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Green roofs slow to take root in Indianapolis area: Despite an array of environmental and other benefits, initial costs and lack of incentives put lid on their use

Green roofs color the skylines in Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto and other North American cities, but Hoosiers have to look high and low to find similar examples of the plant-filled building tops in Indianapolis. “Most green roofs [in other cities] are on the tops of existing buildings, where here they are [more likely to be found] above an underground parking garage that you might not even be aware is there,” said Mark Zelonis, director of the gardens and grounds at the…

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Some say Wheeler Mission hurts neighborhood’s potential

A fall merger of two Indianapolis homeless shelters set off a new round of speculation about whether Wheeler Mission Ministries Inc. will continue to operate out of its 245 N. Delaware St. location–a stone’s throw from multimillion-dollar redevelopment under way on Massachusetts Avenue.

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Century-old landmark building gets new life as condos: Former Ashantii Ballroom renovated into 11 units

He lived in the south Broad Ripple house 11 years, rented it out for another 11, then sold it for three times what he paid for it. Today, McMichael, 43, owns a dozen rental properties around Indianapolis, plus the well-known Rathskeller Restaurant downtown. And recently he’s turned his real estate eye to 16th and Alabama streets where he’s converting the former Ashantii Ballroom into luxury condominiums. “I learned years ago with that first house the power of real estate,” Michael…

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Massive hotel project could advance without city help: Redevelopment would be on a smaller scale

Land near Victory Field could get hundreds of additional hotel rooms even if the developers that control the site don’t receive city incentives they’re seeking for a huge convention hotel project. Merrillville-based White Lodging Services Corp. and Indianapolis-based REI Real Estate Services are asking the city to invest $45 million to $55 million toward a $250 million campus of hotels on land that’s now home to a 235-room Courtyard by Marriott and a TGI Friday’s. If they don’t win the…

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Ponds poo-pooed by more developers: Land prices create need for alternative storm systems

For years, the model for most local drainage systems-especially in large development sites not directly downtown-has been underground pipes running into a large detention pond. The ponds have dotted the landscape, becoming a perk for office dwellers and homeowners wanting a “lake” view, but raising the concern of many safety officials over the increased risk of drownings. But as new federal rules come into effect requiring not just flood prevention but also filtration of contaminants, more developers may be moving…

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Developer has big plans for long-vacant drive-in: N.Y. firm has 93-acre Lawrence site under contract

A 93-acre former drive-in south of the former Fort Benjamin Harrison has sat vacant since the theater closed in 1993. But now a Rochester, N.Y., developer has agreed to buy the property and envisions building retail space plus either a light-industrial business park or a medical campus. If it comes to pass, the large development could kick-start Lawrence’s efforts to revitalize struggling portions of Pendleton Pike. Norry Management Corp. has had the land under contract since spring and is preparing…

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$1.7M invested in failed firm not authorized, sources say

Trade groups that host the Indianapolis Auto Show and represent 600 car dealers in the Legislature stand to lose $1.7 million they loaned to a local debt-collection agency–loans that sources said were made without the knowledge of the groups’ boards or membership.

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Malls’ redevelopment attracts familiar names: Borders, AMC Theatres among first tenants identified

A mix of familiar stores and upscale retailers will be moving into the nowvacant L.S. Ayres space at Greenwood Park and Castleton Square malls, which owner Simon Property Group Inc. is turning into small-scale lifestyle centers. The open-air developments, which will be similar in design to Carmel’s Clay Terrace, have attracted a host of major retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Borders and AMC Theatres. Smaller specialty shops and sit-down restaurants also are planned. Barnes & Noble will be going in…

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Kite, Mansur, White pitch airport hotel

Three developers are vying for the chance to build a four-story, 250- to 300-room hotel connected to the new $974 million midfield terminal and garage at the Indianapolis International Airport.

