Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from July 2007

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from July 2007

Three keys to new $35.6 million Wilder Center in St. Paul are location, location and LEED.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson The three keys to the new $35.6 million Wilder Center are location, location and LEED. That's the vibe project officials are giving on the angular, four-story structure that will give the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation...

Wilder Foundation pays tribute to St. Paul Saints' historic home.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson The crowd that gathered at the new Wilder Center on Thursday had eyes fixed not on the new 100,000-square-foot facility, but on a bronze plaque placed in the dirt out front. Crafted in the shape of a home plate, the...

Lutheran congregation in Sandpoint, Idaho, developing $14M, 87-unit senior housing facility.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson David Olson will never forget his first pastoral visit to a nursing home. "I was greeted with the words, 'Pastor, I am being held against my will and I need your help to escape,'" recalled Olson, a Lutheran minister...

Minnesota-based Ecumen touts its alliance with A&P, Pope Associates.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Ecumen believes it has found the holy trinity of senior housing development. Through its newly announced alliance with St. Louis Park-based general contractor Adolfson & Peterson and St. Paul-based design firm Pope...

Prior Lake church extends its ministry to senior housing.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake doesn't want to be a Sunday-only destination. The church, located on 80 acres near County Road 21 and McKenna Road, already opens its spaces to various nonprofit...

Circle of Life project in Twin Cities offers services for terminally ill.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson St. Gertrude's Health and Rehabilitation Center in Shakopee plans to begin construction this fall on an addition that will provide accommodations for terminally ill patients and their family members. The Circle of...

Ramsey County jail set for 240-bed expansion.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson M.A. Mortenson of Golden Valley will break ground this month on a 72,000-square-foot addition to the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood, adding 240 beds and bringing some of the jail's systems into the...

Jail subcontractors are a special breed.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson The design-build team of Golden Valley-based M.A. Mortenson and St. Paul-based BWBR Architects took bids last week from subcontractors on the $16 million Ramsey County Correctional Facility addition in Maplewood. And...

Controller named at Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. of Minneapolis.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. of Minneapolis has hired Charles Kramer as controller. He will serve as chief accountant for the company's building group, overseeing its financial management functions....

Bloomington-based Braun Intertec promotes three executives.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based Braun Intertec has promoted Jan Carlson to president. Carlson, who previously was vice president of environmental services and principal scientist, will handle some of the duties of...

MnDOT begins holding pond project in Eagan.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minnesota Department of Transportation is reconstructing a holding pond on the southwest side of the intersection of Highway 77 and Highway 13 in Eagan. The project, which begins this week, is intended...

PCL Construction Services completes project at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff PCL Construction Services has finished building a new entertainment center at Mystic Lake Casino and Hotel in Prior Lake. The 147,000-square-foot center includes a 2,100-set performing arts auditorium,...

Minnesotan Ken Potts named to national LEED panel.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Ken Potts, director of development services at McGough Cos. of Roseville, has been elected to the national LEED for Neighborhood Development Core Committee (LEED-ND). Potts will be one of five...

Architect with Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers wins Rapson fellowship.
July 3, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Nicholas Potts of Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers has been selected to receive the 2007 Ralph Rapson Traveling Study Fellowship. The $10,000 award enables young architects or designers to...

Settler's Ridge under way near McGregor.
July 4, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger Settler's Ridge, staking its claim as "Minnesota's first gated vacation golf course community," is gearing up to sell lots, townhouses and single-family homes near McGregor, about 120 miles north of the Twin Cities in...

Hotels in the Twin Cities planning a grand old party.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson The 2008 Republican National Convention is still more than a year away, but Twin Cities hospitality experts are already anticipating the four-day event and what it will mean for the region. Leaders in the industry...

Report recommends deals for public ramps for the city of Minneapolis.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard The city of Minneapolis is ramping up efforts to unload a collection of municipal parking facilities. A new report issued on Monday recommends that the city sell eight of its municipal parking ramps for a combined...

