Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from December 2004

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from December 2004

SEC rule change is looming for corporate real estate values.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson Ellen Herman is starting to gear up for a Securities and Exchange Commission rule change that she thinks is on the horizon, a shift that would produce major changes in real estate accounting and boost the role for...

Government-leased office buildings sold in St. Paul.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Roseville-based Meritex Enterprises Inc. has sold three out of four buildings in its Lafayette Park office park for $39.1 million to NGP Capital LLC of McLean, Va. The sale closed at the end of September. The...

Edina-based BDH & Young Space Design completes Grant Park Condominiums.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Edina-based BDH & Young Space Design has completed the design and installation of public spaces and amenities in the $100 million Grant Park Condominiums, 500 E. Grant St. in downtown Minneapolis. The...

Minneapolis seeks proposal for transportation planning.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis officials are requesting proposals for developing a 10-year action plan that looks at the city's transportation needs. "Mobility-Minneapolis" will address all modes of transportation,...

MN's 2005 Highway Construction Forecast set for Monday.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Associated General Contractors of Minnesota and the Minnesota Transportation Alliance will sponsor the 2005 Highway Construction Forecast next week. The meeting will be held Monday from noon to 5:30...

MN Commercial Real Estate Women hires outside mgmt. group.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Women (MNCREW) has hired IntrinXec Management Inc. of Minnetonka to manage the group. Gayle Hudak, president-elect of MNCREW, said the group hired IntrinXec to help...

Internationally-known architect to keynote St. Thomas architectural symposium.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Peter Eisenman, an internationally known architect and educator, will give the keynote speech at "Building the Impossible: Architecture in Motion," an exhibition and three-day symposium sponsored by the...

Anoka-based Assn. of Women Contractors planning holiday celebration.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Anoka-based Association of Women Contractors is planning its annual holiday celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 15. The party will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at The Reserve, 3155 Empire Lane, in...

Burnsville man wins Key Land house.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A 29-year-old Burnsville man has won a new $290,000 home that was built by Key Land Homes of Prior Lake. Erin Conley won the home before the start of the TCF Holidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis on...

Onetime Lake Minnetonka hangout gives way to condos.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard For years, the Minnetonka Mist was a local institution on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. The family-owned restaurant and bar was a favorite among locals. "It was sort of the 'Cheers' of Spring Park," said Jim...

TV ads for downtown Minneapolis mixed-use project set to hit the airwaves.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Promoting the pleasures of city life, the first 30-second TV ad for downtown mixed-use project The Lowry is scheduled to begin airing next Thursday. Patrick Crowe, head of St. Paul ad firm Kamper Brands, said he...

Wisc.-based Menards tries new strategy with St. Paul's Midway store.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menard Inc. is nearing completion of a two-level Menards store in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood at University and Prior avenues. The 230,000-square-foot store, slated to open next spring, is the...

Golf course is at the center of development battle in Eagan.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson The city of Eagan's refusal to allow a proposed housing development to move forward at a golf course site has a local developer asking for a "Mulligan." Now, it's up to a Dakota County court to decide if the...

MN building assns. focus on aging-in-place residential design.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Hey, let's talk bathroom grab-bars and personal alert services. If research by the AARP is any indication, you'd rather not. The same goes for creating wider doors and hallways or making other design changes to help...

Private schools fuel Twin Cities mini-boom in construction - especially in suburbs.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson When Heritage Christian Academy opened its facility a mere two years ago in Maple Grove, construction was just beginning for the school formerly known as Medicine Lake Lutheran Academy. The school, which includes...

Minneapolis officials propose 'workforce housing' for Cream of Wheat Building.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The industrial Cream of Wheat Building at 730 Stinson Blvd. N.E. could become the city's latest residential condo project under a proposal before Minneapolis officials. The plan was publicly floated at a Nov. 16...

Minneapolis-based Regis Corp. buys Hair Club for Men and Women for $210M.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Regis Corp., part of the $150 billion hair care industry, acquired Hair Club for Men and Women for $210 million. The transaction closed mid-week. On Nov. 15 the company announced the signing of a...

