Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from April 2005

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from April 2005

Sen. Kiscaden's health bill tries to balance competing interests.
April 1, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Universal health care has not always been an issue associated with the moderates of American politics. In the 1990s, the public was scared off by a universal coverage plan put forth by the Clinton administration....

Minnesota Construction Briefs: April 1, 2005.
April 1, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Minneapolis City Hall may eventually have something that's conspicuously absent from the nearby Metrodome - real grass. The Municipal Building Commission, which maintains City Hall and the Hennepin County...

MN Marketing Briefs: April 2, 2005.
April 2, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Tom McElligott, the copywriter who helped establish Minneapolis as a national hub of creative advertising, has been lured out of retirement to teach at the soon-to-be-launched four-year advertising school at the...

Ryan Cos. prevails in lawsuit over redevelopment of former Sears store site in Minneapolis.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The redevelopment of the former Sears store site in south Minneapolis - now dubbed the Midtown Exchange - is under way. While city and neighborhood leaders cheer the project, not everyone is thrilled. In March...

Uptown-based Financial Freedom Realty Services achieves rapid growth through condo conversions.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Clark Gassen and his Uptown-based Financial Freedom Realty Services have created a buzz in real estate circles in recent months, adding a downtown high-rise building and a handful of glossy new Uptown developments to...

Developer puts condo project on hold after Minneapolis City Council rejects 8-story bldg. height.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Developer Steve Minn says that his Bluff Street Development partnership is putting a proposed condo development on hold at 520 Second St. S.E. in Minneapolis after the Minneapolis City Council nixed his request for an...

Philadelphia-based Binswanger marketing Woodbury office building.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Philadelphia-based Binswanger has been named exclusive agent for the sale of the three-story, 458,946-square-foot Woodbury Corporate Campus. The office building is located on 108 acres at 8500 State Farm Way in Woodbury. ...

Bor-son Construction of Bloomington will manage Rochester wastewater project.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Bor-son Construction Inc. of Bloomington will provide construction services for a $32 million addition and renovation at the Rochester reclamation plant. Bor-son completed an expansion at the same plant in 1992. The...

Bloomington-based Bossardt Corp. named to manage school construction projects.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Bloomington-based Bossardt Corp. has been selected to provide construction management services for $51.5 million worth of school projects in the Prior Lake/Savage school district. The district plans to build a new...

Stellar Technologies signs 10-year lease at Crosstown North.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Stellar Technologies Inc. has leased 42,215 square feet of office/warehouse/showroom space at the 140,000-square-foot Crosstown North Building 10 in Brooklyn Park. Stellar, a manufacturer of precision components and...

Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture hires 10 more workers.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Ten new employees have been hired at Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture. The new employees in the firm's Minneapolis office are Michael Berg, Cynthia Harper, Scott Krenner, Michele Leitner, Justin Mankowski,...

Eden Prairie-based real estate developer Hartford Group adds two to staff.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Two employees have joined the staff of Eden Prairie-based real estate developer Hartford Group Inc. Jason Thomas was named associate general counsel. Thomas has a bachelor's degree in history from Brigham Young University...

Nominations sought for Edina Heritage Award.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Edina is seeking entries for its third-annual Edina Heritage Award. The award is given to a person, family, company or organization that has contributed to historic preservation in the city. The owners and tenants of...

The Hartford Financial Services Group opens operations center in Maple Grove, MN.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has opened a 96,733-square-foot operations center for nearly 600 employees in Maple Grove. The three-story facility will handle underwriting, policy administration and...

St. Louis-based Huttig Building Products opens distribution center in Brooklyn Park, MN.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Huttig Building Products Inc., a St. Louis-based distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products for new residential construction and home improvements, has opened a distribution center in Brooklyn Park. ...

St. Paul office of Short Elliott Hendrickson architectural firm announces new hires.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Clayton Ten Eyck and Melissa Underwood have joined the St. Paul office of the Short Elliott Hendrickson architectural firm. Ten Eyck is an engineer who will be responsible for wastewater facility evaluations, preparing...

