Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from December 2005

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from December 2005

Twin Cities office of CB Richard Ellis announces local hire, two promotions.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Twin Cities office of CB Richard Ellis has promoted Mike Harrer to vice president and added Reed Christianson and Emily Peecock to the leasing team at Fifth Street Towers in downtown...

Fifth annual real estate outlook sponsored by MN real estate organizations.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report An official with the Real Estate Research Corp. will discuss the outlook for the 2006 U.S. real estate investment market during an event next month. Kenneth Riggs will appear at the fifth...

Wayzata-based Schoell & Madson Inc. hires VP.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Scott Harri has been named vice president at the Schoell & Madson Inc. planning, engineering and surveying services firm. Harri has more than 30 years of experience in the study, design,...

Minnesota Shopping Center Association to present its annual STARR awards.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minnesota Shopping Center Association will present its annual STARR awards on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The STARR awards, which stand for Shopping center Tribute Awards for Retail Real estate, will...

MN State Fair plans to build new animal birthing center.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minnesota State Fair Foundation is planning a $1.5 million Miracle of Birth Center that will replace an existing facility at the Falcon Heights fairgrounds. The center provides space where...

Jim Graham's political activism helps revive Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Jim Graham's passion for tight neighborhoods and affordable housing comes from growing up in a tin shack on a sharecropper's farm in Arkansas. The man often credited with helping guide the transformation of...

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe finances affordable housing for Ventura Village families.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements In his efforts to bring affordable and sustainable housing to the American Indian-rich neighborhood of Ventura Village, Jim Graham has helped recruit the deep pockets of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. ...

Thunderbird Motel owner calling it a career at I-494 landmark in Bloomington.(Company Profile)
December 1, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Rod Wallace is packing up a big part of his life and moving out of the Thunderbird Motel. The 80-year-old owner of the I-494 landmark in Bloomington has an agreement to sell the motel that he built and has been...

Developers grow cautious as housing market cools.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard After years of booming sales, the ground is shifting for residential and multi-family housing developers. On Monday, the National Association of Realtors announced that sales of existing homes were down 2.7 percent...

Bloomington ad agency Colle + McVoy still looking for right office space in Minneapolis.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Carmichael Lynch has found a new home, but Bloomington ad agency Colle + McVoy is still looking for just the right space for its offices. Carmichael Lynch ended its quest for office space last month when it signed a...

Minneapolis-based Naterra Land campaign promotes vacation retreats.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis-based vacation property developer Naterra Land is continuing its "Autumn Land Rush" promotion, offering lakeshore and woodland properties at reduced prices, in some cases, of between 3.6 percent and 7...

Padilla elected to post with Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson NorthMarq Capital's CEO Ed Padilla will whittle down his allotment of spare time next year when he takes over a director post at the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. He was elected at the association's annual...

Convergence of trends kept Minneapolis-area real estate bankers busy through 2005.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson As 2005 winds down, commercial mortgage bankers continue to ride a market surge created by low interest rates, a flat yield curve and hungry real estate investors. The convergence of those trends has boosted the...

Augsburg College in Minneapolis planning $37 million in campus upgrades.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Augsburg College is nearing the finish line in the largest fundraising campaign of the school's 136-year history, with about two-thirds of the $55 million target going toward a major bricks-and-mortar expansion. ...

South Minneapolis co-op facing an uncertain future.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The Nicollet Cooperative Association, a former nursing home turned residential housing co-op, marked the first foray into development for the Minneapolis-based Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund (NCDF). The...

MN's director of Homeland Security helps state prepare for the worst.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Kris Eide, who grew up in a military household during the Cold War, remembers her parents insisting that the family be prepared for the worst in case of a war between the Soviet Union and United States. As the new...

MN lawmakers lament lack of state transportation funding.
December 3, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Some lawmakers still have raw feelings over the outcome of the transportation funding bill last session. Among them is state Rep. Ron Erhardt, the Edina Republican whose so-called Erhardt amendment would have...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: December 3, 2005.
December 3, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis firm Martin/Williams Advertising on Friday announced the Jan. 1 retirement of CEO Steve Collins in a rearrangement of top executives at the fourth-largest agency in the Twin Cities. Tom Moudry, who was...

Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis nears the finish line on budget and on schedule.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Completing a major arts facility on time and on budget is no small feat, given the size and complexity of the projects. The new Guthrie Theater, nearing completion on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown...

Rising costs impact Minnesota's transportation construction industry.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw High construction material costs are having a significant impact on Minnesota's transportation construction industry. Tim Worke, director of highway and transportation divisions at the Associated General...

Union accuses developers of Minneapolis hotel/condominium project of exploiting workers.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson An organized labor group is accusing the developers of the Whitney Hotel condominium conversion project of "exploiting" construction workers. The Minnesota Building Construction Organizing Task Force says Swervo...

