Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from August 2005

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from August 2005

Minnetonka's city manager discusses long-term budget reforms for state of MN.
August 2, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Last month, Minnesota experienced its first government shutdown. The failure to reach a budget agreement by the end of the fiscal year showed the severe consequences of the polarized political atmosphere at the state...

Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling means municipalities may be on the hook for more relocation fees.
August 3, 2005... Byline: Mark A. Cohen The Minnesota Supreme Court's recent decision to award relocation benefits to a Richfield homeowner may have an impact on municipal redevelopment projects throughout the state. The court found that the city's...

For Minneapolis-based Studio Z, animation is an art form.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Imagine a hassle-free northbound drive on a widened Interstate 35W between 66th and 46th streets in south Minneapolis, with ample room for cars as they travel the speed limit and politely change lanes. That's...

Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. adds environmental engineer in St. Paul office.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Todd Fryzek has joined the St. Paul office of Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) as a senior environmental engineer. In addition to project management responsibilities, he will specialize in addressing...

St. Paul developer featured at Monday meeting of St. Paul BOMA.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Bridges of St. Paul developer Jerry Trooien will be the featured speaker at next Monday's meeting of the Building Owners & Managers Association in St. Paul. The gathering will be held from noon to 1:30...

Minnesota Twins, city officials plan event for first-time homebuyers.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Minnesota Twins and city officials are teaming up to highlight the opportunities for first-time homebuyers in Minneapolis. The free event is planned for 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18, on the...

Grant Park condo tower in Minneapolis rings up profits for investors.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Local real estate agent Scot Pekarek and his wife were in a mood to gamble. Two summers ago, Pekarek took out a 401(k) loan to come up with the 5 percent down payment required to buy a unit in the Grant Park...

MN-based developer to appeal CW Lofts banner ruling.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Brooklyn Park-based Trio Development LLC plans to appeal a July 26 recommendation by the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) that Trio remove promotional banners from the CW Lofts building and repair any...

Minnesota: Land of the three-car garage.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson When it comes to building garages, many homebuyers are asking their builder to "super-size me." A desire for larger garages is catching on throughout the United States, but it's especially strong in the Midwest,...

Greater things may await the Nicollet Hotel Block.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Downtown Minneapolis real estate is valuable, and using such property for surface parking lots is not the highest and best use, but surface lots do make money. Take what's known as the Nicollet Hotel...

MN-based BOR-SON Construction elects new board member.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Gregory Szypulski has been elected to the board of directors of BOR-SON Construction Inc. of Bloomington. Szypulski, who joined BOR-SON in 1988, has 26 years of construction experience. He is a senior...

Geologist joins St. Paul office of Braun Intertec.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Michael MacDonald has been hired as a staff geologist for the St. Paul office of Braun Intertec Corp. MacDonald had been a hydrogeologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, for Central...

RNR Home Improvement wins small business award for Hamline area.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff St. Paul-based RNR Home Improvement LLC has been named the Hamline Community 2005 Small Business of the Year. The 3-year-old firm is a residential building and remodeling company with several...

Troubled parking system crimps downtown Minneapolis development.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements In the late 1990s, Minneapolis began a concentrated effort to replace surface parking lots in downtown with parking ramps in order to make prime real estate available for development. Unfortunately, the city's...

Couple makes small splash with Roseville building.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Scott Brannon and Wanda Jameros-Brannon know all about mixed-use development. Their small commercial building in Roseville offers a rarely duplicated combination. It's a self-service car wash - and an office building....

Another banner year for commercial lenders in Minneapolis area.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson A local commercial banker was worrying earlier this summer that his mortgage banker friends were spending all their time at closings and missing out on an entire season on the golf course. But his friends aren't...

Excelsior rowhouse project bears fruit - after two years.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Local developer Bill Stoddard plans to break ground soon on an upscale rowhouse project in a historic part of downtown Excelsior. The project, which received final city zoning and planned unit development approval...

