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Ex-Meridian CEO takes top talent to new firm: AHM Graves, Carmen fold into Resource

The sudden departure of Samuel F. Smith II from locally based Meridian Real Estate is proving to have a ripple effect in the local brokerage community. Smith’s new firm, Resource Commercial Real Estate, is up to six principals and 12 full-time brokers weeks after its official launch, and partners hint there may be more to come. Two small firms, Carmel-based AHM Graves Commercial Real Estate Services and Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services, have merged with Resource. The new company is…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Brothers who built ticket broker now battling

The Kinnett brothers formed Front Row Tickets Inc. 16 years ago, and together they built it into one of the city’s largest ticket brokerages. That success, how- fueled acrimony. Kyle ever, now has Kinnett, 35, has sued his 50-50 partner Scott, 36, and is asking a judge to appoint a receiver to oversee the business until it’s sold. “Serious differences have arisen between Kyle and Scott concerning the conduct and management of the business,” leaving them deadlocked, according to the…

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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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Kite’s plan sparking controversy: Condos near Fashion Mall likely to face ‘battle royal’

A partnership headed by Paul Kite has ambitious plans for a mixed-use development featuring midrise condominium towers and retail space on the last undeveloped corner of 86th Street and Keystone Avenue. A proposal from PK Capital LLC, Kite’s partnership, calls for more than 180 condos and about 60,000 square feet of retail space on the north side of 86th Street between Haverstick Road and Keystone Avenue. The 10-acre property lies just south of Our Lady of Peace Cemetery and a…

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Massive retail project on tee: Britton Golf Course buyers plan 85-acre development that could rival Clay Terrace

The development group that invested $16 million to buy Britton Golf Course in Fishers is pressing forward with its plan to convert the property into a retail center that would rival Clay Terrace in Carmel. The purchase earlier this month, following Fishers Town Council approval, represents the first significant real estate project for the group of local investors formed under the Britton Park Development LLC name. Bordering State Road 37 and East 131st Street, the 104-acre golf course is the…

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Michigan Road project features upscale shops: Smaller version of Café Patachou planned for property

Developers of a small parcel of property on the northwest side are creating a courtyard of quaint shops that will feature an offshoot of the Café Patachou boutique restaurant. Daniel Altman and his wife, Colleen, bought the piece of land at the corner of 51st Street and Michigan Road last year and opened the upscale Catalpa Antiques & Objects in the historic home that sits on the property. Once completed, the Catalpa Place development will include five shops within a…

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With cash tight, ATA trading new planes for old: Smaller version of 737 can be loaded and unloaded more quickly, allowing for more flights per day

Plans by ATA Holdings Corp. to slash its number of aircraft by nearly half include replacing its sleek, new jets with smaller, older Boeing 737s that can fly more trips daily, generating more cash than the larger planes that now dominate its fleet. The Indianapolis-based parent of ATA Airlines wants to lease a dozen 737-300s and 737-500s-relatively stubby planes that date as far back as 1984. Meanwhile, ATA is returning 18 of the 33 Boeing 737-800s it had at the…

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Kite Realty ponders future of Glendale: Mall’s lackluster performance could lead to overhaul, sale

Locally based Kite Realty Group Trust is exploring selling or redeveloping Glendale Mall, the company said in its annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Those are among “several strategic alternatives” Kite is considering for the north-side shopping center, according to the March 30 filing, the most definitive acknowledgement by Kite to date that its redevelopment of Glendale in 2000 never fully took wing. Kite bought the mall in 1999 for $20 million and sunk another $11…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Be yourself-maximize your assets

Be who you are. Conversely, don’t try to be somebody you’re not. Focus on what you do best, and you’ll succeed. When we think of people who excel at anything … Joshua Bell playing the violin, Reggie Miller shooting three-pointers, Dr. Lawrence Einhorn treating cancer … we understand they have achieved their success by focusing on their God-given talents, developing them, and practicing, practicing, practicing. Communities are much the same, though the philosophy could be amended to read a more…

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New owner brings hope for Eastgate property: Demolition would pave way for redevelopment

Every end is a beginning, the proverb goes. Accordingly, the probable demolition of nearly vacant Eastgate Mall by new owners JTL Capital LLC isn’t causing much heartbreak among city officials and east-side residents. “I was thrilled to hear they plan to demolish [Eastgate],” said Ruth Ann Walker, a member of the Warren Township Development Commission. “It opens that parcel up for bigger and better things.” What that might be isn’t yet clear, and Dallas-based JTL so far has divulged little…

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INVESTING: Though energy sector remains hot, avoid the herd

