Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from May 2005

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from May 2005

As campaign director for "Kinky" Friedman, Dean Barkley is unashamed of tobacco ties.
May 3, 2005... Byline: Bryant Switzky Dean Barkley is a man of many facets. Since his two-month stint as the late Paul Wellstone's replacement in the U.S. Senate in 2002, he has spent time as a tobacco lobbyist, a bus driver for the Maple Grove School...

Hard-driving Peter Kitchak excels in business and on the track.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Peter Kitchak isn't afraid to go full-tilt - or to hit the brakes when necessary. An intense, driven man (pun fully intended), Kitchak, 63, is founder and president of Keewaydin Real Estate Advisors (1983) and...

Real estate still king for Twin Cities lenders.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Commercial mortgage bankers in the Twin Cities are looking forward to another busy year, based on still-favorable interest rates, lots of investment appetite and a possible pickup in new development. As May began,...

Minneapolis-based Project for Pride in Living expands into multifamily projects.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based Project for Pride in Living (PPL) began in 1972 with a mission of rehabbing houses, with the idea that stable housing could play a key role in helping low-income families achieve self-sufficiency. ...

Four promoted at Minnetonka-based Carlson Real Estate Co.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minnetonka-based Carlson Real Estate Co. has announced four promotions. Kristin Hall was named real estate manager. Hall, who joined the company two years ago, played a role in the construction and...

Central Community Housing Trust sets fundraising event.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Central Community Housing Trust, a Minneapolis-based developer of affordable housing, is planning a fundraising breakfast this month. "Beyond Bricks & Mortar" will be held at the Hilton Minneapolis,...

Harmon Inc. moves headquarters to Eden Prairie.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Specialty glass contractor Harmon Inc. has moved its corporate headquarters to Eden Prairie. The company is now headquartered in Suite 450 of One Southwest Crossing, a five-story office building at...

Minneapolis BOMA plans disaster workshop.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The Greater Minneapolis Building Owners and Managers Association is sponsoring a seminar on disaster preparation. The session, scheduled for next Wednesday, will examine the decision-making process for...

Mortgage brokers convention set for June in Minneapolis.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The annual convention and exposition of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers is being held in the Twin Cities this year. The event has been scheduled for Saturday through Tuesday, June 11-14, at...

Owner of minor league baseball team to speak at St. Paul BOMA luncheon.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Mike Veeck, owner of the St. Paul Saints minor league baseball team, will be the guest speaker next Monday at the St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association luncheon. The event will be held at the...

Bloomington-based Plekkenpol Builders wins 6 remodeling awards.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Bloomington-based Plekkenpol Builders Inc. received three merit awards, including a best of show award, and three honorable mentions at the annual banquet of the Remodelors Council of the Twin Cities. ...

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity names 3 to board.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity has elected Peter Torvik, Mary Schumacher and Timothy Campbell to its board of directors. Torvik, of Hopkins, is CEO of Twin City Federal Investments. He previously...

Real estate developer recognized by U of MN.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minnetonka real estate executive and developer Frank Trestman will be honored by the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, May 18. Trestman will receive the Outstanding Achievement Award during a...

Diamond Gates project planned in Apple Valley in St. Paul.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff St. Paul-based J&H Development has announced plans to break ground this summer on Diamond Gates Condominiums at Cedar Avenue and 140th Street in Apple Valley. A sales center on the site will open on...

St. Paul-based Foote & Co. focuses on condos.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger St. Paul ad agency Foote & Co. is getting into the heads of condo buyers. The 15-employee shop conducts monthly focus groups to help it learn the thoughts of prospective condominium buyers in two age groups - young...

Minnesota Homewatch gives voice to homeowners.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The first thing Nancy Johnson wants people to know about her homeowner advocacy group, Minnesota Homewatch, is that it's an informal, loose-knit collection of people. There's no official membership, no dues, no...

Central Community Housing Trust officials respond to criticism of Chaska project.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Neighborhood opposition to a proposed affordable housing project in Chaska appears to be gaining steam, but the project's developer says the plan has generated mostly favorable comments and is proceeding as scheduled....

IDS Center tops list for highest assessed value in downtown Minneapolis.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard New numbers for the Minneapolis City Assessor's Office show increasing office values among downtown office towers. Among some of the larger towers in downtown, assessed values have gone up 15 to 20 percent since 2004....

Twin Cities condo market seeing some micro-conversions.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard The fevered pace of the local housing market has driven the conversion of numerous rental units into condominiums. In downtown Minneapolis, the 416-unit River West building is the largest condo conversion in the...

Officials use new cultural facilities to burnish Minneapolis' image.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger As part of a multi-year image makeover of Minneapolis as a cultural and relocation destination, the Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association (GMCVA) on Wednesday led a delegation to New York to generate...