Interior designer, account manager join Minneapolis-based Shea Inc.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff Minneapolis-based Shea Inc. has added two staff members. Janet Ley was hired as an interior designer and Kim Baldwin as an account manager. Ley previously worked for Bates Smart, a Melbourne, Australia, architectural...

Grand opening for St. Barnabas Apartments in Minneapolis set for today.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Staff A grand opening celebration for St. Barnabas Apartments - featuring 39 efficiencies for homeless young people ages 16 to 20 and 13 workforce housing units - will be held today from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The building at...

MN Real Estate Briefs: April 7, 2005.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson First Commercial Bank in Bloomington has been enjoying a 15-month expansion that would make any bank proud. The 6-year-old commercial lender grew from $32 million in assets at the end of 2003 to almost $75 million...

Proposal to let cities impose street utility fee removed from MN Senate transportation bill.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard A proposal that would let cities impose fees based on the amount of traffic that a property generates rankled commercial real estate and business interests at the state Capitol this year. But for now, proponents of the...

MN Marketing Briefs: April 7, 2005.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Striving for higher-profile space than its current offices offer in the glass-and-steel International Centre in downtown Minneapolis, ad agency Gabriel deGrood Bendt (GDB) is moving to larger and more visible quarters in...

E-construction slowly builds momentum in the U.S.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements When talking about using the Internet to improve the efficiency of a construction project, extremes rule. Take the e-construction view of Mark Coudron, vice president of Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson...

Acquisition strengthens New Jersey-based homebuilder's presence in Twin Cities market.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson K. Hovnanian Enterprises isn't wasting any time establishing a presence in the Twin Cities. The New Jersey-based homebuilder, which entered the local market in March 2004, boosted its position in the metro area...

New Jersey-based K. Hovnanian Homes' condo project moves forward in Chaska, MN.
April 7, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson K. Hovnanian Homes is moving forward with plans for a 248-unit condominium development in Chaska, its biggest local project since the New Jersey-based homebuilder opened a Twin Cities office last spring. Chaska's...

Minnesota builders like look of streamlining plan.
April 8, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Home builders like Ed Von Thoma find it difficult to make their way through the maze of state agencies that set building codes. Though most permits are given at the municipal level, Von Thoma said builders must...

Bill calls for minimum standard for MN building inspectors.
April 8, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require construction code inspectors to pass a test and take continuing education courses related to the state's building, mechanical and plumbing codes. House file...

Committee deadlines are end of the road for many MN bills.
April 8, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Many state legislators were busy tugging on the sleeves of committee chairpersons leading up to Tuesday's committee deadline. Earlier in the session, legislative leaders agreed on April 5 as the date when bills...

MN Marketing Briefs: April 9, 2005.
April 9, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger The public relations division of Bloomington ad agency Colle+McVoy is being renamed Exponent Public Relations. Riff Yeager, managing director of Exponent, said the name was chosen because it represents a public...

Wrecking ball awaits former Centennial Lakes Theater in Edina.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Centennial Lakes Theater at 7311 France Ave. S. in Edina has closed, clearing the way for a proposed retail and housing project on the 4.33-acre site. Cypress Equities, an affiliate of Dallas-based The Staubach...

Shakopee-based Uppal Enterprises use concrete strategy on development.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Sohan and Vik Uppal have no shortage of ambition. The father and son behind Shakopee-based Uppal Enterprises want to build the largest real estate development firm in the metro area. And while they're at it, the...

Indianapolis firm grabs $34 million in Twin Cities property.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The biggest Twin Cities property portfolio to move so far this year shifted quietly into the hands of an Indianapolis real estate company, HDG Mansur, in a deal that closed in late February. The privately held...

Associated Builders and Contractors members plan MN Capitol gathering.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Members of Associated Builders and Contractors will meet with lawmakers during Legislative Day at the State Capitol next Wednesday. The event will run from 8:45 a.m. to noon, beginning with participants...

American Express Financial Advisors VP to speak at Building Owners and Managers Assn. meeting.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Daniel Laufenberg, vice president and chief economist at Minneapolis-based American Express Financial Advisors, will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Greater Minneapolis Building Owners...