Businesses weigh in on Ford Assembly Plant in St. Paul site projects.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Bill Clements As the planning process for the Ford Assembly Plant in St. Paul enters its second phase, area businesses are staking out positions that they believe are critical to the success of redeveloping the site. Traffic and...

Five plans under consideration for the Ford plant site in St. Paul.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Bill Clements In the future, the Ford site in St. Paul could contain 168 housing units and 80 acres for industrial uses, or 1,350 housing units and no industrial. That's the range of possibilities presented in five redevelopment...

Bloomington-based Braun Intertec Corp. engineer to tour nuclear facilities.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Dan Emerson In the great American tradition of the summer road trip, Rachael Detwiler plans to visit several points of interest around the United States in the next few months. But her destinations won't be national parks, resorts...

Victoria's Secret joins the parade to Uptown Minneapolis.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Who says urban retail can't be sexy? Lingerie chain Victoria's Secret has inked a deal for 3000 Hennepin Ave., a unique two-story retail space at Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue. The space, in the heart of the Uptown...

Magno inks deal for local presence in Minneapolis.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard In downtown Minneapolis, office brokers see vendors clamoring for space near the corporate headquarters of Target Corp. In Fridley, an out-of-state firm has inked a sizable industrial deal to be near clients Medtronic...

Minneapolis office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker hires property manager.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minneapolis office of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker has hired real estate veteran Donna Becker as a senior property manager for One Southwest Crossing in Eden Prairie. Becker has more than 18 years of...

St. Paul, Minneapolis Metropolitan Council names LRT coordinators.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Metropolitan Council has hired four community outreach cooridinators for the Central Corridor light-rail project and promoted a staff member to coordinate light-rail planning in the central business...

Minn. Commercial Real Estate Women sponsoring Women Run the Cities event.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A run/walk is planned for Sept. 23 to benefit the Ann Bancroft Foundation's Dare to Dream mini-grants program, which has helped nearly 600 girls and women in Minnesota. Women Run the Cities, sponsored by...

St. Louis Park IntrinXec Management adds two clients.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff IntrinXec Management Inc., a St. Louis Park firm that specializes in managing groups, has added two new clients -- the Mississippi Headwaters Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and Financial Women...

Bloomington-based Welsh Co. assigned Valley Ridge leasing account.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based Welsh Co. has been named leasing agent for the Valley Ridge Shopping Center in Stillwater. Welsh retail brokers Amy Carlson and Kristine Schiesel have been assigned the 83,152-square-foot...

CFO named at Hempel Properties in Maple Grove.
July 5, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Beth Schorle is the new chief financial officer at Hempel Properties in Maple Grove. Schorle will set the financial strategy of the firm, working closely with Hempel's development team, financial partners...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: July 7, 2007.
July 7, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis ad agency Campbell Mithun laid off eight employees last week after failing to win a pitch for an account with Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Co. The 375-employee agency cut three creative department...

After losing LGA funding, New Brighton looking for aid in its fight to redevelop.
July 7, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw New Brighton has one thing in common with ritzier suburbs like Wayzata and Bloomington: It doesn't receive local government aid (LGA) from the state. But not by choice or luck of circumstance. Unlike those well-heeled...

Buildings seeking LEED certification must earn one point for using FSC-certified lumber.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson Buildings seeking certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) earn just one point for using wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council -- not much considering the lowest level of LEED...

Minn.'s SmartWood team conducts inspections required for Forest Stewardship Council certification.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson To become certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, each link in the chain of custody must go through a review process. In Minnesota, the primary enforcer of that system is SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest...

Businesses tapped for expansion of Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson The Metropolitan Airports Commission appears to be making progress in its effort to persuade some businesses to help pay for a controversial expansion at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie. The commission is...

Ambitious diversity goals set for Minnesota Twins and University of Minnesota stadium projects.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Golden Valley-based M.A. Mortenson Co. is optimistic that it will meet ambitious 22 percent female and minority subcontractor participation goals for the Minnesota Twins and University of Minnesota stadium projects....