Condo market booms in Milwaukee's hip, Historic Third Ward.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan (This article originally ran in The Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication.) The condo groundbreakings in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward have become a forum for city officials and developers...

South Dakota lawsuit raises safety policy questions for builders.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Natalie White (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) In a case that highlighted a disturbing trend of companies using incentive programs to minimize on-the-job injury...

Bowling alley hopes for strike with retro design.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan (This article originally ran in the Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, OR, another Dolan Media publication.) Before bowling junkies of the 1950s knew Grand Central Bowl as a great place to pick up a spare,...

Builder plans 'active-adult' community in Maple Grove.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Maple Grove officials have approved a 300-home "active-adult" community that will be built by K. Hovnanian Homes. Four Seasons at Rush Creek will feature two- and three-bedroom homes in a...

MN Construction Association meeting to look at condos and co-ops.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Condominiums and co-op housing are the subjects of the next Minnesota Construction Association breakfast meeting. The meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 14, from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m....

St. Paul-based Minnetronix breaking ground on expansion project.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report St. Paul-based Minnetronix, a specialized product design and manufacturing firm whose clients include 3M, Medtronic and St. Jude Medical, will break ground on an expansion project at its existing...

Burnsville public meeting examines Highway 13 interchange project.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report A public meeting on the Highway 13 and Highway 5 interchange project in Burnsville is set for Dec. 14 at Burnsville City Hall. The meeting, scheduled for 4:30 to 7 p.m., will feature drawings of...

JDA Design Architects of Minneapolis wins award from Vetter Windows & Doors.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report JDA Design Architects of Minneapolis has won an award from Mosinee, Wis., based Vetter Windows & Doors for its design of a house in Deep Creek Lake, Md. The vintage bungalow-style home, built...

U.S. Supreme Court considers federal banking jurisdiction.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This article was originally published in Lawyers Weekly USA, another Dolan Media publication.) The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case that will dictate the future...

Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates plans new housing project on Bennett Lumber site.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates has a contract to purchase a portion of the Bennett Lumber site in south Minneapolis for residential redevelopment. Preliminary plans call for 150 to 170 units, while Bennett Lumber...

Construction lenders in Minneapolis post another solid year in 2005.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Commercial and residential developers saw the cost of borrowing rise in 2005, but they kept building and buying at a pace that matched or exceeded the previous year. And that meant another good year for Twin...

Forces coalesce for next phase of light rail in Minneapolis.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Though the Central Corridor light-rail transit (LRT) system is not officially a go, those involved on the political and community fronts are starting to pave the way for the long-discussed $840 million project. ...

Plymouth-based Hempel Properties snags Minnetonka office property.(Company Profile)
December 8, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Plymouth-based Hempel Properties' acquisition of the 55,000-square-foot Woodhill Plaza office building in Minnetonka is the latest in a string of deals for the growing developer and property owner. President Jon...

Nonprofit agency buys downtown Minneapolis office building.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard It's not every day that a nonprofit social services agency buys a downtown office building. But Roseville-based Presbyterian Homes & Services last week announced its purchase of 1221 Nicollet, at the south end of the...

Developer and Minneapolis building owner settle lawsuit.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger A lawsuit over rooftop billboards and environmental cleanup at a south Minneapolis building was settled by Lander Group Inc. and Theisen Vending Co. before going to trial in Hennepin County District Court on Tuesday. ...

Cooling condo market brings new ad tactics in Minneapolis.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Twin Cities condo shoppers can expect less advertising hype as the real estate market softens. The National Association of Realtors offered evidence last week of the slowing market, saying October single-family...

Bloomington-based United Properties issues upbeat market evaluation.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Bloomington-based United Properties released preview statistics of its year-end "Outlook" study this week that showed strong absorption across all property types in 2005. The local industrial market leads the...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: December 8, 2005.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Darren Iverson has been named marketing director for International Market Square (IMS), the 537,802-square-foot complex on the northwestern edge of downtown that offers space for showrooms, design firms and corporate...

$3.5M available in MN for purchasing land for transit-oriented development.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The Metropolitan Council has $3.5 million in federal funding for purchasing land near light-rail stations for transit-oriented development. Minneapolis, Bloomington and Hennepin County, the three entities that...

MN's Hiawatha Line success contributes to Central Corridor delay.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Ironically, the success of the Hiawatha Line light-rail transit (LRT) system is responsible for delaying the Central Corridor project. Last year, the Met Council sent its environmental impact statement (EIS) on...

Brill hired as VP and legal counsel at Minneapolis-based CSM Corp.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Robert Brill has been named vice president and associate general counsel at Minneapolis-based real estate development and acquisitions firm CSM Corp. Brill has more than 20 years of legal...