Minneapolis-based CSM Lodging forms central region unit.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based CSM Lodging has created a central region division to complement its existing east and west units. The realignment is part of the hotel developer's efforts to improve management and...

Minneapolis mayor candidates to debate tonight at labor center.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and mayoral candidate Peter McLaughlin, both DFLers, will meet in a debate tonight sponsored by the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council. The topics will be jobs and...

East Lake Community Library closing for renovation.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff East Lake Community Library, 2727 E. Lake St., will close for renovation and redesign at the end of the month. When the library reopens in 2007, it will have improved spaces for books, magazines and...

Land development conference planned in Bloomington.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A conference on land development will be held Wednesday, May 4, at the Sheraton Hotel, 7800 Normandale Blvd., in Bloomington. Topics will include perspectives from residential developers, tax...

Nat'l Assn. of Industrial and Office Properties panelists will discuss investment market.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The next meeting of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties will feature a panel discussion on the commercial real estate investment market. The group will...

Stonebridge Office Building opens in Lilydale.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Stonebridge Office Building, a two-story, 16,185-square-foot structure, has opened at the southwest corner of Highway 13 and Interstate 35E in Lilydale, adjacent to the Stonebridge housing development...

Environmental review process is subject of meeting.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Sensible Land Use Coalition will examine the value of the environmental review process at the group's next meeting on Wednesday, April 27. The session will feature Peter Coyle of the Larkin Hoffman...

City of Rosemount selects its downtown developer.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Rosemount city officials last week selected Brooklyn Park-based Contractor Property Developers Co. (CPD) to carry out an ambitious plan to revitalize a 13-block area in the city's downtown. The Rosemount Port...

Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates lands contract in St. Louis.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates is singing a new tune: "Meet Me in St. Louis." Last week, the St. Louis Development Corp. tapped Sherman Associates and a St. Louis firm to redevelop the historic Syndicate...

Edina realtor weaves dream catchers into marketing strategy.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger In the ultra-competitive business of selling houses, Edina Realty agent Karen Johnson knows the difficulty of standing out from the crowd. She hopes that a new marketing strategy will help. Johnson, 50, changed...

Dimensional Brands building in northeast Minneapolis sold for $2.2M.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger A partnership headed by Eden Prairie industrial design and fabrication firm Worrell Inc. has acquired the 28,384-square-foot Dimensional Brands building in northeast Minneapolis for $2.2 million. Located at 1414...

'Pervious concrete' drawing new interest in Minnesota.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson A special type of "green" concrete may be coming soon to a parking lot near you. Or a bike path, sidewalk or pool deck for that matter. Pervious concrete, which is designed to allow rainwater to pass through to...

St. Barnabas Hospital reborn - with a new mission.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson It's not every day that a guy gets to attend a grand opening for a project redeveloped so close to the scene of his own birth. I was born at St. Barnabas Hospital in downtown Minneapolis in 1967. I have to...

MN Court of Appeals throws out defamation suit filed by developer.
April 14, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Minnesota Court of Appeals has rejected a defamation claim from a local developer against a Minneapolis neighborhood organization that raised questions about a housing project. Minneapolis-based Marchant...

Minnesota lawmaker strives to end 'feedlot wars'.
April 15, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw (This article originally ran in the St. Paul Ledger, St. Paul, MN, another Dolan Media publication). Recommendations from the governor's livestock task force have stirred a debate between a key state senator and...

House panel backs teacher funding in Minnesota.
April 15, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw (This article originally ran in the St. Paul Ledger, St. Paul, MN, another Dolan Media publication). The Legislature is looking at funding two groups that teach teachers. The House Education Finance Committee...

MN Marketing Briefs: April 15, 2005.
April 16, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Bloomington-based advertising firm Transtop Minnesota wants to expand its bus-stop advertising business beyond Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Roseville City Council this week approved a proposal by Transtop to build...

Minnesota's economy on the rebound, but concerns persist.
April 19, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw The state's financial outlook has steadily improved since late last year. The parade of increasing revenues continued last week when the Finance Department released a quarterly update that reported revenues $74 million...

