Eroding home equity & BW3

Indianapolis has won the dubious distinction of third place on a Forbes magazine list of the nation’s “Most In-Debt Households”. The magazine uses numbers from Moody’s Economy.com to establish which of the nation’s top 200 cities have lost the most wealth to declining home equity. The average home equity in the Indianapolis area is about $24,470 or 26 percent in 2008, down since 2004, when the average was $42,320 or 42 percent. Full article.

Update: BW3 controversy

BW3 franchise owner Pete Watson met with city planning officials last week to discuss the restaurant’s unapproved facade and promised to have his architect submit proposed changes, even as workers continued with the installation of signs and awnings. Senior Planner Jeff York said the city has sent an inspection team and will consider a stop-work order if the developers don’t cooperate. He said the existing facade will not be approved. Watson said he was under the impression the city had approved the new look, which he said is part of the chain’s new standard “trade dress.” There could be a major hurdle for any changes: The restrooms sit against the front facade, meaning any major revamp could require interior changes as well. The Circles and Squares blog has more. Original post here.