Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from March 2005

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from March 2005

Former MN congressman Tim Penny back in Social Security spotlight.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw What do the war in Iraq, embryonic stem cell research and former Minnesota congressman Tim Penny have in common? Each was mentioned in President Bush's State of the Union address on Feb. 2. Penny, who...

St. Paul firm provides concrete evidence in Las Vegas homicide.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson A murder, a shallow grave and an unidentified victim. It sounds like fodder for a television crime drama, but it's all too real for a small St. Paul engineering firm that specializes in concrete technology. ...

New housing project eyed for Columbia Heights industrial site.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Columbia Heights has tapped Minneapolis-based Schafer Richardson to serve as master developer for the redevelopment of a 28-acre industrial park. The project, which does not yet have an official name, calls for...

Minneapolis office principal of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker named to co.'s national board.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff James M. McCaffrey, a principal at the Minneapolis office of the Colliers Turley Martin Tucker real estate firm, has been named to the company's national board of directors. The board is comprised of...

Greater Minneapolis Building Owners and Managers Assn. tour planned at Hiawatha Line facility.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Members of the Greater Minneapolis Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) can tour the Hiawatha Line light-rail maintenance facility on Wednesday, April 6. Those attending will be briefed on...

Famous Dave's moving to Minnetonka office building.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Famous Dave's of America Inc. is moving its corporate headquarters from Eden Prairie to the Whitewater Office Center at 12701 Whitewater Dr. in Minnetonka. Liberty Property Trust of Eden Prairie owns...

Eden Prairie-based HTG Architects adds two staff members.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Larry Ward has been hired as project architect and Jim Gulan as job captain at Eden Prairie-based HTG Architects. Ward, who previously was employed at RSP Architects for five years and Ellerbe Becket...

Tax court judge to be featured at MN Commercial Real Estate Women luncheon.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minnesota Tax Court Judge Kathleen Hvass Sanberg will be the featured speaker at the March meeting of Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Women. Sanberg will discuss Minnesota's property tax law and...

Braun Intertec's St. Paul office hires senior project engineer.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Braun Intertec has named geotechnical engineer Steve Gerber as senior project engineer in the company's St. Paul office. He will manage geotechnical projects, evaluate slope stability and provide...

MN-based MS&R selected for Urban Outfitters campus in Philadelphia.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Myer, Scherer & Rockcastle (MS&R) architectural firm of Minneapolis has been selected to design the new 250,000-square-foot corporate campus of Urban Outfitters Inc. in Philadelphia. The project...

Olson General Contractors lands St. Paul depot project.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Olson General Contractors Inc. of New Hope has been hired by JAS Apartments Inc. to coordinate design and general contracting services in the renovation of the historic St. Paul Union Depot. The project...

Financial Freedom Realty opening Uptown Minneapolis office.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Financial Freedom Realty Services is opening a boutique sales center at the northeast corner of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. The 400-square-foot office, set...

Operating in Twin Cities market may be difficult for Fla.-based REIT.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The announcement by Regency Centers Corp. last month that it had acquired a $2.7 billion retail portfolio that included two Twin Cities shopping centers sent a clear signal that it intends to expand in the local...

Neighborhoods, city of Minneapolis reach agreement in fee fight.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Neighborhood revitalization projects will no longer be forced to pay a controversial fee under a new agreement between the city and the Neighborhood Revitalization Program. The agreement between the city's...

Richfield-based developer shopping for buyer in wake of setbacks.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Richfield-based senior housing cooperative developer Gramercy Corp. is looking for a buyer - 14 months after the company was left without its top executive when co-founder and CEO Michael Conlan died. Roger...

Former execs at Richfield-based Gramercy Corp. launch Avanti Consulting.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Three top executives at Richfield-based Gramercy Corp. have left the senior co-op developer to form Avanti Consulting. The executives are Lou Stocco, former president at Gramercy; Pam Pelletier, former executive vice...