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INVESTING: For investors, a world of opportunity awaits in Singapore

Westerners have been dreaming about the riches of the Far East for centuries. Christopher Columbus didn’t set out to discover America. He was looking for a faster route to India and China. More than 500 years later, the dream is not completely fulfilled, but riches can still be had, as long as you have some to begin with. I just returned from Singapore. This tiny nation-state is the most densely populated country on earth, and it is smack dab in…

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Noblesville mega-mall begins lining up retailers: Area brokers say space is likely to lease well

J.C. Penney, Best Buy and Bed Bath & Beyond plan to open stores in the $100 million open-air mall Simon Property Group Inc. and a partner are planning to build in Noblesville, retail brokers say. In addition, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Goodrich Quality Theaters Inc. is in preliminary talks to open a cinema in the project, owner Bob Goodrich confirmed. Simon and another Indianapolis-based developer, Gershman Brown & Associates, announced plans for the nearly 1-million-square-foot Hamilton Towne Centre a year ago….

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NOTIONS: Dear philanthropist: Make me a daydream believer

Last month, I picked up my boys in Fort Wayne, drove north on Interstate 69, hooked a left at Interstate 94, and got off at the Portage, Mich., exit. There, we whiled away the weekend at a family reunion. The grownups ate too much, caught up on gossip and puttered around the lake in the speedboat. The teenagers, whom we rarely saw, did X-Box battle in the basement. On Sunday, after the kids had surfaced for lunch and the grandparents…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: A Marsh without Marshes? Expect family to exit soon

Marsh Supermarkets Inc. has filed hundreds of pages of documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission in recent weeks, but none gets to the crux of the matter: Will a Marsh remain atop Marsh Supermarkets if Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners completes its $88 million buyout of the Fishers-based company? Marsh spokeswoman Myra Borshoff Cook said executives haven’t been asked to step down so far. “They won’t know anything until the deal closes,” she said. But keeping a Marsh…

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Housing bubble on hold

The inventory of central Indiana homes for sale is piling up, but the backlog so far hasn’t caused prices to fall, according to experts and industry statistics.

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Some call on tradition of burying St. Joseph statue to help sell homes:

Real estate agents pushing to keep homes moving in a slowing market are increasingly looking for divine intervention. Local religious supply stores say sales are up for 4-inch-tall plastic figurines of St. Joseph. Some Catholics believe that burying the statues in a yard helps sell a house. St. Joseph statues have always sold well, but they’ve moved even faster in recent months, said Beth Kuczkowski, president of the Village Dove Inc., with stores in Broad Ripple, Fishers and on the…

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Mayor says condo plan for arena site needs more retail

When Mayor Bart Peterson announced Aug. 31 that the efforts of a partnership to build condominium towers on the former Market Square Arena site had failed, he gave his administration 60 days to put together another deal. Peterson’s vision: Hold onto the concept of a residential tower, but add “significantly more retail.”

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PAN founder focuses on another IT venture: BubbleUp aims to standardize musicians’ Web sites

It didn’t take David Pfenninger long to get back into the game. Just months after selling Carmel-based Internet-test provider Performance Assessment Network Inc. in April for $75 million to St. Louis-based TALX Corp., Pfenninger is betting on another Internet venture: an online music marketing and management startup called BubbleUp. Pfenninger initially remained part of PAN’s local management team after the acquisition, but stepped down this summer, retaining a role as a consultant. “I thought it was time to make a…

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Firm sees opportunity where banks see risk: Oak Street has big hopes for insurance agency loans

Bankers like to see plenty of collateral when they underwrite loans. Insurance agents don’t have many hard assets to show them. Free toasters won’t smooth over this credit dilemma. But the leaders of the Carmel-based Oak Street companies boast they can. And they’re poised to capitalize with a fast-growing specialty lending firm. “The first line of our vision statement says we’ll build a long-term sustainable financial-services firm,” said Oak Street Chairman Steven Alonso. “It’s our strategy to diversify.” Founded in…

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NOTIONS: A travel dispatch from somewhere over the rainbow

The sun is setting, the pavement damp, and dark clouds dance across the San Juan Mountains as we turn onto U.S. Highway 550 and drive north toward Durango. As if there weren’t enough beauty in this peak-filled paradise, Nature’s earlyevening sideshow features a fully arced double rainbow, quite the welcome sign to a late-summer vacation. I suppose you could write off a double rainbow as a mere meteorological phenomenon. I suppose I could, too. But it’s more fun to wonder…

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