A Minnesota twist on green building.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson A year and a half ago, the Green Institute contacted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency with the idea of getting a grant to establish a statewide residential green building program. The institute got its $40,000...

Carver County Historical Society to oversee history lesson in construction.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Every kid who grew up playing with Lincoln Logs would love to be a member of the Carver County Historical Society right about now. The society will soon oversee an effort to disassemble and then rebuild a pair of...

Minn. Department of Transportation honored by Federal Highway Admin. for soil-cleaning process.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson Minnesotans are no strangers to irony. Only in a state that contains both the harshest climate and healthiest citizens in the nation could officials devise an unconventional way to effectively clean...

Benefit for construction worker set for July 21 in Ellsworth, Wis.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A benefit for injured construction worker Pat Linder is scheduled for July 21, noon to 5 p.m., at the T-Bar in Ellsworth, Wis. The benefit and silent auction will raise money to help Linder and his family...

DeCoster rejoins Minneapolis-based KKE Architects as senior designer.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Roxanne DeCoster has returned to KKE Architects as a senior designer in the interiors group. DeCoster, a 28-year veteran of the industry, will help the firm to integrate its interior design services...

Red Lake school project garners ceramic tile award.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The ceramic tile industry has recognized the Red Lake High School and Middle School project team for its "outstanding achievements" in the use of ceramic tile. DLR Group, the architect and engineer for...

Ravine trailhead dedicated in South St. Paul.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The River Environmental Action Project, a local volunteer group, recently dedicated an American Indian sculpture and "memory path" of paver blocks at Simon's Ravine Trailhead in South St. Paul. LHB...

Stotko Speedling project honored at Associated Builders and Contractors convention in D.C.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Stotko Speedling Construction Inc. of Hastings received a national award of merit from Associated Builders and Contractors for its Greenhouse Village project in Roseville. Stotko was recognized during the...

Past logging practices blamed for polluted Minnesota river.
July 10, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A new state study links pollution on the lower Little Fork River near International Falls to logging practices 80 years ago. Jesse Anderson, research scientist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency,...

Roseville-based Rottlund Co. prevails in copyright lawsuit.
July 11, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson A longstanding copyright infringement lawsuit finally came to an end this week when Rottlund Co. and two defendants agreed to an undisclosed settlement. Roseville-based Rottlund accused the defendants, Town & Country...

Drehar named to head TOLD office in Minneapolis.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Gary Dreher will head the Minneapolis office of TOLD Development Co. He will be responsible for overseeing all operational functions and new business development in the Twin Cities. TOLD Development, based...

Four join staff at Doran Cos. in Bloomington.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Bloomington-based Doran Cos. has added four people to its staff. Scott Anderson is director of development. Anderson, who resides in Eagan, will be in charge of site selection and analysis. He has a...

Harry's Bar and Grill opening in downtown Minneapolis.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A new restaurant, Harry's Bar and Grill, will debut today in the Depot Office Center, 500 S. Washington Ave., in downtown Minneapolis. The restaurant will be in the former space of Nochee, an Asian-fusion...

Some Twin City office buildings installing new under-floor, air delivery systems.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Bill Clements It's not a cure for the common cold, but a newer ventilation system that provides climate control at individual workstations might be the next best thing for office cubicle dwellers. One of the aims of the so-called...

Mixed results for 50th and France project in Edina.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minnetonka-based Haugland Co. is finishing construction on 5000 France, a high-end mixed-use project in the gilded shopping district of 50th and France in Edina. So far, the mixed-use project is showing mixed results....

Financing care for kids in the Twin Cities.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson The top three pediatric hospitals in the Twin Cities are counting on public generosity and the acumen of their finance teams to help pay for nearly $500 million in new projects that are planned in the next five years....

Small deals and the greater Uptown area of south Minneapolis.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard There's a world of urban retail properties that aren't tracked by market studies. You know the kind of space: the small, neighborhood corners. There are no big boxes here. Just street-level, mom-and-pop neighborhood...