Effort to tweak MN's prevailing wage law falls short in committee.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger It's no secret that builders are often at the mercy of the weather. And while they can't stop the rain, contractors can petition lawmakers for relief when poor weather forces project delays and unexpected labor costs....

Minneapolis's Walker library project put on slow track.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard It's back to the drawing board at the site of the Walker Community Library in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. After putting out the call for mixed-use proposals on the site, the Walker Community Library Joint...

Medtronic financing measure wins early support at MN Capitol.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The text of Senate File 699 makes no mention of Fridley-based Medtronic Inc., but anyone concerned with the matter at the Capitol knows that the bill was put together for one reason - to make it easier for the $9...

Commentary: Acquisition of May Dept. Stores shows there's no room for sentimentality in biz world.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard It's hard to let go. On Tuesday, the Star Tribune published no fewer than six different stories (including an editorial) about the acquisition of Marshall Field's parent company May Department Stores Co. by...

City of Woodbury continuing robust growth.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Is Woodbury succeeding in its efforts to control and manage growth? City officials say "yes," despite the city's recent surge in building activity. Woodbury, long associated with robust growth and development,...

MN Real Estate Briefs: March 4, 2005.
March 4, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff CSM Lodgings, the fast-growing Minneapolis hotel owner and operator, continued expanding its holdings and strengthening its management structure in a pair of recent moves. The company named Alan...

Federated deal could cost local dailies millions in ad revenues.
March 5, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Plans by Federated Department Stores Inc. to buy May Department Stores Co. could result in an estimated $3.8 million advertising revenue loss for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press, starting in 2006....

Minneapolis arts group looks to clean up its home in former soap factory.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The old three-story brick building has no heat, and there's no safe access to its upper floors. But it's been home sweet home for No Name Exhibitions since 1995, when Pillsbury Co./Grand Metropolitan donated the...

Minneapolis considers new riverfront development organization.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The city of Minneapolis is considering whether a central organization is needed to harness and promote development activities along the Mississippi River. If such a move is deemed necessary, it could bring...

Affordable housing owners seek property tax relief in MN.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Apartment owners who provide low-cost housing are asking legislators for tax relief this session, saying the system doesn't take into account the price they pay for keeping their rents low. Affordable housing...

Minneapolis chapter of the American Institute of Architects elects president.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Architectural Alliance principal Thomas Hysell is the president-elect of the Minneapolis chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Hysell, who has been a member of the group's board for two...

St. Paul-based BWBR Architects announces promotions.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff BWBR Architects of St. Paul announced the promotions and certifications of several staff members. Architects Kathy Bergman and Douglas Wild were named shareholders of the firm. Bergman, who has...

Midtown Exchange project is topic of MN's Nat'l Assn. of Industrial and Office Properties meeting.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The next breakfast meeting of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the Midtown Exchange project. Rick Collins,...

Twin Cities market's K. Hovnanian Homes buys homebuilding firm.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff K. Hovnanian Homes, a Red Bank, N.J., national homebuilding firm that entered the Twin Cities market last March, has acquired Chicago-based Town & Country Homes, which has local offices in Eden Prairie. ...

Laurent Development Co. of Shakopee names project manager.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Laurent Development Co. of Shakopee has hired Jacob Fick as project manager for construction and consultant management. Fick previously worked for the Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik and Associates civil...

Coca-Cola sales and distribution center opens in Owatonna.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Midwest Coca-Cola Bottling Co. celebrated the grand opening of its new sales and distribution center in Owatonna last Friday. About 100 people will work at the 57,500-square-foot center - the first new...

WSI Industries moves from Osseo to Monticello.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff WSI Industries Inc. has moved from Osseo to a 49,000-square-foot building that the company purchased in Monticello for $1.9 million. The lease on the firm's 28,000-square-foot Osseo facility expired in...