Minneapolis-based Hay Dobbs named to plan development at two LRT stations.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Hay Dobbs architectural firm of Minneapolis has been selected to plan development in the vicinity of two light-rail stations in the Nokomis East area of Minneapolis. Minneapolis and...

Westwood signs office lease in Eden Prairie.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Liberty Property Trust, a Malvern, Pa., real estate investment trust that owns and manages nearly 4 million square feet of commercial space in Minnesota, has signed Westwood Professional Services...

Minneapolis Area Assn. of Realtors donates $32,000 to Twin Cities housing groups.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) Foundation contributed 11 grants worth $32,000 to groups that provide housing and related programs and services in the Twin Cities. Grants...

Northstar is subject of real estate gathering in St. Louis park.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report A real estate group will hear a presentation on the Northstar commuter rail project at its next meeting. Tim Yantos, executive director of Northstar, will present an overview of the project to...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: December 10, 2005.
December 10, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis-based ad agency Campbell Mithun has lost its bid for the $10 million online portion of the H&R Block account. Instead, the Kansas City, Mo., tax-preparation firm awarded the business to Wenham,...

MN-based Westwood Professional Services names president, adds staff.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Dwight Jelle is the new president of Westwood Professional Services Inc., an Eden Prairie-based firm that specializes in planning, engineering and surveying services. He replaces Dennis...

Keeping up with Les and Nancy Jones is no small feat.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Here's a word of advice for anyone meeting Nancy Jones for the first time: Don't complain to her about how busy your life is. Want to hear about busy? Jones and her husband, Les, started Les Jones Roofing out of...

Contractors advises construction firms to be organized in presentations for contracts.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson During his 20 years as a project manager and owner's representative, Dick Strassburg has learned a thing or two about the interview process for construction contracts. Think it's not important for a design or...

MN governor's executive order on PLAs won't change much, AGC official says.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson An Associated General Contractors of Minnesota official is downplaying the effect of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's recent executive order that says state departments should not discriminate against government contractors on the...

Commentary: The jolly old fellow had a rough year.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The North Pole is a ways out of our coverage area, and that's a shame. Because sources tell us that there was plenty to write about in 2005 regarding the North Pole's most famous resident. Yes, Virginia, there is...

Wisconsin city on cusp of new development.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder (This article originally ran in The Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication.) The open road leads to Platteville, and developers are jumping on it. As construction crews clear their...

Construction company makes way back after hurricane.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Garry Boulard (This article originally ran in New Orleans CityBusiness, New Orleans, LA, another Dolan Media publication.) With four significant projects under way in New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana, the Walton...

Amid Baltimore school closures, a development opportunity.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Jen Degragario (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication.) The Baltimore City Public Schools system's plan to shed 2.7 million square feet of underutilized space - in some...

Miranda joins St. Paul office of Howard R. Green.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Norm Miranda has joined the business development team at the St. Paul office of Howard R. Green Co. He will focus on business development efforts for the firm's water and municipal business...

KKE Architects hires 12 workers at Minneapolis office.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Twelve new employees have joined Minneapolis-based KKE Architects Inc. New members of the commercial development team are Andrew Centanni, job captain for Kohl's; Thomas Horan, project manager...

Hybrid buses tested on streets in Baltimore.
December 14, 2005... Byline: Dori Berman (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD., another Dolan Media publication).Ten shiny new hybrid buses will soon be cruising some of the busiest routes in Baltimore as state transportation...

Housing group seeks deed tax surcharge.
December 14, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Affordable housing groups are pushing for a surcharge on the deed tax that would generate an additional $20 million a year for state housing programs. Pointing to a looming affordable housing crunch, the groups...

Poll: Employee raises, bonuses not likely to increase in 2006.
December 14, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith (This article originally appeared in The Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, OR., another Dolan Media publication). The majority of the nation's employees are not expected to receive higher raises and bonuses in...

Is recent bankruptcy reform good for business?
December 14, 2005... Byline: Cathy Lenny (This article originally ran in the St. Charles County Business Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). The new bankruptcy reform law is a mixed blessing for small businesses because, while it may...

Seventh Circuit holds that Simultaneous 'Chapter 20' filings are barred.
December 14, 2005... Byline: David Ziemer (This article was originally published in Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, WI., another Dolan Media publication). A debtor may not file a simultaneous "Chapter 20" petition - a Chapter 13 plan filed while a...

Nancy Homans finds herself home again at city hall in St. Paul.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Nancy Homans is a city planner, not a politician. She's used to the turtle's pace of community development, not the mercurial world of city politics. So, 14 months ago when Homans took a job with the state and...

MN's largest industrial building sold to St. Louis firm.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard St. Louis-based Environmental Liability Transfer Inc. (ELT) has purchased a 2.05 million-square-foot industrial facility at 4800 E. River Road in Fridley from defense contractor BAE Systems. Under the...