United Properties report paints picture of improving market.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The latest market numbers from United Properties show robust absorption in the local office and industrial markets and strong construction activity in the retail sector. United Properties previewed the findings...

What's downtown parking worth?
August 4, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Surface parking lots and vertical parking ramps occupy just more than one-half of the 300 acres of real estate considered to be downtown Minneapolis, according to data gathered from several city sources. So, how...

TSP One of Minneapolis merges with six firms to create architectural, construction company.
August 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff TSP One Inc. of Minneapolis has merged with six affiliated firms to create a regional architectural, engineering and construction company that will be called TSP Inc. Richard Gustaf, chief executive...

Employers of migrant workers in MN face tougher penalties.
August 5, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Minnesota now has stiffer penalties designed to protect migrant workers. New legislation became effective Monday that doubles the fine on employers that don't follow through on contracts with hired help. The...

List of executive defections continues to grow at Minneapolis-based Fallon Worldwide.
August 6, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis-based Fallon Worldwide has been hit with more defections from its creative staff, with two executives leaving recently to join Atlanta-based WestWayne Inc. Dave Damman, a creative director at Fallon, left...

Observers expect near-term effect of White case on elections to be limited.
August 9, 2005... Byline: Mark A. Cohen Most judicial election observers predicted that the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent decision in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White is unlikely to have a major impact in the 2006 election. However,...

Let's Dish! cooking up Twin Cities retail expansion.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Here's a little good news for retail property owners and brokers. Let's Dish!, the Minneapolis-based retail meal-preparation business, announced last month the completion of an investment round that provided $4...

Eden Prairie developer unveils expanded plans for Calhoun Square.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The proposed redevelopment of Calhoun Square in Minneapolis is coming into sharper focus. Last Friday, Eden Prairie-based Solomon Real Estate Group submitted formal rezoning and variance applications with the city of...

MN Real Estate Briefs: August 11, 2005.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Last fall, Saks Fifth Avenue announced that it was leaving downtown Minneapolis. After some hand-wringing from city officials, the Birmingham, Ala.-based Saks Inc. revealed that the entire store would be converted to...

Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction names VP of St. Paul unit.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. has named Keith Beneke to serve as vice president and director of the firm's St. Paul business unit. Beneke, who joined Kraus-Anderson in 1994, has 20...

Golden Valley-based M. A. Mortenson achieves worker-safety milestone.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Golden Valley-based M. A. Mortenson Co. has surpassed 2 million worker hours without recording a lost-time injury. The company said it has gone seven months without any of its 1,800 workers being...

New Hope-based Olson General Contractors firm awarded projects.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff New Hope-based Olson General Contractors Inc. has been awarded the following construction projects: * A 42,000-square-foot addition for the Walter G. Anderson Co.; * An 18,000-square-foot addition...

Some developers take cautious route in sizzling condo market.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard In the spring of 2004, the Minneapolis-based Horty Elving & Associates Inc. architectural firm went public with plans for a new condo tower in the Elliot Park neighborhood, not far from the Grant Park project. As plans...

Minnesota couple are driving force behind Mike Otto Construction.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Mike Otto and Carol Chen are unlikely business partners. Chen is a native of Beijing, China, a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and a former marketing manager who has traveled...

Cities Edge Architects celebrates project diversity.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Colin Evenson likes to talk about water parks, and who can blame him? His company, Cities Edge Architects, has designed indoor water parks across the United States, capitalizing on one of the hottest trends in the...

Lunda Construction offering Wakota Bridge for sale.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Want to buy a slightly used bridge? Lunda Construction might have just what you're looking for. Black River Falls, Wis.-based Lunda, which is working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation on the...

Central Lutheran Church completing bell tower after 80 years.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson When the Sund & Dunham architectural firm of Minneapolis designed Central Lutheran Church in 1925, the architects envisioned a dignified limestone structure with stained glass windows and a 139-foot-tall bell tower....

