Back in time: Buildings in the news
First off, an update on the new plans for the Grain Dealers building: London Witte Group has hired locally based Lynn Hines Design Associates to…
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City to BW3: Not so fast
City planners are seeing red over the bright yellow facade at a new Buffalo Wild Wings under construction along Washington Street downtown. Turns…
Popular Crawfords bakery closing
Crawfords Bakery & Deli is closing its retail bakery at 16th Street and Capital Avenue across from Methodist Hospital. The local company, established in 1981, will continue operating a 25,000-square-foot wholesale…
Tower House proposal dead
A local accounting firm has bought the Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance building along Meridian Street for its headquarters after a local developer couldn’t…
Marsh sues Roche over sublease deal
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.
Mortgage industry under more scrutiny: Tougher rules don’t include yield-spread premiums
A housing crunch resulting from a flood of foreclosures has cast the spotlight on the deceptive practices that cause borrowers-particularly those with weak credit-to unknowingly pay more than necessary for a mortgage. The Federal Reserve earlier this month unanimously approved new lending rules in an attempt to tighten standards and prevent another such crisis. The changes will apply to all mortgage lenders and take effect Oct. 1, 2009. In the subprime category, a lender will have to assess a borrower’s…
Government officials dangle incentives, attracting firms across county lines
Marion County economic development officials are proud of their latest headquarters attraction. Bowen Engineering Corp.
will inject 103 high-paying jobs into the Indianapolis economy immediately. And over time, the company expects
to add another 138. Their average salaries will top $70,000. The deal didn’t require Mayor Greg Ballard
to travel to Japan, or even to another state. Bowen Engineering is moving all of 8.4 miles, from its former
home in Fishers to the 8800 block of North Meridian Street.
BEHIND THE NEWS: Former Carmel exec goes from fast lane to jail cell
Just a few years ago, Carmel businessman Edward Okun was living the high life. By last year, his personal holdings had grown to include four mansions, a helicopter, three airplanes, 20 automobiles, and a 130-foot yacht. Today, Okun is in a Virginia jail, is represented by a public defender, and faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars. And, angry investors say, rightfully so. They charge-and government investigators agree-that Okun financed his lavish lifestyle by misappropriating…
Independent coffee shops feeling perkier than Starbucks
At a time when Starbucks is closing hundreds of stores nationwide, he and other local independent coffeehouse owners say they’re doing just fine, largely because they’re infusing their stores with personality and offering consumers an experience chain stores can’t replicate.
BW3, Madame Walker & Adobo
Wow, what a busy day. First off: No luck so far snagging a rendering of the new Buffalo Wild Wings under construction along Washington Street…
Updating disabilities regulations
Eighteen years have passed since the Americans with Disabilities Act opened doors for people who hadnâ??t been
able to participate in much of American society â?? and brought a corresponding flood of construction costs
and lawsuits.
Now the Justice Department is…
Suit challenges Pan Am move
A local attorney filed a lawsuit today challenging a city maneuver that cleared the way for private redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza. The suit, available
10 local Starbucks will be among 600 nationwide closings
At least 10 local Starbucks stores are slated to close by early next year as part of a 600-store nationwide purge. The chain
has named only 50 of the stores it plans to close, including two in Indiana, but it has notified the others. Those include
at least six in Indianapolis and stores in Carmel, Greenwood and Beech Grove.
Kempton is red-hot
Ever heard of Kempton? Itâ??s a burg between Indianapolis and Kokomo that just happens to be the second-fastest
growing town in the state.
Kemptonâ??s population last year was 716, an increase of 27 percent in just one year, according to an…
High fuel prices take toll on resale values for trucks, SUVs
As motorists rush to buy antacid pills with each $4.25-a-gallon fill-up, the same car dealers who got pudgy five years ago selling SUVs with $6,000 profit margins are scrambling to profit from Aveos or anything else with decent mileage.
Ex-franchisees sue Noble Roman’s
Nine former Noble Roman’s franchisees and a current operator have filed a lawsuit charging that the Indianapolis chain lied
to them about the costs and risks of opening one of its pizza and sub restaurants. The franchisees say the 1,000-restaurant
chain aggressively marketed its stand-alone, dual-brand Noble Roman’s and Tuscano’s Italian Style Subs restaurants without
testing the concept–a scheme they contend was designed to inflate the company’s stock price so owners could unload shares
at a profit.
Ralston Square development lures bar, hotel, bowling alley
A trendy bar and an upscale hotel have agreed to anchor the 11-story Ralston Square project slated for South Street between
Meridian and Pennsylvania streets. The developers of the $60 million mixed-use project are moving forward after landing the
tenants necessary to secure a loan commitment, said Brian Epstein, president of locally based Urban Space Commercial Properties
and a partner on the project.
Lender claims M&I Plaza when it fails to sell at auction
A Maryland company has taken ownership of downtown’s 28-story M&I Plaza just three months before a major tenant departure
leaves the skyscraper 70-percent vacant. The new owner is CapitalSource Inc., a commercial finance and investment firm based
in Chevy Chase, Md. It had been a lender to the former owner, which defaulted.
Group plots public-private revival for midtown Meridian neighborhoods
There was a time when residents of Meridian Kessler, Butler Tarkington, and Broad Ripple viewed North Meridian Street as a
connection between their neighborhoods. These days, the road feels more like a divide-an intimidating commuter highway between
downtown and the northern suburbs that discourages pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A partnership of community groups including
the Meridian Street Foundation is hoping to change that by giving the neighborhoods a collective identity–Midtown–and mixing
private and public money to fund major infrastructure improvements.
Ailing Steak n Shake rehires ad agency, but will pact stick?
Local advertising powerhouse Young & Laramore signed a new contract with Steak n Shake, one of its flagship clients, just
two weeks ago, but ad industry observers can’t help but wonder if the 18-year-old relationship is about to run its course.
Before the ink on the contract was dry, the struggling hamburger chain had a new board chairman who is likely to shuffle Steak
n Shake’s executive suite and take the company in a new direction.