Met Council awards $3.3M for cleanup projects in the Twin Cities.
July 12, 2007... Thirteen development projects in the Twin Cities will receive $3.3 million from the Metropolitan Council for environmental cleanup. The funding went to the following projects: Chaska, Block 6: $326,600 to assist with asbestos abatement and soil...

Sherman mulls apartments at Mears Park Centre in downtown St. Paul.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard The new owner of the empty Mears Park Centre in downtown St. Paul is considering converting the Class B office building into apartments. "We see that as a possibility, and we're looking to see if that's a viable...

Minneapolis-based Greco Development adds luxury rentals to Lyn-Lake.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson Dust from the Lake Street reconstruction in south Minneapolis is mingling with dust from another project that could help to change the face of the Lyn-Lake neighborhood, at least a little. Minneapolis-based Greco...

Minneapolis-based CCHT plans name change to Aeon.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff A 21-year-old Minneapolis-based nonprofit affordable housing developer is changing its name. The Central Community Housing Trust will be known as Aeon, starting in September. According to a press release...

Univ. of St. Thomas in Minneapolis to offer graduate degree in real estate.
July 12, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas will offer a master's of science degree in real estate, starting this fall. This new degree is broader than the master's of science in real...

Bloomington-based Metropolitan Media Group to launch Radio Magazine.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger Call it a monthly campaign to celebrate all things radio. Bloomington-based Metropolitan Media Group plans to launch Radio Magazine in the Twin Cities in September in partnership with Marketing Architects Inc., a...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: July 13, 2007.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger The University of Minnesota's new "Driven to Discover" marketing campaign has landed international awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the American Marketing Association (AMA)....

Periscope honored for work on Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery.
July 13, 2007... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis ad agency Periscope has received the first-ever Community Partner of the Year award from the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery (GMCN), which works with parents in crisis to help prevent child abuse and...

Aiming for balance.
July 14, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw In his new job, which starts Tuesday, Steve Sviggum will have to enforce a bill he voted against two months ago. But Sviggum, 56, who has represented his Minnesota House district in and around Kenyon for the last 29...

Most sales tax proposals face hard sell at the Capitol.
July 14, 2007... Byline: Charley Shaw Minnesota doesn't like local sales taxes. The argument goes that allowing cities to rely on sales tax revenues to fund their budgets leads to haves and have-nots among cities. The haves are the cities that boast big...

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system requests $110M for "repair and replacement".
July 17, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has always had difficulty convincing legislators about the importance of deferred maintenance projects. But rising awareness about the importance of energy...

Friends rally to support injured Wisconsin construction worker.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson Pat Linder is recovering from his construction injuries with a little help from his friends. Linder, who lives near Ellsworth, Wis., is one of nine construction workers who were injured June 1 while putting up the...

New University of Minnesota football stadium: $58.5 million and counting.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson As construction of the new University of Minnesota football stadium progresses, corporate and individual donors will become increasingly excited about the project -- and get their checkbooks out faster than a Jay...

Bicyclists rally for a new Old Cedar Avenue Bridge in Bloomington.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson How decrepit is the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge? "We are the owners of the worst bridge in the state," said Jim Gates, deputy public works director for the city of Bloomington, which has owned the bridge since 1981. "We...

Critics say Minnesota Court of Appeals decision undermines "notice-and-opportunity-to-repair" law.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Brian Johnson A recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision could undermine a builder-supported law that aims to reduce construction defect litigation, supporters of the law say. The "notice-and-opportunity-to-repair" law, which...

Mankato science building gets a makeover.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Adam Johnson Trafton Science Center, one of the state's biggest college classroom buildings, soon will be even bigger, and a major renovation will follow if the state Legislature approves funding next year. Minnesota State...

American Road and Transportation Builders Association opposes tougher ozone standard.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The American Road and Transportation Builders Association submitted testimony to the U.S. Senate last week opposing proposed changes to the federal ozone standard by the Environmental Protection Agency....