MN-based Donlar Construction names new chief financial officer.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Donlar Construction has promoted Karl Anderson to chief financial officer. Donlar, which has offices in Roseville and St. Cloud, first hired Anderson as controller in 2003. Anderson is a certified...

JLG Architects opens office in Alexandria.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Grand Forks, N.D., based JLG Architects has opened an office in Alexandria. Dan Miller, a longtime JLG employee and a new partner, was named to head the office. Miller, who joined JLG in 1995, has...

Minnesota officials unveil Green Communities housing program.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Local officials have announced a new initiative aimed at creating healthier and more affordable and energy-efficient housing in the state. Minnesota Green Communities will be a collaboration of the...

Minneapolis-based KKE Architects designs northern Wisconsin casino project.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Forest County Band Potawatomi Nation has broken ground on the expansion and replacement of its Northern Lights Bingo and Casino in Carter, Wis. Minneapolis-based KKE Architects Inc. designed the new...

Architect joins Minneapolis-based Landform consulting firm.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Benjamin Sporer has joined the planning team at Minneapolis-based Landform. Sporer, who has worked in landscape architecture for more than 10 years, will lead the firm in all aspects of residential and...

Eden Prairie office of Liberty Property Trust completes three lease deals.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Eden Prairie office of the Liberty Property Trust commercial real estate firm has reached three lease agreements in the Plymouth area for space totaling 15,530 square feet. Hamer LLC has expanded...

Ramsey County addresses a backlog in real estate data.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an increase of $250,000 in the 2005 budget for the department in charge of recording real estate transactions - a move that officials hope will ease delays...

Pricing and products make the difference in lender choice.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Stonebridge Development and Acquisition is one of many new developers that have gotten an early lift from the condo and urban redevelopment wave. Founder and President Wallace Johnson estimates that his Apple...

Minneapolis-based Master converts former cell phone store for retailer.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Master, a Minneapolis-based real estate, engineering and construction firm, completed a conversion project for the Cartridge World store that opened in the Eagan Promenade retail center at 3324 Promenade...

Golden Valley firm has new name: McCarty Group.
August 11, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Golden-Valley-based McCarty Consulting Services Inc. has changed its name to McCarty Group. Founder and President Dean McCarty said he made the change to celebrate five years of business as a consultant...

MN officials hope health-care costs slowdown is sign of things to come.
August 12, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw After years of double-digit growth, health insurers saw their costs rise at a slower pace in 2004, according to the state Department of Health. Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach welcomed the new numbers, which...

Bloggers fight against proposed FEC rules.
August 12, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Recognizing the rise of the Internet as a political fundraising tool, federal regulators want to bring cyberspace under the umbrella of campaign finance rules. Based on the mixture of political content on the...

Airlines' troubles lead to more work for aviation lawyers.
August 13, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore Skyrocketing fuel costs, wage battles with unions and a general decline in business travel have combined into a perfect storm that has battered the airline industry. Several big carriers are already in bankruptcy -...

MN Marketing Briefs: August 13, 2005.
August 13, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Employees from Edina video production firm Broadview Media rolled into One-Eyed Jack's Saloon in Sturgis, S.D., last week to shoot Sturgis Motorcycle Rally footage for a reality TV show slated to air in early 2006. ...

Lu's vision for St. Paul's Lowertown within reach - at last.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Weiming Lu, primary architect of the reclamation of St. Paul's Lowertown, does not like to talk about himself or tout his long list of accomplishments. But his many friends and admirers have no such reservations....

MN Construction Briefs: August 18, 2005.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The newest members of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota include a moving services company, an electrical contractor, a retail construction services firm and a company that teaches English as a second...

St. Paul store eschews glitz and glitter in favor of sustainability.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson When Patagonia looks to renovate a facility, one of the first orders of business is to give the construction team a book that outlines acceptable building materials for the project. "If that book doesn't have as...

