Some industry insiders worry that, while Indianapolis is busy chasing bigger conventions, adjoining counties may raid the cupboard made plentiful by investments within Marion County, particularly downtown.
Westfield Mayor Andy Cook is proposing a $60 million youth sports complex with a 4,000-seat multipurpose outdoor
stadium, indoor sports facilities and sports fields with the goal of establishing the Hamilton County community as the "Family Sports Capital
of America."
Last week, I made a presentation about social media to several hundred people at a Carmel Chamber of Commerce luncheon. We talked about Facebook and Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, LinkedIn, blogging and more. I didn’t answer the "how-to" question. I answered the "whether-to" question. With some important cautions, my answer was "yes."
When Mr. G’s Liquor opened in 1977, the wines du jour were Madera and Blue Nun. Bartels & Jaymes wine coolers were all the
rage, and few of us had heard of craft beer. Today, Mr. G’s is in its third location, where a 36-foot wall of whiskeys, vodkas
and gins is rivaled only by the kiosks fully laden with local, domestic and imported wines and beers chilling in coolers.
The mayor of Westfield announced plans this morning to build a $60 million youth sports complex with a 4,000-seat multipurpose outdoor stadium, indoor sports facilities, and fields for baseball, soccer, softball and lacrosse. The sports facilities would anchor a 1,500-acre development by locally based Estridge Co. along Towne Road between 146th and 161st streets.
The old adage that retail follows rooftops is only partially true; retail also follows taxpayer-funded incentives.
Mudsocks Grill offers a delicious grilled tilapia sandwich, blue-cheese-laden-pasta and Chili Con Queso. Try the fried cheesecake
too.
Lauth Properties alleges in a lawsuit that the state’s plan to rebuild 13 miles of U.S. 31 in Hamilton County to freeway standards
will cut off access to a property it owns in Westfield, killing plans for a Wal-Mart there.
A Texas developer of retirement communities has targeted Carmel for a style of assisted living new to the Indianapolis area that offers on-site health care for the unusual arrangement of a fi xed monthly fee.
Sitting in gridlocked traffic along Interstate 69, Fishers residents might already think of their town as
a city. This sprawling suburb of 65,000 people certainly looks nothing like the burg of less than 1,000 it was three decades ago.
But down at the municipal government complex, Fishers is still a town, just as it was incorporated in 1891.
Business at Carmel-based Appel Heating and Air Conditioning isn’t cooling off, despite the nation’s economic woes. Revenue
continues to increase as the industry becomes more environmentally friendly.
Despite the recession, Hamilton County continues to enjoy economic growth from both old companies and new ones.
An Ohio developer and the town of Fishers have agreed to cancel a 2007 development agreement that called for a $100-million
mixed-use project featuring 250,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of office.
Carmel Mayor James Brainard is trying to convince his city to pay up to $52 million more than the original amount allocated
for a roundabout interchange project designed to ease congestion on Keystone Avenue.
Conner Prairie wants to pay homage to early aviator John Wise with a balloon ride that recalls his August
1859 trip from Lafayette at the helm of a gas-filled balloon bound for New York City with the nation’s first
air-mail delivery. An ill wind blew him Wisecourse, ending his flight in Crawfordsville, but he still earned
a place in history–and a U.S. Postal Service-issued stamp honoring his pioneering effort.
A fast-growing Carmel startup is using a blend of innovative software and human guides to answer questions over the phone.
The company could have located on either coast, but instead chose Carmel’s Clay Terrace. And the company, Interactions Corp.,
has raised more than twice as much money as ChaCha Search Inc., a higher-profile startup in a similar business that’s also
housed in Clay Terrace.
A local candy maker has found the sweet spot in an industry where startup efforts often go sour. Founded in 2006, Carmel-based
Candy Dynamics is making a name for itself with its unusual "double-action" sour recipe, eye-catching packaging
and unforgettable names like Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy, Nuclear Sludge and Hi-Voltage Bubble Gum.
Two giants of local business are preparing to slug it out in court over a soured sublease deal. Marsh Supermarkets filed
suit in Hamilton County this month to enforce a deal with Swiss pharmaceutical and medical-equipment powerhouse
Roche to sublease the grocer’s entire 148,000-square-foot headquarters in Fishers. The deal, worth more
than $47 million over 18 years, is one of the largest of its kind in central Indiana in years.
A multi-court basketball fieldhouse is doing such brisk business in Fishers, its owners have decided to franchise the operation.
Scott Burton, CEO of The Fieldhouse, said deals have already been signed with franchisees in Merrillville and in Naperville,
Ill.
At least 35 new bank branches have sprouted in Hamilton County in the last three years, and more are on the way. Familiar
names like Charter One and Chase have added eight and seven branches, respectively. Other institutions are entering the market.