In July, I wrote about a few stocks that might help an investor take advantage of the rising oil prices. Up to the April 4 close, here are the results of those three stocks: Veritas, up 33 percent; XTO Energy, up 56 percent; San Juan Trust, up 60 percent. The energy industry needs another look right now. High oil prices are a hot topic everywhere, and the low-hanging fruit of returns has been picked. I don’t want to make a…

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The challenge of change: Switching hotel flags can be hard work, but operators say new brands pay off

As general manager of the new Hilton Indianapolis North, Mark Deinhart has a lot on his plate these days. But the hefty portions include more than his duties supervising the hotel’s revamped restaurant as part of a $5 million renovation. The former Omni North Hotel on Shadeland Avenue near Interstate 69 converted to the Hilton brand after Norwalk, Conn.-based HEI Hospitality bought it last August. The flag change came with the renovation on the side, making the switch to a…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Conseco cloud follows Cuneo to Duke Realty J&J dangles big dollars

Conseco Inc. is suing former executive Ngaire Cuneo to try to collect $65 million it says she owes under the company’s disastrous loan program. Worse, a federal judge last summer said the explanation she gave in court for buying a $10 million home in the debtor’s haven of Florida was “not at all credible.” “It appears to the court that the transactions were carried out primarily for the purpose of defeating a creditor,” federal Judge David Hamilton said last June,…

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King Memorial Park area readies for redevelopment: Local contractor wants to build 50 homes in near-north-side neighborhood

A local investment firm hoping to capitalize on a resurgent near-north side is planning a 50-home, privately funded redevelopment project in the blocks surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park. Homevestors LLC, led by husband and wife Jerry and Carole Jaquess, has applied for city approval to build 50 single-family homes between 16th and 22nd streets just south of Fall Creek Place. “It’s the next logical area” for redevelopment, said Jerry Jaquess, a general contractor. Jaquess’ partnership is not affiliated…

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Y&L moving HQ to school: Ad firm to leave Massachusetts Avenue for renovated IPS building in Lockerbie

Advertising agency Young & Laramore is putting its highprofile Massachusetts Avenue building up for sale as it prepares to buy and occupy a former school building in Lockerbie Square. Y&L is listing its 17,000-square-foot building at 409 Massachusetts Ave. for $1.6 million, said Paul Knapp, the firm’s CEO. The building includes 4,000 square feet of storage space in the basement, leaving about 13,000 square feet as usable office space, Knapp said. The agency is leaving its headquarters behind after 15…

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BULLS & BEARS: Understanding the effect of increasing interest rates

Interest rates are a major variable in the evaluation of any investment, whether it’s stocks, bonds, real estate … you name it. As interest rates change, they alter the value of all financial assets. Simple mathematics shows that, as interest rates rise, the present value of a dollar to be received tomorrow is worth less to an investor today. Thus, when interest rates rise, the prices of all investments move down in value. And conversely, when interest rates fall, investment…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: New tax law provides significant deductions for industry Contractors, architects, engineers stand to benefit For example Replacement legislation Another example

A new tax break known as the “Production Deduction” was signed into law by President Bush late last year and is effective for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2004. Construction contractors and engineers and architects involved in construction projects can benefit from this important new tax deduction. Upon announcement, the legislation raised many issues, and the IRS recently issued guidance to clarify them. For 2005 and 2006, the deduction is equal to the lesser of 3 percent of the taxpayer’s…

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Purdue ousts biz guru: Director fired amid shakeup of high-profile tech incubator

The billboards read “Go Businessmakers,” but the yellow flag is up. Purdue University is reorganizing its primary program to assist high-tech startups and has fired the director. Part of Purdue’s nationally recognized effort to transform raw university research into viable businesses, the Gateways Program had been managed since October 1998 by Sam Florance, a former investment banker and management consultant. Purdue closed Gateways and eliminated Florance’s position on March 14, IBJ has learned. On March 18, Joseph B. Hornett, senior…

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Indiana State Bar Association embraces construction: Organization starts Construction and Surety Law section to help lawyers who work in building-related fields

A new section of the Indiana State Bar Association is a little out of the ordinary. The Construction and Surety Law section, which went into operation last fall, focuses on a specific industry instead of a specialized area of the legal practice, such as liability or contract law. This approach is pretty uncommon for state bar associations, Indiana State Bar Association officials said. “This section represents the cutting edge for bar membership,” said Section Vice Chairman David J. Theising, a…

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Barton House awaits renovation: Former nursing home to become housing

A long-vacant downtown nursing home is about to find new life as affordable housing. The Indiana division of the Salvation Army plans to convert the Barton House on the northeast corner of Delaware and Michigan streets into 30 apartments for lowincome families and space for some of the organization’s programs. The Salvation Army purchased Barton House and Carpenter apartments, its neighbor to the east, for about $500,000 each in late 1999, said Maj. Dennis Strissel, the Salvation Army’s divisional commander…

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