California Pizza Kitchen seeks space in Twin Cities market.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Madison Marquette investment firm has been named to represent California Pizza Kitchen, which plans to open four to six new locations in the Twin Cities area. Russ McGinty, senior vice president...

Checkers Drive-In chain entering Twin Cities market.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Tampa, Fla., based Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. chain says a Minnesota franchisee plans to build 10 new restaurants in the Twin Cities. Check of Minnesota Inc., headed by CEO W. M. Reno,...

Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture adds 22 new employees.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Twenty-two employees have joined Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture. Paul Hagen, who has more than 20 years of experience designing primary and secondary schools, will concentrate on...

Lease deal signed for Edina restaurant concept.
August 18, 2005... Byline: staff The Minneapolis office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker arranged a lease deal at 5034 France Ave. S. in Edina for building owner Richard Curtin. The 7,436-square-foot space will be the site of Odeon Bar Americaine, a new...

Engineer hired at St. Paul office of Howard R. Green.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Alison Sumption has joined Howard R. Green Co. as project engineer in the St. Paul Water and Wastewater Group. Sumption has five years of experience in wastewater treatment plant design and studies. Her...

Commissioner of MN Dept. of Employment & Econ. Dev. is keynote speaker at marketing meeting.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Matt Kramer, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, will be the featured speaker at the September meeting of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. ...

Two join corporate staff at Eden Prairie-based Harmon, Inc..
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Two people have been hired at the corporate office of Eden Prairie-based Harmon, Inc. Alla Epshteyn was hired as a business analyst and Marie Gustafson as a sales and marketing assistant at the firm,...

Eden Prairie-based Liberty Property Trust completes five lease deals.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Eden Prairie office of Liberty Property Trust has completed five lease deals for 30,559 square feet in the Twin Cities. In Minnetonka, Time Warner Telecom of Minnesota signed a long-term lease for...

Site of eight homes in Richfield targeted for redevelopment near airport.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Metropolitan Airports Commission agreed on Monday to buy four of eight Richfield homes that will be affected by noise when a new runway opens at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in October....

Chairman of Golden Valley-based ATS Medical resigns seat.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Manny Villafana, chairman of the board and company founder of ATS Medical, said that he will not seek re-election to the board of directors when his term expires May 31. Golden Valley-based ATS...

NAI Welsh adds industrial brokers in Minneapolis office.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Four industrial brokers have joined the Minneapolis office of NAI Welsh. Peter Mork, Steven Nilsson and Jason Simek previously worked at CB RichardEllis. The trio works as a team and collectively has...

Hallmark thinks two stores will be twice as nice in Edina.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Greetings, Hallmark. Competition is moving in across the street - another Hallmark store. After measuring traffic and consumer activity, the real estate division of greeting card giant Hallmark Cards Inc. approved...

Ramsey County building owners get new tool for comparing assessments.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Ramsey County assessor has unveiled a new tool that allows building owners in downtown St. Paul to more quickly compare their assessments with other buildings. The move marks the first time that the county has...

Partners build Minneapolis portfolio with Renaissance Square deal.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Xcel Energy has sold the Renaissance Square building, 500 Nicollet Mall, in downtown Minneapolis to RSX LLC, an affiliate of FRM Associates, which owns Marquette Plaza. At the same time, Xcel announced it will lease...

Minnesota Building is a riddle within an enigma.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Commercial real estate is a business of open secrets, but in downtown St. Paul there's a building mystery that doesn't seem to have an answer: What's going on at the Minnesota Building? The 101,000-square-foot...

As condos in Minneapolis bloom, ad urges 'think apartments'.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger The advantages of owning a condo have been dubbed a myth by the owner of a downtown Minneapolis apartment building called The Churchill. A small black-and-white advertisement that was placed in the Skyway News...

IRET adds to Twin Cities medical portfolio.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Investors Real Estate Trust gave its Twin Cities medical offices portfolio a big boost this summer with the acquisition of two central city office buildings. The Minot, N.D.-based REIT bought a 61,913-square-foot...

