Articles

Ownership snarl resolved, Illinois Building on block

An affiliate of locally based HDG Mansur has owned the 10-story building at Illinois and Market streets since the 1980s. It’s sat empty for 10 years, thanks in large part to separate ownership of the building and the land—an arrangement once common among downtown buildings.

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Prime Zionsville land inching toward development

Zionsville officials are working toward a late-May deadline for wrapping up a complicated plan to buy 91.3 acres of property from Dow Chemical Co.—clearing the way for commercial development worth an estimated $55 million.

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Tough times didn’t spur spike in poor relief

Heading into the 2008 recession, Center Township sat on $10.5 million in cash, but sky-high unemployment and rising poverty over the next four years failed to drain those funds, and the disconnect persists in several area townships.

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Investor places first bet on Zionsville’s Main Street

Eric Bretzman, an engineer for Chip Ganassi Racing, closed March 1 on the purchase of 40 S. Main and negotiated a new long-term lease with il Villagio, an Italian restaurant that has operated in the 4,000-square-foot building for 10 years.

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Bales trial in jury’s hands after colorful closings

During three hours of closing arguments Wednesday in the federal fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and William E. Spencer, a federal prosecutor and two top-tier Indianapolis defense attorneys delivered a series of memorable one-liners and rhetorical flourishes designed to stick with jurors.

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Defense rests in Bales trial after flurry of witnesses

Closing arguments are expected to begin Wednesday afternoon in the federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer after the defense raced through seven witnesses Tuesday and early Wednesday.

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Defense attorneys turn tough in Bales trial

The legal team representing real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer haven't called their first witness and already they're putting up a spirited fight as federal prosecutors seek to prove 13 charges including bank, mail and wire fraud.

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Defense attorneys in Bales case trash former co-defendant

Attorney and developer Paul J. Page is no longer a co-defendant in the fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer. But you wouldn’t know it from the action Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Only now, rather than federal prosecutors, it’s defense attorneys for Bales and Spencer who are targeting Page.

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Bales defense: Elkhart deal was a ‘scheme to help’

Facing a looming deadline to find suitable office space for the state Department of Child Services, Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer in 2008 dipped into their own pockets to help close a difficult lease deal, their defense attorneys contend.

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