Four score and a canal conundrum
A community group is calling on state and local government officials to preserve a one-acre lot along the Central Canal as Lincoln Park in honor of the former president. The narrow strip…
Real Estate
Articles
Trustee inches toward redeveloping property portfolio
Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer and his predecessors have stockpiled more than money over the years. The trustee’s office
also holds a portfolio of mostly undeveloped properties worth at least $10 million. Several key parcels have been on the trustee’s
books-and off the tax rolls-for decades. Drummer has made some progress in finding uses for the properties since an IBJ special
report first questioned his holdings in November 2006. But it would have to be measured in inches. The most…
Commentary: A story we all should heed
Last month, Brightpoint Inc. Chairman and CEO Bob Laikin was honored with Indiana University’s Distinguished Entrepreneurs-In-Residence Award. If the selection committee was looking for an executive with pluck, it chose well. The IU Kelley School of Business hosts the Distinguished Entrepreneurs-In-Residence program to inspire students and help them learn about the challenges of starting or expanding an emerging business. Laikin’s tumultuous and exciting journey left the students as dizzy as a day-long ride on the Kings Island Beast. Laikin founded…
Winona trustee still fighting hospital creditors, ex-owner
Paul Gresk, the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the liquidation of Winona Memorial Hospital, is pushing for a showdown in court
to prove his claims that Winona’s former owner, Leland Medical Centers Inc., illegally transferred more than $4 million out
of Winona.
Law firms making green push: Environmental teams provide marketing boost
The next generation of environmental law is coming to a firm near you. Many law firms have existing practices that counsel clients on the complexities of complying with air and water permits or cleaning up contaminated properties. But now that the corporate sector is embracing “green” initiatives quicker than Al Gore accumulates carbon credits, environmental law is becoming as sexy as, say, intellectual property. Two of the city’s largest firms-Ice Miller LLP and Baker & Daniels LLP-recently unveiled so-called “green”…
A smorgasbord of topics
Workers are installing Flagstar Bank signs on the One North Penn building this week, including a sign atop the 13-story building. What do you think of the sign and…
Retail roundup features new arrivals
Not all news is bad for retail. A few stores are planning their first Indianapolis locations, while others are expanding. By popular demand, here’s the Around Town Retail Roundup:
Zumiez, an action-sports retailer, has…
Greenwood Value City closing
Value City will have two remaining Indianapolis locations, at 6002 E. 38th St. and 5110 Pike Plaza Rd.
New developments coming soon
Seen one of these signs? There are plenty around town. Here are a few notable projects slated for Metropolitan Development Commission hearings: Locally based Herman & Kittle Properties Inc. is proposing…
Veterans group moving downtown
The Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation is renovating a two-story building near the Central Library to serve as its new headquarters. The not-for-profit group, which now is located at the former…
Green developer has $20M pipeline
Is green development finally catching on in Indianapolis? The four owners of Casa Verde LLC certainly hope so. The company has plans for a $14-million, LEED-certified condo project in Columbus. In Indianapolis,…
Financial crisis offers opening for banks’ market-share reshuffling
Market observers rank today’s credit crisis on par with some of the ugliest moments in U.S. banking history. News service
Bloomberg predicted fourth-quarter lending losses could make it “the worst earnings period for the financial industry since
the Great Depression.” Yet amid the carnage, financial institutions are sniffing around for opportunities.
Developer with environmental bent has $20M pipeline of projects
Expensive suits and luxury cars are standard issue for most developers, but not for the owners of locally based Casa Verde
LLC. Three of four owners sport beards. They build only Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certified
projects. But don’t let the hippie image mask the company’s mission: Make green by building green.
Pedestrian bridge to state park still in the works: White River venues think hotel complex will be a boost
Developers of the $425 million hotel complex downtown still are working out plans for a pedestrian bridge spanning Washington Street that will connect it to White River State Park. Merrillville-based White Lodging Co. and Indianapolis-based REI Real Estate Services proposed a connector-either a bridge or an underground tunnel-in early designs of the convention hotel complex at the southwest corner of West and Washington streets. Although later site plans did not include the link, REI President Mike Wells said the developers…
Retail woes continue with Cabela’s
Banking on the regional draw of outdoor retail giant Cabela’s, developers have been planning more than 100 acres of hotels, a water park, restaurants and other retail space for the southwest corner of…
Old Centrum to close
The Old Centrum is scheduled to close at the end of March, leaving an uncertain future for the former Central
Avenue United Methodist Church at 12th and Central. The…
Tony townhouses on Penn
Indianapolis developer Axia Urban LLP is putting the finishing touches on Penn Townhouses, a part of its Meridian at 21 development north of downtown. From the outside,…
Inside the new convention center
Ratio Architects today unveiled detailed interior plans for a $275-million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. The light-filled expansion will feature elevated walkways and a carpet pattern designed to mimic the Hoosier landscape. The plans were revealed at a meeting…
INVESTING: How to remain rational amid market’s turmoil
We can let the mar ket mouthpieces and economists debate whether we are offi cially in a bear market or a recession, but investors don’t need labels to know times are tough. One year ago at this time, the financial world was idyllic Credit was cheap and plentiful. The largest private equity takeover in history was nearing completion, with Sam Zell selling his Equity Office Properties for $40 billion to the Blackstone Group (signaling the market top for real estate…
Busy year, no whoppers: Deals were numerous in 2007, but lack of blockbuster holds overall price tag down
The Indianapolis area didn’t experience a monster-size business transaction in 2007 like it has in recent years, but that doesn’t mean the deal-makers weren’t busy. IBJ’s annual list of Big Deals tracked more large business transactions involving Indianapolis-area companies than ever before in 2007, even though the total dollar amount of the deals was dramatically lower than the previous year’s. Deals compiled by the Indianapolis Business Journal that closed in 2007 totaled $23.4 billion, well below the $38.5 billion posted…