Articles

Live next door to The Distillery

Plans are in the works for a residential and retail project on a state-owned parking lot between Indiana Avenue, Capitol Avenue and Vermont Street, IBJ reported this weekend. Two groups bid for the three-quarters-of-an-acre parcel, and the winner includes Jim…

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St. Vincent taking over Thomson HQ

A shrunken Thomson, the former manufacturer of RCA
televisions, is vacating a landmark office building at its Carmel headquarters to make way for St. Vincent Health, the parent
company of a growing chain of Indiana hospitals.

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Winning bidder plans mixed-use project: Plan for state-owned parcel would add new neighbors for Bourbon Street Distillery, Musicians’ Repair & Sales

The winning bidder for a prime piece of state-owned land on the west side of downtown hopes to break ground later this year on a residential and retail complex. The project would replace a shabby parking lot on a triangle-shaped block that is now anchored by The Bourbon Street Distillery and Musicians’ Repair & Sales. The U-shaped, 0.75-acre property at 340 N. Capitol Ave. touches Indiana Avenue, Capitol Avenue and Vermont Street. The development likely would include condos above a…

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Pension changes fill state’s VC coffer: Indiana Investment Fund has $155 million to pour into Hoosier companies

The diversification of the state’s two enormous public pension funds into private equity is transforming Indiana’s venture capital sector. And their $155 million Indiana Investment Fund is the largest factor in the equation. If it’s successful, the Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund and the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund will save Hoosiers untold millions of dollars and help launch a host of new high-tech companies. If it’s not, taxpayers will one day have to foot the bill. Indiana State Budget…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Events outside the Capitol shape final days of session

As I write this, we have no way of knowing what the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly will mean for gambling, property tax relief or the biennial budget-the three overarching items looming over the heads of lawmakers as they entered their final week of deliberations. But that won’t prevent us from making a few pertinent observations about the context, and how that atmosphere was shaping events. Each legislative session possesses a flow of its own, based on incidents,…

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Fun with renderings

This is one of four proposed projects for an acre of state-owned land along the canal between Ohio and New York streets. What do you think? Property Lines has been asking for…

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Afternoon kaffeeklatsch

What better way to wake you up on a rainy Thursday than with a little coffee news? Here goes: Borders plans to transform its coffee shop and cafe downtown into a Seattle’s Best Coffee, which is set to open in…

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Already regulars at Capital Grille

Indianapolis Downtown Inc. Director of Real Estate Terry Sweeney doesn’t normally play favorites. But it’s a different story with Capital Grille. He’s dined at the new restaurant attached to the Conrad Indianapolis four nights in a row. Property Lines got…

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The lure of tapas

How strong is it? The owners of a new BARcelona Tapas restaurant think it’s strong enough to overcome a risky downtown location at the northeast corner of Delaware and Ohio streets. The…

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Curious price estimates?

A self-imposed MSA moratorium begins after this post. But I can’t help but ask: How is it that the taller, more ambitious proposal for the Market Square Arena site costs $20 million less? The $130-million proposal for MSA calls for…

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Taxpayers’ MSA price uncertain

Neither of the teams hoping to redevelop the Market Square Arena site mention a specific figure for city incentive in documents filed with the city, but both say they need public money to make their projects work. In the $150-million…

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Your turn: FBI project perplexes

The real estate community has been buzzing of late about the intrigue surrounding a new FBI field office planned for Castleton. What do you think? As IBJ reported, the U.S. General Services Administration awarded the $38-million project to a Missouri-based…

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Driving Tour: North Keystone

Even if you haven’t driven North Keystone lately, you know the big story here is Glendale. Fences are up and demolition has begun. Locally based Kite Realty Group is transforming the enclosed…

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Michigan Road land under contract

Development plans could be in the works for another large piece of land along Michigan Road. The 18-acre North Park Masonic Lodge property at 5555 Michigan Road is under contract. The lodge is selling the property without a broker. In…

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EYE ON THE PIE: For sale: an American house of cards

A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. Herbert Hoover never said those words, but they were part of his presidential campaign literature in 1928. Should they be the goals of American politics? Should we subsidize the price of chicken to keep poultry and grain farmers happy while consumers pay less at the grocery? How about lowering the cost of owning an automobile by allowing automobile interest payments to be refunded as tax credits? Along with these…

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Farmland values soaring, but still lag other sectors: Cornfields far more valuable when sold for other uses

Escalating demand for corn driven by the ethanol boom is propelling farmland prices higher, but not nearly enough to deter commercial developers from nabbing prime pieces of property. An average acre of Indiana farmland rose last year in value almost 16 percent, representing the largest annual jump in at least two decades, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prices this year are projected to increase by an even larger percentage. Land values are escalating because corn is expected to…

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MICKEY MAURER Commentary: An Indianapolis gem shines again

It’s no secret that my mentor is Gene B. Glick. I was privileged to work for Gene early in my career and learn the right way to be a success in business. For example, the ability to remain calm while reacting to the many calamities and adversities of a typical business life is one of the attributes of the Glick style that I admire most. I could have used more time at the feet of this master, but, luckily, school…

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Downtown hot for apartments: Developers of new multifamily projects encouraged by high occupancy rates, rising rents, waiting lists

Justin Williams and Meredith Barrett grew up on the south side, but that’s not where they’ll live after getting married in September. They’re looking for an apartment downtown. It’s the only neighborhood they’re considering. “I love being right in the middle of everything,” said Williams, 25, a server at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro in Circle Centre. Barrett, a 22-year-old nurse at Wishard Hospital, said she “just likes to be able to walk everywhere.” The couple is part of a growing…

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