Bill Crockett to lead Minneapolis-based Ellerbe Becket's sports design practice.
April 19, 2005... Byline: Staff Minneapolis-based Ellerbe Becket has selected Bill Crockett, a 15-year veteran of the company, to lead the firm's international sports practice. Crockett will work out of Ellerbe's San Francisco office in his new role as...

Minneapolis-based Navarre Corp. announces $165M financing commitment.
April 19, 2005... Byline: Staff Navarre Corp., a Minneapolis-based provider of home entertainment and software products, announced Monday that it has received a $165 million financing commitment from GE Commercial Finance. The company will use proceeds...

Hispanic Marketing Awards dinner set for April 25 in downtown St. Paul.
April 19, 2005... Byline: Staff The first annual Hispanic Marketing Midwest Awards dinner is set for April 25 at the James J. Hill Reference Library in downtown St. Paul. The event, presented by James J. Hill Reference Library and Aguilar productions,...

Tough call: How much loft is left in Minneapolis's condo market?
April 21, 2005... Byline: Burt Gilyard In late 2002, developer Larry Abdo bought the then-vacant Firstar Bank Building in downtown Minneapolis and announced plans to convert the office building into state-of-the-art condos. The Six Quebec project, 601...

The Bridges of St. Paul project receives plenty of hype from developer.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Bridges of St. Paul developer Jerry Trooien talks globally and develops locally. Even the "Dream Team" of 20 architecture, advertising, branding, design, development and legal firms that Trooien has...

St. Paul College official to speak at Institute of Real Estate Management luncheon.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff David Baker, business development manager at St. Paul College, will be the guest speaker at the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) luncheon on Tuesday, May 3. Baker will discuss how changes in...

Construction forecast planned for MN Construction Assn. breakfast.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The "2005 McGraw-Hill Construction Forecast" will be presented at the Minnesota Construction Association's monthly breakfast next Wednesday from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. at 8000 Norman Center Drive in Bloomington....

Ceremony planned for first phase of Ramsey Town Center development.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A groundbreaking for the first major commercial development in the Ramsey Town Center will be held Friday at noon. A shopping center, anchored by Coborn's grocery store, will be built in the first phase...

Minneapolis-based MBJ engineering firm opens Phoenix office.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff MBJ Inc., a Minneapolis firm that specializes in structural engineering, will open an office in the Phoenix area on May 9. MBJ officials said the office will improve the firm's ability to serve existing...

Concrete Paving Assn. of MN announces annual award winners.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota has named its annual award winners for concrete construction projects in the state. They were selected by a panel of association members and representatives...

REIT acquires housing complex at University of Minnesota.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff GMH Communities Trust, a REIT based in Newton Square, Pa., has acquired the GrandMarc at Seven Corners, a 183-unit student housing property at the University of Minnesota. GMH paid $28 million for the...

Landscape architects plan MN Capitol exhibit.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Minnesota chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects will observe National Landscape Architecture Month with a free exhibit at the state Capitol next week. The display, which runs Sunday...

Dedication ceremony set for replica of historic fountain.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A fountain at the corner of Marshall and Broadway streets at the Grain Belt Brewery complex in northeast Minneapolis will be dedicated on Saturday, May 21. The event, including the debut of the...

Nat'l Assn. of Industrial and Office Properties expects strong year for commercial real estate sales.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The love affair that investors had with commercial real estate last year drove the torrid pace of local property sales, and that trend should continue in 2005, according to a panel of experts at Tuesday's meeting of...

Gramercy Corp. sells management rights for 8 senior co-ops in Minnesota.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Nichols Financial Services Co. has acquired management rights for eight of the 10 senior co-ops developed by Gramercy Corp. of Richfield. No terms were disclosed for the deal, which establishes Burnsville-based...

Minneapolis BOMA superintendents meeting set for May 4.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis Fire Marshal Dave DeWaal and Assistant Fire Marshal Gordon Bates will be the featured guests at the May superintendents meeting of the Greater Minneapolis Building Owners and Managers...

