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Past retail failures in China don’t scare Simon away: Developer’s partnership with Wal-Mart could be key

Executives of Simon Property Group Inc. are confident the shopping mall owner’s foray into China will prove successful, even though they acknowledge others have failed there. In a conference call with analysts late last month, the locally based real estate investment trust announced its plan to be the first American company to develop retailing projects in the communist country. Its first project will be a 500,000-squarefoot mall at Hangzhou, a city of 6 million people about two hours from Shanghai….

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Reaping the benefits of the American Jobs Act

Astute real estate professionals should be taking advantage of several tax-saving provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The act was signed by President Bush last October to spur economic development and investment. The primary components of the Amer ican Jobs Creation Act include increased depreciation deductions on leasehold improvements, greater flexibility for real estate investment trusts, modification of expensing rules for equipment and vehicles, and a reduction in the tax rate for domestic manufacturing activities. Leasehold improvements…

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BEHIND THE NEWS IPALCO buyer wins key lawsuit but isn’t out of woods:

Score one big victory for former executives of AES Corp. and IPALCO Enterprises Inc., but they still face obstacles on other fronts. Last month, Judge Larry McKinney of U.S. District Court in Indianapolis dismissed the final claims in a shareholder lawsuit stemming from AES’ soured $3 billion purchase of the Indianapolis utility five years ago. McKinney didn’t buy plaintiffs’ charges that through omissions and misleading statements the companies had failed to disclose to IPALCO shareholders the risks of exchanging their…

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Quiet approach drawing criticism: President’s lack of visibility hurts IU, some complain

Never mind the Herculean task of leading the state’s largest college system in a difficult economic climate; he knew that would be hard. But after two years of long weeks and late nights, he’s facing a more surprising challenge-defending himself from critics who question his ability to get the job done. IU seems to be adrift, naysayers argue, and so far Herbert doesn’t seem to be doing much to get it back on course. “It is with great regret that…

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Defining success: Those who’ve tasted it share their thoughts on just exactly what ‘it’ is

How do you define career success? We posed that question to a variety of high-profile women and men in the Indianapolis business community. While the responses did confirm some of our preconceived notions-such as that men would mention financial rewards more often than women-there are far more similarities than differences, regardless of gender or profession. Still, “Career success is defined differently by each individual,” as Alex Slabosky, president and CEO of The Healthcare Group, so wisely put it; and as…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Hoosiers are wallflowers as housing party rocks on

Have you heard about the wild party that’s going on? It’s not one of those parties with wine, women and song. It’s all about buying and selling, and making lots of money. And, for some Americans, at least, it’s being done from the comfort of their own homes. It’s called the housing market, and in some corners of the country, it’s a rowdy affair. In coastal California and Florida, the price of homes is going up so fast it is…

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MSA redevelopers set to make another run at tower: Project takes on new moniker as it rolls out redesigned condominium plans

With a new name, new floor plans and a new marketing team, the developers of the former Market Square Arena site are gearing up to make another go at building a high-rise condominium tower on the east side of downtown. Developers hope the new designs, crafted with the assistance of Chicagobased Mesa Development LLC, will jump-start the tower, now more than a year behind schedule and saddled with a lien from a former key player. The first phase of One…

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BEHIND THE NEWS Marsh shares stage rally, despite firm’s challenges:

Marsh Supermarkets Inc. might be a great place to shop, but it’s been a long time since the embattled Indianapolis grocer has been a great place for investors to park their money. That’s why the recent runup of Marsh shares is raising eyebrows in the investment community. Both the company’s Class A and Class B shares are up more than 25 percent since early June, and better than 20 percent for the year. What’s driving the increase? In part, probably…

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Accounting employees in demand: Sarbanes-Oxley requirements spark hiring surge of experienced accountants, creating openings at smaller firms

Little did Josh Malarsky know five years ago when he began pursuing his master’s degree in accounting that firms would be hiring in such unprecedented numbers. But that was before federal legislation tightening auditing and accounting rules and regulations turned the profession on its head. Known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the law and its stiffer controls have caused accounting firms and corporations to ratchet up staffing numbers. The Big Four firms that audit public companies mostly are searching for seniorlevel…

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Tax credits aid blighted areas: Help open to firms targeting Center Township projects

Federal tax credits supporting roughly $6 million in economic development projects are still available for small-business owners considering expanding or locating in Center Township. The funds are administered through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, which was established by Congress in 2000 to help revitalize blighted areas. In Indiana, the locally based Urban Enterprise Association Inc. helped secure tax credits that can fund $50 million worth of projects, including $12.5 million in Marion County. The tax credits already are supporting…