Minnetonka-based Timm & Associates developing hotel in Vadnais Heights.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The Twin Cities hotel market has seen robust growth in the last 18 months, including a new project in Vadnais Heights. Timm & Associates, a Minnetonka-based lodging developer, operator and broker, began...

Downtown Ramada in Minneapolis goes to team led by Apex partner.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson A recent property deal may indicate that the steady wave of downtown Minneapolis residential development is spreading in a new direction. A group led by Apex Asset Management principal Robert Lux quietly bought...

Two firms enter local market with Bloomington deal.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. and Chicago-based Golub & Co. have purchased the Riverview Office Tower in Bloomington in a joint venture. Terms of the sale, which closed Nov. 29, were not...

Bloomington-based United Properties opens office in Denver area.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Bloomington-based United Properties has opened an office in the Denver area in conjunction with its purchase of the Shops at the Bluffs, a 295,000-square-foot retail center in Colorado Springs. ...

St. Louis-based real estate firm promotes three at Eden Prairie property.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minneapolis office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker has promoted three employees at the One Southwest Crossing management office at 11095 Viking Drive in Eden Prairie. Barb Perron was named...

Eagan-based JBL Companies Inc. completes sale and lease deals.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report Eagan-based JBL Companies Inc. completed several leases and a sales transaction for properties in the Twin Cities. At the Mendota Heights Executive Center, 750 Plaza Drive S., new leases were...

Minnesota Shopping Center Assn. names STARR winners.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minnesota Shopping Center Association has announced its annual STARR winners. STARR, which stands for Shopping center Tribute Awards for Retail Real estate, recognizes outstanding projects and...

Bloomington-based Welsh Capital hires new associate.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report John Mulcahey has joined Bloomington-based Welsh Capital as an associate. He previously was president of Princeton Financial in Edina. At that firm, he worked with IMPAC, a multi-family lender...

Officers, board members named by MN Shopping Center Assn.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Report The Minnesota Shopping Center Association has elected officers for the coming year. They are Sara Stafford, LandAmerica Commercial Services, president; Jay Scott, Solomon Real Estate Group,...

Developers bemoan a bulky Minneapolis permit system.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Last summer, the city of Minneapolis formally unveiled the long-touted "One Stop" concept, meant to simplify and streamline the process for developers and small-business owners obtaining permits and approvals from the...

County signs off on sale of old West, jail buildings in downtown St. Paul.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The long-planned rebirth of the old county jail and West Publishing sites along the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul moved a step closer on Tuesday. The Ramsey County Board unanimously approved the $3.9...

Ham Lake development in question after ruling.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements A ruling from an Anoka County judge has put in doubt a controversial plan to build 117 single-family homes on a 362-acre site in Ham Lake. On Dec. 5, Judge Sharon Hall ruled that Ham Lake violated state law by...

Rising energy prices don't dampen business owners' optimism about the future.
December 16, 2005... Byline: Rob Larimer (This article originally ran in Colorado Springs Business Journal, Colorado Springs, CO., another Dolan Media publication).Rising energy prices may be the biggest threat to small-business market conditions, but that...

Satellite provider DirecTV settles multi-state investigation.
December 16, 2005... Byline: Dolan Media Newswires (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Rochester, N.Y. another Dolan Media publication). New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced that New York joined 21 states to settle a...

Financial professionals believe U.S. economy will grow at a moderate pace in 2006.
December 16, 2005... Byline: Dolan Media Newswires (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD., another Dolan Media publication).Financial professionals believe the U.S. economy will continue to grow at a moderate pace in 2006, according...

MN Marketing Briefs: December 17, 2005.
December 17, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis ad agency Campbell Mithun (CM) has laid off 10 employees one week after failing to win the $10 million H&R Block Web account.Jack Rooney, chief executive officer at the 72-year-old agency, attributed the...

Oklahoma's Six Flags off sales block.
December 17, 2005... Byline: Brandice Armstrong (This article originally ran in The Journal Record, another Dolan Media publication). Six Flags is no longer for sale.The deadline, set for mid-December, passed with no formal bids received."If I were them, I...

HOK's new St. Louis headquarters certified 'green' space.
December 17, 2005... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff HOK's new St. Louis headquarters has become downtown's first certified "green" space. The 57,000-square-foot office in One Metropolitan Square achieved certification by the U.S. Green Building Council...

New court houses sprouting up in the Twin Cities.
December 20, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson It may be true that you can't fight city hall. But increasingly, metro suburbs are proving that you can always build a new one. Richfield, South St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, Shorewood, Cottage Grove, Ramsey and St....

Construction groups take issue with federal immigration bill.
December 20, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The Associated General Contractors of America and other building trade groups are weighing in on a controversial issue that may seem foreign to the construction industry illegal immigration. Last week, in an e-mail...