Minneapolis-based CSM Lodging names two to executive positions.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based CSM Lodging has promoted Robb Hall to managing director of the historic Milwaukee Road Depot complex. The complex contains a Courtyard by Marriott, a Residence Inn by Marriott, 60,000...

Twin Cities apartment market remains sluggish.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Burt Gilyard Low interest rates and condo fever have been tough on the apartment market in recent years. Witness the number of local apartment units that still sit empty. At the end of the first quarter, there were 8,262 vacant...

Legal battle continues over Victoria Park project in St. Paul.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements ExxonMobil Pipe Co. is battling St. Paul tooth and nail over a city-proposed residential development on 37 acres that used to house an oil-tank farm along the river near downtown The Houston-based petroleum giant...

Colliers Turley Martin Tucker market report offers some positive signs.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Burt Gilyard The first quarter Market Report from the local office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker offers signs of continued optimism in commercial real estate. Across the local office market, CTMT reported total absorption of...

SurModics site in Bloomington marketed for $18 million.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Not every multi-million-dollar property on the market is a fancy downtown office tower. In Bloomington, the RiverBluff Technology Campus - 178,000 square feet on a 26.7-acre site - is for sale for $18...

MN Construction Briefs: April 21, 2005.
April 21, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff After the Shubert Theater escaped the wrecking ball in the late 1990s, those who fought to save the structure reveled in their victory. The hard part, it seemed, was behind them. But it turns out...

Legislative funding puts St. Paul College on target for building trades upgrades.
April 23, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson It's one down and one to go for St. Paul College in the school's quest to upgrade its construction trades facilities. The school, located at 235 Marshall Ave., won a big victory when state lawmakers agreed to...

MN Marketing Briefs: April 23, 2005.
April 23, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Earth Day 2005 was recognized Friday with a "Go Organic! For Earth Day" promotion by the Organic Trade Association (OTA). The promotion, designed to increase consumer awareness and sales of organic...

Libertarian lawyers' group opens office in Twin Cities.
April 26, 2005... Byline: Barbara Jones The Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Justice (IJ) which bills itself as the nation's premier libertarian public-interest law firm has come to Minnesota and is now open for business. The IJ is a nonprofit...

Court sends Minnesota lawmakers a wake-up call on 'logrolling'.
April 26, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Bills going through the state Legislature often perform contortion acts as May adjournment approaches and lawmakers pile on the amendments. Keeping the process in check is Article IV, section 17, of the Minnesota...

MN State Bar Assn.'s pro bono program, LegalCORPS has strong first year - and plans to expand.
April 26, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore It's been a year since the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) launched LegalCORPS, the business-law pro bono program that pairs attorneys with nonprofits and microenterprises that need legal assistance but...

St. Paul's University Ave. drives University United exec. director's passion.
April 28, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Brian McMahon is a dreamer. But he's one of those dreamers who can get things done. McMahon, executive director for the last four years at University United, a nonprofit dedicated to the community rebirth of...

Condos still 'hot ticket' for Twin Cities area lenders.
April 28, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Twin Cities lenders say their development and construction businesses were still driving healthy portfolio growth at the end of the first quarter, thanks in particular to continuing developer investment in residential...

'Boutique' condos planned next to Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.
April 28, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger A six-story apartment building next to the historic Fitzgerald Theater is the latest vintage building in downtown St. Paul to undergo a major conversion to loft condominiums. The 24,000-square-foot Shubert Apartment...

Expert to discuss commercial real estate and technology in Bloomington.
April 28, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Technology expert Jim Young will present "Commercial Real Estate @ the Speed of Light" on Friday, May 20, at the Sheraton Hotel at Highways 494 and 100 in Bloomington. Registration will begin at 7:15...

U of MN panel will discuss urban development and transit.
April 28, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A panel discussion entitled "Toward a Better Urbanism: Transit, Where Will It Take Us?" will be held Friday at the University of Minnesota. The event is planned for 6 to 9 p.m. in the CALA Auditorium...

Bloomington-based Bor-son Construction hires business development director.
April 28, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Gregory Franzen is the new director of business development at Bor-son Construction Inc. of Bloomington. Franzen, who has a degree in marketing and business from Bethel College in St. Paul, has work...