Burnsville looks at new options for its 'Heart of the City' performing arts center.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Burnsville officials, frustrated in their attempts to find a private developer to build, own and manage a regional performing arts center in the city, are exploring new options for the project. Two development...

Franklin Library renovation project nears completion.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The oldest public library in Minneapolis is on schedule to reopen this spring after an extensive renovation. The 91-year-old Franklin Community Library at 1314 E. Franklin Ave. will have new mechanical and...

MN-based Lupe Development to develop condo units above new CVS/Pharmacy.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Bloomington-based Lupe Development Partners has landed another deal. Lupe will be the residential developer for 54 condo units planned above a new CVS/Pharmacy at the southeast corner of Franklin Avenue and Nicollet...

All systems are go for new residential condo tower in Minneapolis.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard When plans for a major new residential condo tower at the corner of 10th Street and Nicollet Avenue were announced, the project struck some as a gamble. Today, the project - simply dubbed The Nicollet - has all of...

Russian art museum planned on site of former church, funeral home in Minneapolis.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Wayzata businessman Raymond E. Johnson is relocating the Museum of Russian Art from temporary Bloomington quarters to the corner of Stevens Avenue South and Diamond Lake Road in south Minneapolis. There, in a...

City of Robbinsdale sheds its sleepy suburban image.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Robbinsdale has long been known as a bedroom community - a first-ring suburb with a small-town feeling. The city was fully developed long ago, but today there are numerous redevelopment projects afoot in the...

Construction industry ranks high in incidents of workplace alcohol and drug abuse.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Excuses? Steve Gordon has heard them all. Gordon, president of Team Inc., a St. Paul-based employee assistance program that provides drug test monitoring and other services for businesses and unions, said a...

Minnesota Cup underscores effort to attract more innovative companies into the state.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw (This article originally ran in St. Paul Legal Ledger, St. Paul, MN, another Dolan Media publication.) As Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced a statewide competition for innovative business ideas on Wednesday, officials at...

MN Marketing Briefs: March 12, 2005.
March 12, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Los Angeles-based health-care advertising and communications firm FischerHealth plans to open a Twin Cities office this year to form what President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Fischer calls his company's "gateway...

Mixed-used project planned for Hastings riverfront.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A mixed-use development featuring condominiums, office condos, and retail construction is planned for a Mississippi River site in downtown Hastings. The proposed development will be built in two stages,...

Wind turbine at center of U of MN-Morris renewable energy project.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The University of Minnesota-Morris recently unveiled a 230-foot wind turbine at its new Renewable Energy Research and Outreach Center in Morris. The turbine, completed in late February, is the only...

Small-town REIT steps onto larger stage.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The tale of the Investors Real Estate Trust (Nasdaq: IRETS) makes for a heartwarming, Midwestern story filled with farmer-investors and old-fashioned financial stewardship. But with $1.1 billion in assets - double...

IRET to acquire U.S. Bank Financial Center in Bloomington for $20.3M.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson North Dakota-based Investors Real Estate Trust (IRET) is about to complete another Twin Cities commercial acquisition. Thomas Wentz Sr., chief executive officer of IRET, said Monday that the $1.1 billion REIT has...

Magers & Quinn Booksellers closing Minneapolis store.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Magers & Quinn Booksellers is closing the book on its street-level space in Northstar Center East, 608 Second Ave. S., at the end of March. "It's not the strongest retail location," said owner Denny Magers....

The Geneva Organization of Minneapolis names VP of closing.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Deb Jochum has been named vice president of closing for The Geneva Organization of Minneapolis. Jochum will direct the firm's real estate closing process for TIC deals, including reviewing title work,...

MN-based Hartford Group development firm opening Florida office.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Eden Prairie-based real estate developer Hartford Group Inc. has opened a south Florida branch office in Fort Myers. Company officials said Hartford had been seeking development opportunities in Florida...

CB Richard Ellis recognizes top employees in Minneapolis.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Minneapolis office of CB Richard Ellis recently announced its award winners for top employee performances in 2004. The following people were named top sales professionals: Mike Marinovich (office...