Ballistic Recovery Systems names new president, COO.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Larry E. Williams joined Ballistic Recovery Systems Inc. as president and chief operating officer. For the past four years, Williams served as vice president of business development for AmSafe Aviation...

Minneapolis-based Fallon cuts 20 employees after losing Subway account.
December 4, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Still smarting after its May parting with major ad client Subway, Minneapolis-based ad agency Fallon Worldwide has laid off 20 employees from its Minneapolis and New York offices. No senior executives were among...

Tourism agency flies solo in challenging economy.
December 4, 2004... Byline: Charley Shaw, St. Paul Legal Ledger Like a traveler trying to catch a flight, Explore Minnesota Tourism has been making connections of its own since it became a separate state office this summer. The organization split apart...

LoanCity opens regional processing center in Minnetonka.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff San Jose, Calif.-based LoanCity, a wholesale mortgage lender, opened a regional processing center in Minnetonka on Carlson Parkway. The staff includes Mike Beck as vice president and regional production...

St. Paul federal court set for $36M facelift.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones President George Bush is expected to sign a government spending bill that includes $36.6 million to remodel the Warren E. Burger Federal Building in St. Paul, which presently houses the federal courts, Social...

St. Paul-based Synovis Life Technologies acquires Neurotube nerve conduit.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Staff Synovis Life Technologies Inc. announced that Synovis Micro Cos. Alliance, a wholly owned subsidiary serving the microsurgery market, purchased the rights for Neurotube, a nerve conduit from Neuroregen. Synovis MCA paid...

St. Paul-based JLT Group's owner displays a penchant for thinking big.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard At a large local gathering of real estate professionals last month, one of the panelists referred to developer Jerry Trooien as "our own local Donald Trump." Trooien shrugs at the comparison. "How'd you like to take a...

Downtown Minneapolis's TCF Tower for sale.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson The downtown Minneapolis selling spree entered a new round last week when CB Richard Ellis listed the 298,000-square-foot TCF Tower for sale. Tom Holtz, CBRE executive vice president, said the owners of the...

Minneapolis Dept. of Community Planning and Economic Development names new housing policy director.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Elizabeth Ryan has been named director of housing policy and development at the Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED). Ryan, who joined CPED in September as senior...

Edina-based firm to handle public relations for Kraus-Anderson Cos.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Gail Shore, who heads Edina-based Shore to Shore Communications Inc., has been selected to manage public relations for Kraus-Anderson Cos. Inc., a Minneapolis-based general contractor and construction...

Legacy at Woods Edge project gets go-ahead in Lino Lakes.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Lino Lakes City Council has approved the estimated $150 million "Legacy at Woods Edge" project that will create a new downtown in the city. Eden Prairie-based Hartford Group Inc. is planning a...

MN Construction Assn. luncheon to cover employee safety.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Keeping employees safe will be the topic of the December luncheon of the Minnesota Construction Association. Patricia Todd, director of the Minnesota office of the Occupational Safety and Health...

Tenn.-based Primacy Relocation leases space in St. Louis Park tower.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Memphis, Tenn., based Primacy Relocation has signed a deal to lease 6,231 square feet of office space in the MoneyGram Tower, formerly the Travelers Express Tower at 1550 Utica Ave. S. in St. Louis Park. ...

Minneapolis developer recognized at 2004 Big Builder Conference in Las Vegas.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Michael Lander, founder and president of the Minneapolis-based Lander Group, was among those named an "Urban Warrior" at the 2004 Big Builder Conference in Las Vegas on Nov. 9-11. The conference brought...

MN Real Estate Briefs: December 9, 2004.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Local real estate notable Jay Scott is leaving North American Properties to launch his own firm, the newly minted Solomon Real Estate Group. Scott was a partner with Cincinnati-based North American Properties,...

Minneapolis-based Welsh Capital adds two to staff.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Two loan originators have joined the Minneapolis-based Welsh Capital real estate financing firm. Paul Lotzer was named vice president, bringing more than 35 years and nearly $2 billion in commercial...

