Around town retail roundup
Loads of retail news to report today:
UPDATE: The Taste of Tango restaurant may be back on track. A sign on the door says the restaurant is “coming soon” and “now hiring.” Old…
Real Estate
Articles
Cheering up the real estate crowd
Imagine being asked to speak to a crowd hit by the biggest downturn in its industry in decades, and motivate
them to get back out there and keep selling. Or try to sell.
Thatâ??s what Dan Lappin faces when he speaks…
M&I sign appears atop skyscraper
The first of four M&I Bank signs has finally taken its place atop the former First Indiana Plaza. Workers were installing one of the signs…
Advisers get more bullish on ETF option: SEC decision may lead to widespread appeal of mutual-fund alternative
ETFs have been available in the United States since 1993 and are an alternative to mutual funds that trade just like stocks. But a decision earlier this year from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could broaden their appeal even more. An ETF is a “basket” of stocks that by itself trades on an exchange just like an individual stock. ETFs contain the assets of large or small companies, real estate investment trusts, international stocks, bonds and even gold. For…
Simon Property Group exploring overseas markets
Simon Property Group Inc. has been readying its balance sheet and sizing up buyout targets in hopes of capitalizing on
a worldwide markdown on shopping-center owners.
EYE ON THE PIE: Economic turmoil hinges on ignorance
What we don’t know does hurt us. Many builders constructed houses assuming there was a continuing strong market of qualified home buyers. Some mortgage brokers and some bankers gleefully ignored or misrepresented the abilities of home buyers to sustain homeownership. Too many home buyers did not bother to learn what their obligations as homeowners would be. They didn’t know about paying property taxes or how adjustable mortgage rates could escalate beyond their capabilities to meet their monthly payments. The companies…
VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: This Thanksgiving, start making plans for the future
Many of us will visit parents over Thanksgiving and the holiday might be just the time to have a hard-to-hold conversation about financial preparedness. While it can be a difficult conversation to have, its important for adult children to check in with aging parents to make sure they have a plan for retirement and estate needs. It is estimated that about 50 percent of American adults do not have a will, which can result in losing control of your financial…
Then & Now: The Dome
From architect Bob Hague: “I was a graduate architect just out of school responsible for building the study model, developing the construction documents and construction administration. Was involved in the project for 3 years. The rooftop tours are from 1983…
Burial in a ‘green’ cemetery
A funeral director is planning a â??greenâ?? cemetery west of Bloomington, where plots will be identified
by
small field stones tied to global-positioning coordinates rather than by traditional headstones.
Nathan Butlerâ??s Evergreen Forest Cemetery will look more like a natural landscape…
RIP, RCA Dome
Today is deflation day for the 24-year-old RCA Dome. Former Mayor Bill Hudnut is scheduled to begin letting the air out at 10:30 a.m. The stadium was built for $82 million…
Have we learned anything?
As Congress began debating a $700-billion bailout plan for institutions stung by loose lending practices, C.P. Morgan sent this e-mail last week:
And in a separate…
M&I Plaza, only 30-percent occupied, may sell at cut-rate price
A local real estate developer has emerged as a top contender to buy the 28-story M&I Plaza–potentially at half the
$50 million price the building fetched a decade ago. Paul Kite Co. confirmed it is in talks with Maryland-based
CapitalSource Inc., which took over the struggling office tower in June after foreclosing on a $5 million
mezzanine loan.
Hands-on strategy turns Mike’s Carwash into industry model
Mike’s Express Carwash makes money the old-fashioned way. The second-generation family affair, now celebrating its 60th
year, has invested its reserves in steady expansion, becoming a model for the $23.4 billion industry in
the process. And its owners still sweat the small stuff.
Orchestrating moves: Firm that specializes in relocating businesses conducting transition of its own
Moving coordinating company Relocation Strategies Inc. is used to dealing with companies in transition. Now the firm is undergoing one of its own-albeit of a different sort. Relocation Strategies founder David Bayse is relinquishing ownership to partner Melissa Lamb Brown in a purchase agreement set to be completed within the next four years. She already owns a majority of the business and will acquire the rest in stages. In the meantime, Bayse, 57, will continue to guide Brown, 39, who…
City Securities’ strategy: Stay true to your roots: State’s oldest investment bank avoided Wall St. woes
In recent days, as some of Wall Street’s most storied institutions teetered, the mood at Indiana’s largest and oldest investment firm was almost serene. City Securities Corp. managers tracked news tickers and consulted CEO Mike Bosway, who was on vacation in Ireland, via his BlackBerry. But their biggest concern wasn’t the financial underpinnings of their own company. It was tumbling stock prices, which depressed the value of the portfolios of their 15,000 clients. Bosway saw no need to rush home…
Ace eyes Fall Creek Place
King Park Area Development Corp. is in advanced talks with Ace Hardware to anchor a new retail project at the northeast corner of 22nd and…
Signs and the First Amendment
The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the case of a Plainfield man who says a city zoning ordinance
tramples his First Amendment right to free speech.
Plainfield officials told the man, Nick Crews, to take down a…
City, BW3 reach deal
The owners of downtown’s new BW3 and city planners have reached agreement on a new design. Changes shown in the rendering below include new lighting fixtures and removal of yellow “highlights” behind them, along with removal of black-and-white checkers on…
Group eyes new vision for Circle
A group of local business and civic leaders are hoping to transform Monument Circle into a grand public space in the European model, a pedestrian-friendly piazza that draws crowds year-round to…
Safeco weighs downtown exit; owners of insurer’s building market space
Insurance giant Safeco Corp. is expected to either vacate or scale back its downtown operation next year–a move that could
deal a major blow to the office market. At stake are about 700 downtown jobs, some or all of which could be eliminated or
shifted to the suburbs. A final decision about the fate of Safeco’s five-building downtown office complex likely will come
after Boston-based Liberty Mutual completes its $6.2 billion acquisition of Seattle-based Safeco.