St. Paul office market shows modest improvement.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) released its midyear update on the downtown St. Paul office market. The report found vacancy in competitive space down slightly to 24.2 percent. That's an...

MN-based Opus Group hires Bloomington PR firm.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Minnetonka-based Opus Group - ranked among the largest design-build contractors in the country - has hired Bloomington public relations firm Weber Shandwick to increase awareness of the company. "I think they realize...

Opus Northwest building $50 million condo project in St. Louis Park.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minnetonka-based Opus Northwest has commenced construction on a $50 million mixed-use residential and retail project in St. Louis Park. Park East Tower is being touted as the first new high-rise condominiums...

Governor Pawlenty appoints eight to MN Board of Architecture.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Gov. Tim Pawlenty has appointed three new people and reappointed five others to the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design. The new...

Nominations sought for Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Awards.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minnesota chapter of the American Institute of Architects are seeking nominations for the 14th annual Heritage Preservation Awards. The awards...

Braun Intertec adds senior consultant in Bloomington office.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Bloomington-based Braun Intertec has hired Douglas J. Bergstrom as a senior consultant. He will provide senior-level project management and consulting primarily in the areas of brownfield redevelopment,...

Human resources coordinator joins St. Paul-based BWBR Architects.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Karen Dahlstrom has been hired as human resources coordinator at St. Paul-based BWBR Architects. She is a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduate with a bachelor's of business administration degree...

MN Shopping Center Assn. meeting to examine three Minnesota markets.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The retail markets in Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud will be the subject of the next meeting of the Minnesota Shopping Center Association. A panel will examine the demographics of those areas, new...

Lone holdout in Columbia Heights highlights eminent domain debate.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Scott Smith is a welder. A second-generation Columbia Heights welder, to be exact. At 37, Smith is both owner and lone employee of his metal fabrication business, Steel Tech, at 450 38th Ave. N.E., just down the...

MN Multi Housing Assn. conference to offer tips on finding, keeping tenants.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements A program called ROMP - Responsible Owners of Mannerly Pets - is one way to approach the perennial problem of attracting and/or keeping tenants in rental units. Another would be Bagel Wednesdays. Or Mondays. Or...

MN roofers asked to contribute to contractor recovery fund.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Minnesota roofing contractors would be required to contribute to the state's contractor recovery fund if a newly introduced House bill becomes law. House file 1015, sponsored by Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, would...

Settlement reached in Woodbury Lakes dispute.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The litigious retail battle of Woodbury ended not with a bang, but a mediated cease fire. Last summer, Edina-based Robert Muir Co. sued the city of Woodbury, charging that the city had failed to perform adequate...

Minneapolis-based American Swedish Institute completes another step in expansion.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson When the American Swedish Institute was planning its expansion a few years back, it had no idea that its next-door neighbor on the 2600 block of Park Avenue in south Minneapolis would soon be closed. The Ebenezer...

Minnesota agency takes over grant program - for now.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Bryant Switzky The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has taken over the program that helps technology companies in the state get federal grant funding to research and commercialize new products. ...

Sales tax idea revived for funding natural resources in Minnesota.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw In the latest twist in this session's push to increase funding to clean up lakes and streams in Minnesota, legislators are bringing back a proposal from previous sessions to raise money for the environment through the...

Minnesota officials tout partnership success.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw In 2001, Minnesota partnered with a Massachusetts-based government support services firm to handle the vehicle registration renewal process. On Tuesday, officials with the state Department of Public Safety...

Minnesota government program facing legal challenges.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Staff Two of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's pet programs are facing new challenges. A lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul challenges the constitutionality of Minnesota's Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ) Program and...

MN Marketing Briefs: March 19, 2005.
March 19, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Brian Hooks, executive vice president and client services director of Minneapolis ad agency Peterson Milla Hooks, this week announced that he will leave the firm to pursue other interests. The firm is well-known for...