Northstar survey of Twin Cities sees industrial recovery; office sector still sluggish.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Third quarter numbers from Northstar Partners offer more evidence of continued struggles in the local office market, coupled with signs of a rebound in the industrial sector. First, the good news. Northstar...

Developer discusses Minneapolis condo tower at annual Concrete Conference.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson A tower is just a tower to most people, but engineers see things differently. John Lewis, an Opus Northwest engineer who worked on the 27-story Grant Park tower in Minneapolis, told a gathering at the University...

Minneapolis-based CSM Corp. project brings Lowe's, other development to Plymouth site.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Minneapolis-based CSM Corp. is making progress on plans to redevelop a 28-acre site near Highway 55 and Vicksburg Lane in Plymouth with a combination of retail construction and senior housing. The proposed $30...

Lowe's is ready to take on Menards, Home Depot.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger The Tuesday opening of the first Minnesota store in Coon Rapids for Lowe's Companies Inc. and the planned opening of a Lowe's in Plymouth signal a renewed advertising competition for do-it-yourselfers and contractors,...

Schneiderman's Furniture finds a fit in Plymouth industrial building.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger When Schneiderman's Furniture Inc. went shopping for new showroom space in the western metro, the company found the pickings for prime retail space to be lean. "We had a 22,000-square-foot store that we were leasing...

Transportation tops Minnesota Chamber's legislative agenda.
December 11, 2004... Byline: Charley Shaw Concerned about the state's deteriorating transportation system, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is planning a strategy that will likely include asking the Legislature for a nickel-a-gallon increase in the state's...

Minneapolis law firm exec trades PR for literary life.
December 11, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Brian Freeman, director of marketing and public relations for the Minneapolis office of Faegre & Benson LLP, plans to leave the 118-year-old law firm in January to become a full-time author of crime novels. ...

Residential permits decline in Twin Cities by 20 percent in November.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Homebuilding activity in the Twin Cities showed major signs of tapering off last month, according to building permit data released Monday by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. Last month,...

Questor Partners purchases St. Paul-based Polar Corp.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Questor Partners Fund II acquired St. Cloud-based Polar Corp., a privately held manufacturer of tanker trailers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The seller was Citigroup Venture Capital, a New...

Twin Cities apartment sector on the mend, but slowly.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson National and local apartment vacancies declined steadily during the last half of the year, but whether that trend will translate into a sudden spree of multifamily housing construction seems doubtful. Twin Cities...

Twin Cities condo market faces 'make or break' 2005.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard A new report on the local residential condominium market offers some hard numbers about the explosive growth of residential condo development in the Twin Cities. The newly released survey, "Market Viewpoint: Twin...

Prior Lake-based co. touting portable wastewater system for growing rural areas.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson A local company is touting a portable wastewater treatment system that's designed to meet the needs of rapidly developing rural areas that haven't been connected to municipal service hookups. Prior Lake-based GAIA...

Architect hired at Minneapolis office of 3D/I.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Ami J. Foss has joined the Minneapolis office of 3D/I as an architect specializing in strategic facility planning for health-care clients. Foss, who has a bachelor's degree in architectural studies...

MN-based Apogee Enterprises completes deal for glass installation business.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Apogee Enterprises Inc. of Bloomington has completed its purchase of Architectural Wall Solutions Inc., a Bolingbrook, Ill., firm that is the ninth largest commercial glass installation business in the...

Former MnDOT manager hired at Braun Intertec.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff David Reinsch is the new senior transportation manager at the Bloomington-based Braun Intertec engineering and consulting firm. Reinsch, who had been transportation manager at the Minnesota Department...

HealthPartners building $22 million St. Paul facility.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Bloomington-based HealthPartners is building a $22 million health specialty center at Phalen Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in St. Paul. The 130,000-square-foot, four-story facility is expected to be...

MN Commercial Real Estate Women elects board of directors for 2005.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Women (MNCREW) has elected its 2005 board of directors. Each board member will serve a one-year term, beginning on Jan. 1. Those elected were Gayle Hudak, president;...

