Entrepreneurs eager to pamper your pets
Americans are spending more than ever on their four-legged friends, and savvy central Indiana entrepreneurs are among those
cashing in.
Real Estate
Articles
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
MSA Round 2 plans pitched by local development teams
Two new proposals for the parking lot formerly known as Market Square Arena are shorter and less dramatic than plans for a
31-story tower that fell through last year. But each of the new sets of plans has its flourishes.
Broadbent’s new era: Veteran real estate firm known for strip centers prepares for new headquarters, new leadership
The distinctive black-and-white façade of the Zipper Building at Washington Street and Virginia Avenue is gone, stripped away like ceiling tiles from an old bedroom. Replacing the unusual exterior of the three-story structure will be a more traditional brick and stone look-and a new moniker bearing the name of owner The Broadbent Co. Broadbent, the longtime developer of retail strip centers including Castleton Plaza, Clearwater Crossing and Fashion Mall Commons bought the downtown building last October and is set to…
FBI’s project bid puzzles local developers
Some local developers were left scratching their heads last month when the federal government chose an out-of-state company
to develop an FBI field office in Castleton. The U.S. General Services Administration awarded the $38 million project to Lake
Winnebago Mo.-based BC Development Co.
City buildings save money while gaining ‘Star’ status: EPA program gives tax breaks for energy efficiency
Thomson Inc. building, 10330 N. Meridian St. In 2006 alone, the EPA awarded more than 3,400 buildings nationwide with the Energy Star designation. Buildings can achieve the status by adopting an energy-management strategy and tracking the results during a 12-month period using an EPA rating system. Results need to be verified by a professional engineer. All Energy Star products qualify for a tax credit. A deduction of up to $1.80 a square foot is available to owners and designers of…
What you crave
Never fear, White Castle fans. The downtown location at 16th and Illinois streets, which is closed and surrounded by a fence, apparently will soon serve sliders again in a shiny new White Castle building with nicer landscaping. Changes are coming…
Downtown getting home shops
People living downtown won’t have to wait for a proposed Target to go home shopping closer to home. Carson Pirie Scott is renovating 25,000 square feet of its space on the third floor of Circle Centre mall for a new…