MN lawmakers consider historic preservation tax credit.
March 19, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw (This article originally ran in St. Paul Legal Ledger, St. Paul, MN, another Dolan Media publication.) Lawmakers are hoping to spark local economic development by offering tax credits for rehabilitation of historic...

Sales tax exemption for Duluth dock firm faces long odds at MN Legislature.
March 19, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw (This article originally ran in St. Paul Legal Ledger, St. Paul, MN, another Dolan Media publication.) A Duluth-based dock company faces long odds at the Legislature in its quest for a sales tax exemption that it...

Attorneys say federal reform act will complicate bankruptcies.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Michelle Lore (This article originally ran in Minnesota Lawyer, Minneapolis, MN, another Dolan Media publication). Bankruptcy lawyers across the state are concerned that federal legislation overhauling the bankruptcy system -...

Rand Tower in Minneapolis offers small spaces, big views.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Suite 1520 in the Rand Tower offers a nice view of one corner of downtown Minneapolis. From 15 floors above the city streets, you can crank open the windows in the art deco building and gaze out at 225 South Sixth, a...

Minneapolis-based Ellerbe Becket sues after principals defect to rival.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Minneapolis-based design firm Ellerbe Becket has been playing hardball for years with HOK Group, a rival in the sports architecture market. Both firms are major players in the market, with dozens of big-time sports...

Lawsuit may test viability of MN's JOBZ program.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Gov. Tim Pawlenty regularly touts the state's new Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ) program as a boon for economic development. But for the moment, the governor's office and state officials aren't saying much about...

Geneva Organization of Minneapolis hires vice president of sales.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Thomas Moe has joined the Geneva Organization of Minneapolis as vice president of sales. Moe will be responsible for coordinating tenancy-in-common (TIC) sales to high net worth individuals and...

Brooklyn Park-based LandCor hires senior property manager.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Sandra Hunten has been named senior property manager of the property management group at LandCor Cos. in Brooklyn Park. She, who has more than 17 years of experience in corporate real estate, will...

Conference on reclaiming brownfields set for U of St. Thomas.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A conference on brownfields will be held on Wednesday, April 6, at the University of St. Thomas campus in downtown Minneapolis. Four sessions are planned: "Case Study: Development of the Edgewood...

General counsel joins St. Paul-based Exeter Realty Co.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Michael Hatting is the new general counsel at St. Paul-based Exeter Realty Co. The St. Paul native graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul in 1993 and obtained his law degree from the University...

MN Commercial Real Estate Women meeting will examine workplace design.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff "Workplace Design and Business Strategy" will be the topic of the next meeting of Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Women. Christine Barber, director of workplace research at Knoll Inc., will be the...

Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate completes sale of four Arby's outlets.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Upland Real Estate Group Inc. brokered the sale of four Arby's properties in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Upland sold a 3,500-square-foot Arby's outlet in Albert Lea for $1.6 million, a...

Hillcrest Shopping Center tops St. Paul's redevelopment wish list.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The aging Hillcrest Shopping Center is topping the city of St. Paul's list of potential redevelopment projects in the next few years. Billed as the "White Bear Avenue Renaissance" in city documents,...

City of Rosemount launches campaign to attract developers.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger With two-thirds of its land still undeveloped, Rosemount wants to attract more residential, retail and industrial projects. The city has launched a marketing campaign around the tag lines "Spirit of pride and...

Eden Prairie-based Solomon Real Estate buys piece of Ramsey Town Center project.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The newly minted Solomon Real Estate Group of Eden Prairie has completed its first acquisition, closing on the first phase of the retail portion of the Ramsey Town Center development on March 8. The...

MN builders assn. touts potential savings of shift on prevailing wage calculations.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Minnesota taxpayers are paying too much for public construction work because of the way the state calculates its prevailing wage rate, according to a new study funded by the Minnesota Associated Builders and...