St. Paul-based TKDA names veteran employee to head airport unit.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff John Ahern has been promoted to director of the airport department at the St. Paul-based TKDA engineering, architectural and planning company. Ahern, who joined the department in 1991, will be...

University United recognizes St. Paul development projects.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff University United has given its Project of the Year Award to 808 Berry Place, a housing project that is helping to revitalize a neighborhood near University Avenue and Highway 280 in St. Paul. The...

MN Construction Briefs: December 16, 2004.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Little Canada-based Advanced Masonry Restoration is leaving its mark on some decades-old buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul. More accurately, it's removing a lot of old marks, nicks and dings that come with age and...

MN Real Estate Briefs: December 16, 2004.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The industrial market continues to show the strongest signs of recovery in the local real estate market, according to a year-end study by United Properties of Bloomington. United Properties said the Twin Cities...

Commercial real estate lending gets SBA boost.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The outcome of the latest political skirmish involving the U.S. Small Business Administration should boost business for nonprofit lenders that specialize in SBA-guaranteed commercial real estate financing. ...

City Place in downtown Minneapolis gets another school tenant.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard As Metropolitan State University moves out, the Institute for New Americans (INA) will be moving to the City Place building at 730 Hennepin Ave. S. in downtown Minneapolis. The Institute for New Americans will take the...

Transportation boosters seek fix from MN legislators.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson If the outlook for transportation funding in Minnesota could be summarized in a brief weather report, it might look like this: partly sunny over the next couple of years, with dark clouds ahead for the extended...

Some MN hospitals redesign to meet needs of patients.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Responding to customer demands for more patient-friendly health-care settings, an increasing number of hospitals are redesigning their facilities and services. Among them are the Mayo Clinic in Rochester; Abbott...

Questions linger about future of downtown Minneapolis's Hollywood Theater.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The lights went out at the Hollywood Theater in northeast Minneapolis in 1987. The city of Minneapolis bought the decaying venue in 1993. Since then, no less than three development groups have been granted "exclusive...

David Jennings settles into new job at Minnesota Historical Society.
December 18, 2004... Byline: Charley Shaw David Jennings' career path has taken yet another turn. He has already held many high-profile positions in Minnesota, including speaker of the House, commissioner of the Commerce Department and head of Minneapolis...

Minnesota Revisor of Statutes Office improves Web site to better serve public.
December 18, 2004... Byline: Charley Shaw The Revisor of Statutes Office began implementing improvements last week to its legislative Web site aimed at keeping the site functional for the public during times of high demand. The upgrades come after heavy...

Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems expands manufacturing in West Virginia.
December 18, 2004... Byline: Staff Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems, in cooperation with the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, opened a new production facility at its Rocket Center, W. Va., manufacturing center. The new line will produce components for...

Brown & Brown acquires Minneapolis-based C. F. Lake.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Brown & Brown Inc. purchased Minneapolis-based C. F. Lake & Co. C. F. Lake is a retail property and casualty insurance agency with annual revenue of $2.6 million. The agency...

Women slowly building presence in MN's construction management positions.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson Donna Blasig's interest in construction was piqued at an early age, when her father took her to Parade of Homes models in the metro area. "I looked at the homes and said, 'That's so cool,'" she recalled. The...

Good timing helps LaSalle Bank gain footing in Twin Cities.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Mark Anderson In a Twin Cities market dominated by two banking powerhouses - Wells Fargo & Co. and U.S. Bank - Chicago-based LaSalle Bank has found a lucrative and growing niche in commercial real estate lending. Tom Bobak, a...

Brooklyn Park-based developer carving out niche in MN's northern suburbs.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Twin Cities office market might be sluggish, but Brooklyn Park-based LandCor Cos. is pushing ahead with construction of a 53,600-square-foot office building in Maple Grove. The multi-tenant Bell Tower West...

Datalink Corp. subleases its office space in Chanhassen.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Datalink Corp. has signed a deal to sublease about 55 percent of its space to another tenant at corporate headquarters in Chanhassen. Datalink, which specializes in information storage technology, said the...