Hennepin County mulls replacement of Lowry Avenue Bridge in north Minneapolis.
August 18, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The Lowry Avenue Bridge has been on the job for 100 years in north Minneapolis, but it may be headed for retirement. Hennepin County officials are asking the state to contribute $24.3 million toward a $32.8...

Minnesota groups remember the families soldiers leave at home.
August 19, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw With more Minnesota soldiers being deployed overseas since Sept. 11, 2001, groups that help military families cope back at home are in greater demand. Some organizations raise money while others provide information...

MN Marketing Briefs: August 20, 2005.
August 20, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger In the end, Format died and no one signed the death certificate. The lone acknowledgment of the demise of the Twin Cities-based monthly marketing magazine will be a full page ad in the final issue of Format that...

Third parties still face an uphill slog in Minnesota.
August 23, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw It's plain to see that the race for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat in 2006 will be hotly contested by both Republicans and Democrats. Less discernible, however, is the chance third parties have of making noise in...

Brookdale Mervyn's site sold.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger The owner of Brookdale Center has acquired the vacant Mervyn's site in a move that gives the entity full ownership of the mall and allows the space to be offered to a new anchor tenant. Coral Gables, Fla.-based...

New ads urge parents to buy the kids a condo.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Call it the empty nest that comes with an expensive price tag. A new advertising campaign is urging parents to create their own empty nests by buying condominiums for their adult children who still live at home. ...

Coming soon to St. Michael: CineMagic Theatres.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Fridley-based CineMagic Theatres has purchased a site in St. Michael for a 15-screen movie theater dubbed the CineMagic Metropolitan. "We're in five out-state markets; this is our first entry into the greater...

St. Paul Radiology quietly plans downtown consolidation.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard When Gander Mountain announced the firm's move from Bloomington to downtown St. Paul, the outdoors retailer grabbed headlines. But another business consolidation in downtown St. Paul has flown below the radar. St....

Minneapolis Financial Briefs: August 25, 2005.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson One of the east metro's community banking mainstays will soon have a high-visibility south Minneapolis home along busy Hennepin Avenue. Forest Lake-based Mainstreet Bank plans a June 2006 opening for its new...

Minneapolis-based Target scoops up a half-dozen Six Quebec condos.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is recognized as the driving force in the current downtown Minneapolis office market. But it turns out that Target is also a player in the downtown residential condo market. Larry...

Pace picks up at Hartford Group's Legacy Villages.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The Hartford Group, the 7-year-old Eden Prairie-based developer, is firing on all cylinders this year as it continues to roll out its family of community-scale mixed-use developments The Hartford's trademark...

St. Paul real estate manager/developer's story has two sides.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements St. Paul real estate manager/developer Steve Wellington's story is a tale of two Steves. There's the more well-known Steve, the strong-willed business guy who in late 1984 founded Wellington Management Inc. and...

Edina-based Lund's may be opening Summit Hill neighborhood grocery store.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Is Lunds getting ready to move into St. Paul's Summit Hill neighborhood? That's the $64,000 question on the 700 block of Grand Avenue these days. The Edina-based grocery store chain owns the Italian Pie Shoppe...

Commentary: Complaints about public spending sometimes ring hollow.
August 25, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard "Let the market take care of itself." It's a common refrain in the real estate business. "Leave it to the market. The market will determine the value. The market will determine what the use of the property should...

MN Marketing Briefs August 26, 2005.
August 26, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger It's lonely at the top. But former Fallon Minneapolis ad executive Bruce Bildsten wants to be there anyway. Long a pillar in the creative department at Minneapolis-based Fallon, Bildsten on Wednesday night cleaned...

MN Marketing Briefs August 26, 2005.
August 27, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger It's lonely at the top. But former Fallon Minneapolis ad executive Bruce Bildsten wants to be there anyway. Long a pillar in the creative department at Minneapolis-based Fallon, Bildsten on Wednesday night cleaned...