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Radio Disney catching the ears of youth-and advertisers: Event marketing key to getting local kids to tune in

Two years after its launch, Radio Disney’s local WRZD-FM 98.3 affiliate is outperforming many affiliates in the 55-station network, even though traditional measures of its success are anything but magical. WRZD’s rating by New York-based Arbitron Inc., the industry’s standard media research firm, shows the station barely cracking the top 20 in this market. But WRZD has prospered through another number: listener calls per day. The station averages an eye-popping 4,070 calls a day, according to officials at Radio Disney’s…

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Wells Fargo sees city as ripe for expansion: Commercial banking, capital management key to Indianapolis plan

Wells Fargo & Co. took a couple of quiet but important steps earlier this year as part of a plan to build a major presence in the Indianapolis banking and financial services market. The San Franciscobased corporation in March opened a local Commercial Banking Division headed by longtime banking executive Lex Curry and a capital management office headed by well-known stock manager Tom Pence. The moves, by the nation’s fifth-largest bank in terms of assets, are part of a corporate…

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Insurers look to make uncommon comeback: Pafco, Superior hope to leave rehabilitation this year

Only the hum of central air-conditioning broke the silence when Doug Symons recently led a quick tour of the Indianapolis office where his Superior Insurance Group once employed about 180 people. Rows of gray cubicles sat empty. Boxes filled with old claims and underwriting files lined the aisles. “This,” Symons said as he waved his arms around, “is what an empty office looks like waiting to be filled.” Those bare cubicles could fill up with dozens of new employees and…

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Office sales shatter records: National investors spend big in string of real estate deals

National buyers hungry for commercial properties have started focusing on second-tier markets like Indianapolis, a trend that’s resulting in quick sales at prices previously unheard of here. One and Two River Crossing sold as a package in early July for $41.6 million, or $203 per square foot, setting a new high-water mark for Class A multitenant office space in the Indianapolis market. Before the River Crossing sale, the sales record for suburban office space was $145 per square foot-a mark…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Setting up home wireless not for faint of heart Books, articles, Web pages and instruction manuals may help you through it, but then again …

There are some big steps in life that merit serious thought. One is marriage. Another is buying a house. Yet a third is whether to set up a wireless network at home or in a small office. Of the three, the first two may be the less stressful. A friend of mine recently tried to set up a small WiFi (wireless) network at home, and gave it up in frustration after days of technologically induced anguish. He’s been married for…

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BULLS & BEARS: With real estate the rage, it’s time to swing to stocks

Stocks or real estate. Which one will “show you the money”? In my last column, I pointed out that-over two or three decades-an investment in stocks, with an average 10-percent return, should double in value every seven or so years. The big problem investors have is that the average 10 percent return is created by erratic and sporadic bursts and busts in stock prices. It’s nerve-racking. The bursts and busts really tax people’s emotions and drive some people away from…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Hat World helps propel parent’s stock out of slumber

When Indianapolis-based Hat World Corp. announced its $165 million sale to a Tennessee firm 17 months ago, it had posted increases in same-store sales for an impressive 27 months in a row. Now, make that 42 and counting. Such a streak is almost unheard of in the rough-and-tumble retail world, especially for a firm wrestling with the inevitable distractions that go along with the transition from independence to ownership by a publicly traded company. “We have maintained the same momentum…

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Speculator’s personal bankruptcy may tinge spouse: Trustee sorting through assets of real estate investor Marten, jeweler wife

A real estate speculator whose wife owns a prominent Carmel jewelry store has filed for personal bankruptcy, spawning an inquiry into whether her assets should be available to repay his creditors. On April 27, Christopher Marten filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of $1.03 million and liabilities of $2.56 million. The case is pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis. Marten’s 26 creditors include six banks and credit unions. Christopher Marten is married to Jan Marten, owner of…

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Prime property can mend fences: Earlham land sale on right course

The process Earlham College has set up to sell 413 acres of prime Hamilton County acreage it expects to receive in its settlement with the Conner Prairie living-history museum is a silver lining to this otherwise stormy saga. In the more than two years since Earlham touched off the Conner Prairie drama by firing the museum’s board, we’ve had nothing good to say in this space about Earlham’s handling of the situation, but the land sale is shaping up as…

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Builders pine for acreage: Earlham expects big bucks from land freed by deal

Like vultures circling a lone man in the desert, local developers and home builders are jockeying to swoop in and take 413 acres of prime Carmel land when owner Earlham College gives it up following its settlement with Conner Prairie. But Earlham, recognizing the prominence of the last large undeveloped tract in eastern Carmel, isn’t going gently. Interested parties-more than two dozen, at last count-will be required to undergo a formal proposal process before one can feast on the farmland….

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