Minneapolis-based Dovetail Partners official earns LEED accreditation.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based nonprofit Dovetail Partners has added LEED accreditation to its resume. Alison Lindburg, director of Dovetail's Eco-Affordable Housing Program, recently became a LEED-accredited...

Minnesota Department of Transportation installing anti-icing technology.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minnesota Department of Transportation is installing anti-icing technology on State Highway 2 in Bemidji. The patented "SafeLane Surface Overlay," licensed and marketed by Minnetonka-based Cargill...

New Brighton architect named to national board.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards has added James O'Brien, founder of New Brighton-based Williams/O'Brien Associates, to the organization's board of directors. O'Brien is the new...

Minnesota Correctional Facility tour set for July 26.
July 17, 2007... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff St. Louis Park-based Adolfson & Peterson Construction will be the host of a tour of the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Faribault. The July 26 event, presented by the Associated General Contractors of...

Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson still going strong at 110.(Company overview)
July 18, 2007... Byline: Dan Emerson Americans have an ingrained love of rags-to-riches tales. Most successful companies in the United States have had humble beginnings, and Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson is a good example. The company has achieved...

Plans call for metal detectors at Minnesota Judicial Center.
July 18, 2007... Byline: Dan Heilman When Susan Berkovitz shot Shelly Joseph-Kordell to death and wounded her attorney, Richard Hendrickson, in a September 2003 attack at the Hennepin County Government Center, the county knew it had to react. Within a...

Given the boot: Long-time tenants given 30 days to vacate Pioneer-Endicott Buildings in St. Paul.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Bill Clements Bob Davis learned on April 27 that he had until the end of May to move his printing business out of the Pioneer-Endicott Buildings in downtown St. Paul. A handful of other businesses received similar news about the...

Silver Lake Village inspires Eagan project.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson The city of Eagan chose a pair of developers on July 10 to lead its second attempt to convert an aging retail district into a northwest "gateway" to the city. City council members tapped Bloomington-based Doran Cos....

Mervyn's Midway site in St. Paul gets a look from LA Fitness.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard The LA Fitness chain is eyeing a former Mervyn's store that has been vacant for nearly three years in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood. St. Paul City Council Member Debbie Montgomery was upbeat about a potential deal....

Morrissey Hospitality drops hotel plans for St. Paul's Midway area.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard Morrissey Hospitality Cos. has shelved plans for a new hotel in St. Paul's Midway area. Last year, the St. Paul firm floated the idea of trying to develop a new limited-service hotel along University Avenue. But...

City of Minneapolis seeks proposals for two sites.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard The city of Minneapolis has put out the call to developers for two parcels along the Hiawatha Line light-rail transit corridor. In both cases, the city is seeking housing on excess parcels owned by the Minnesota...

Eagan golf course battle headed back to district court.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Burl Gilyard A long-running legal dispute between developers and the city of Eagan over the fate of the Carriage Hills Golf Course remains unsettled after a state Supreme Court decision last week. The two core issues in the case...

Apple Valley-based Stonebridge Companies adapts to housing downturn.
July 19, 2007... Byline: Mark Anderson The fortunes of four-year-old Stonebridge Cos. rose along with the rest of the housing industry until early 2006. Then it joined the reversal that has piled up unsold housing inventory all over the Twin Cities. But...

Aldi to open store in Elk River shopping mall.
July 19, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report Maple Grove-based Hempel Properties is developing an Aldi grocery store in the Elk Ridge Center shopping mall in Elk River. The 16,000-square-foot Aldi will anchor the 102,700-square-foot retail center at Highway...

New warehouse planned in Brooklyn Park.
July 19, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report First Industrial Realty Trust of Chicago is building a 12-acre spec bulk distribution facility in Brooklyn Park. The 170,824-square-foot Interstate North Distribution Center is expected to be completed by October....

Four appointed to Met Council committee.
July 19, 2007... Byline: F&C Staff Report The Metropolitan Council has appointed three new members and reappointed a fourth to the Livable Communities Advisory Committee. In addition, Ruth Grendahl of Apple Valley was reappointed to serve as chairwoman of...