blossoming life sciences corridor just to the west along the Central Canal, Woodard said he wants the 80-year-old Stutz to continue to be a hub of activity as…

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Cleanliness is being undervalued EYE ON THE PIE Morton Marcus:

This column has been too glum recently. That is the result of observing what happens in the General Assembly where the many good things done (for example: a stiffer open alcohol container bill) are outweighed by the silliness (daylight-saving time). Let’s take a rest and praise some people who are doing something noble and important. A coalition of clergy, civic groups and labor unions are trying to get higher wages and benefits for janitors in the Indianapolis area. Currently, most…

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New CEO’s ‘crash diet’ tones up ailing bank: After cutting its expenses, Old National plans to grow in central Indiana markets

Now it’s time for Old National to block and tackle. “Bob Jones has set forth a plan that makes good, sound fundamental sense. Now it becomes about execution,” said Joe Stieven, equity analyst with St. Louis-based Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. “Execution in banking is actually no different than in football. Your line has to do a lot of the work, and a lot of that work appears mundane and boring.” Formerly the CEO of Cleveland-based KeyCorp’s McDonald Investments Inc.,…

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An unemployment riddle defies logical explanation ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Patrick Barkey:

You may not believe it, but the data tell us it is true. Indiana is leading the Midwest in job growth. In fact, through the last 14 months, the state’s employers have kept up with the national economy in net job creation, while Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan have seen their job totals remain stubbornly stagnant. But just as we are getting out the party hats to celebrate, along comes news of an entirely different tone on unemployment rates. The process…

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Sales, new spec space in the cards at Intech: Intech One and Two likely to fetch top dollar, draw national interest, investment broker says

Two years ago, Lauth Property Group Inc.’s Intech Park was arguably the most prominent sign of central Indiana’s soft office market. The northwest-side park’s largest buildings, Intech One and Two, had entire floors vacant and awaiting completion. Acterna LLC was pulling out of its 140,000-square-foot building, a retreat symbolic of the technology bust’s effect on the larger suburban office market. Today, helped by a robust investment market and Intech’s recent state designation as a certified technology park, Lauth hopes the…

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Hilbert defeated on life policies: Conseco had purchased $87.5M in coverage in ’98

Seven years ago, Conseco Inc. purchased $87.5 million in life insurance coverage for company founder Stephen Hilbert and his wife, a move that seemed to assure vast wealth would pass on to the Hilbert family after their deaths. But in a new ruling, Chicago bankruptcy Judge Carol Doyle said Conseco’s obligation to provide coverage terminated when the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in December 2002. As a result, she ruled, Hilbert family trusts, which had filed millions of dollars…

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Charter service center works to broaden its reach: Collaborative programs a focus for organization

No charter school is an island-at least not from Kevin Teasley’s perspective. In fact, the independence at the very core of the charter movement creates demand for the kind of assistance his Charter School Service Center offers. “The fact that we have our own charter school makes us more helpful to others,” said Teasley, CEO of Indianapolis-based Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation. “We know what they need. Or at least we think we do.” GEO Foundation, which operates 21st Century Charter…

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Experts see improving market: Higher occupancy rates, more construction projects mean good news for landlords, developers

IBJ: Is your sector of the construction or real estate industry better or worse off than a year ago and why? BURK: Overall, I think the Indianapolis office market is better off than it was a year ago. The occupancy rate for the 29-million-plus square feet of multitenant office properties in the market increased by about 2 percent last year, to 82.5 percent. There was positive net absorption of about 600,000 square feet, most of which occurred in the suburbs….

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Health builders thinking small: Local hospital development in for change

Just north of Indianapolis, Clarian Health Partners plans to open a 170-bed hospital this December, a suburban complement to the 76-bed hospital it opened last December in Avon. To the south, St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers unveiled a heart center in March, counterbalancing the two stand-alone heart hospitals that sprang up on the north side a few years ago. These projects offer a snapshot of how health care development has progressed over the past few years in central Indiana….

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Going behind the numbers to understand price indexes

The joke about economists is that we talk about money but we don’t have any. And when it comes to having power and wealth, the status of those who compile the economic statistics we all consume is usually several notches below even that of the lowly economist. Most are employed by government agencies, after all. And the last time I checked, I didn’t see anyone from the Forbes 100 list on a public payroll. But the numbers these anonymous statisticians…

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