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity hires new executive director.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Ramsey County board member Susan Haigh will be the next executive director of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Haigh, who served on the board for three terms, will leave the position on Feb. 1. She...

St. Paul hospital planning $70 million project.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff HealthEast Care System is planning a $70 million expansion and renovation at its St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul. The project will include new space for heart care, neuroscience, outpatient...

Lawyers join real estate practice at Minneapolis-based Winthrop & Weinstine.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Two lawyers with a background in real estate have joined the Minneapolis-based Winthrop & Weinstine law firm. Beth Mercer-Taylor will work within the banking and finance, and real estate practice groups...

SmithGroup Inc. names principal in Minneapolis office.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Ted Davis has been named principal and director of design in the Minneapolis office of SmithGroup Inc., an architecture, engineering, planning and interior design firm. Davis, who has more than 25 years...

Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate Group represents seller in Back Yard Burger deals.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate Group Inc. sold three Back Yard Burger properties in Alabama and Georgia. The firm sold a 3,452-square-foot Back Yard Burger outlet in Florence, Ala., for $1.6 million,...

St. Paul-based TKDA projects win engineering awards.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Westminster Junction Bridge in St. Paul and the Anoka County Highway 52 reconstruction project in Blaine have received 2005 engineering excellence awards from the American Council of Engineering...

Shakopee's Bluff Avenue housing project is award-winner.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson A nine-unit housing development in Shakopee sits on 2.5 acres that were hardly on the city's radar screen until recently. In fact, the site along Bluff Avenue in downtown Shakopee was deemed so insignificant it didn't...

Greenwood-based Internet design firm moving to Minneapolis.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger After six years near the shores of Lake Minnetonka, Greenwood-based Internet design firm Ham in the Fridge is moving to the Minneapolis Warehouse District. The move is making everyone at the seven-employee business...

CVS/Pharmacy plans joint retail/housing project in S. Minneapolis neighborhood.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger CVS/Pharmacy is rapidly expanding in the Twin Cities, with eight outlets already open and others expected to follow. But perhaps its most unusual project is planned for Franklin Avenue in the Whittier neighborhood of...

Aldi grocery chain takes lean-and-mean approach in Minneapolis market.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Bob Geiger Just the width of a driveway separates the Aldi and Lunds grocery stores in Richfield, but the approaches taken by the two food retailers are worlds apart. When Germany-based Aldi opened its Richfield store on Nov....

MN Real Estate Briefs: December 23, 2004.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard Last week, American Express Co. unloaded eight office buildings around the country, including its local operations center for American Express Financial Advisors at 1001 Third Ave. S. in downtown Minneapolis. Oak...

Political wrangling continues over fate of Walker Library in Minneapolis.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The city of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Public Library Board have issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) for the site of the current Walker Library in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. The RFP calls for a...

St. Paul community org. exec. director strives to restore lost luster of Midway retailing district.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard When Brian McMahon thinks about the Rosedale Center shopping mall, he gets nervous. McMahon sees the suburban center sapping sales, customers and traffic from his beloved Midway corridor in St. Paul. McMahon has...

First office condos coming to downtown Minneapolis.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Burl Gilyard The office condo boomlet has largely been a suburban phenomenon. But Minneapolis-based Tria Development LLC teamed up with United Properties this fall to offer the First Avenue Lofts, 120 First Ave. N., billed as the...

Minnesota projects recognized by pavement trade group.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The American Concrete Pavement Association honored several Minnesota companies and units of government for concrete pavement construction projects completed in 2003. Awards were presented in the...

Building for Brown College culinary program in Mendota Heights nearly complete.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Bloomington-based United Properties is nearing completion on a 70,000-square-foot building that will be home to the Le Cordon Bleu culinary program at Brown College in Mendota Heights. The building,...

Minneapolis-based Central Community Housing Trust receives $100,000 grant.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Saint Paul Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to Minneapolis-based Central Community Housing Trust to help pay for a redevelopment project in downtown St. Paul. The funding will be used to...