Pharmacists seek federal law for sale of cold meds.
May 6, 2005... Byline: Lee Ann Owens Pharmacies are pushing for national legislation that would take away states' ability to restrict the sale of ingredients used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores...

MN Construction Briefs: May 6, 2005.
May 6, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The Builders Association of the Twin Cities is encouraging its members to send guns to U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Staple guns, that is. And saws, hammers and other tools. BATC member and local homebuilder Terry Vogt...

Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources survives state Senate maneuver.
May 6, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw The Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) remained intact after a floor debate in the state Senate earlier this week to scrap the decades-old natural resource panel. The 20-member commission of House...

MN Marketing Briefs: May 7, 2005.
May 7, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Declining ad sales in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press have spurred promotions designed to boost circulation at the competing metro dailies. The Pioneer Press last Saturday ended a one-week...

17th District Bar Assn. prepares for Kentucky Derby pool during annual meeting.
May 7, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Why is it that only judges seem to win the Kentucky Derby pool organized each year at the 17th District Bar Association's annual meeting on the first Saturday in May? Jim Wilson, a longtime attorney and bar member...

Fall election has changed the dynamics of the 2005 Minnesota legislative session.
May 10, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Political observers who anticipated a change in Minnesota politics this legislative session are noticing real differences. Particular attention is being cast on the state House, where Republicans saw their 28-seat...

Enterprise Social Investment Corp. opening Twin Cities office.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Enterprise Social Investment Corp. has announced plans to open a Twin Cities office. The Columbia, Md., firm provides financing for affordable housing, mixed-used projects and commercial development....

Lander Sherman puts 'green loft' condominium on display in MInneapolis.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Lander Sherman Development is showcasing a "green loft" condominium that features more than 30 environmentally sound products. The condominium, part of the 72-unit Midtown Lofts development at 2845...

Property management firm reorganizes into two limited liability companies.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Devils Lake, N.D., based Garsten/Perennial Management Corp., which owns properties in the Twin Cities, has restructured into two limited liability companies - MetroPlains Management LLC and Perennial...

Solomon partners bring unique expertise to Twin Cities real estate financing.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff It might not seem particularly newsworthy when two industry veterans start up their own enterprise in a heated-up real estate environment. But the six-month-old Solomon Real Estate Group brings a...

MN Construction Briefs: May 12, 2005.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The new Fire Station No. 14 in Minneapolis' Folwell neighborhood will look like a typical hook-and-ladder facility with its classic dark brown, brick exterior. But it also will have some features that one...

Midtown Greenway span touted as unique to Minnesota.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson An artsy new bridge over Hiawatha Avenue will soon link the second and third phases of the Midtown Greenway bike/pedestrian trail in south Minneapolis. The cable-stayed bridge will be the first of its kind in...

Parking upgrades planned for Ridgedale Regional Center.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The newly remodeled Ridgedale Regional Center in Minnetonka is getting another upgrade - this time to its parking lot. The project will add 50 new parking spaces to the center, make existing spaces more...

Eden Prairie's Prairie Lakes Corporate Center comes on the market.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Burt Gilyard The Prairie Lakes Corporate Center, a two-building 202,270-square-foot office complex in Eden Prairie, has hit the market. The Class A buildings went up for sale about two weeks ago. United Properties has been...

Troubled Midway hotel in St. Paul may be sold again.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The St. Paul Port Authority is collecting bids from potential buyers of the Four Points by Sheraton Capitol hotel in the Midway neighborhood. SPPA spokesperson Tom Collins said the authority is analyzing the...

Twin Cities office market shows gain in latest study.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Burt Gilyard The latest research statistics from Grubb & Ellis/Northco Real Estate Services showed 483,018 square feet was absorbed in the office market in the first quarter. That put the office vacancy rate at 18.3 percent in the...

Twin Cities office market recovery is at hand ... sort of.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Burt Gilyard The rebound of the commercial real estate market is just around the corner. Or so you may have heard. A recent raft of market studies points to increasing absorption in the local office market. Brokers report that...

Environmental controversy continues on St. Paul Park's Rivers Edge project.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy will appeal an April 20 court ruling that moved forward a controversial development planned in St. Paul Park atop a bluff along the Mississippi River. Jim Erkel, an...

JBL Cos. breaking ground on BridgePoint Station in St. Paul.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A groundbreaking ceremony for BridgePoint Station will be held today in South St. Paul. The project will feature seven buildings as part of an 11-acre business complex at Concord Street and Grand...

Forest Lake entrepreneur launches biz to connect contactors with surplus construction fill.
May 12, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Forest Lake entrepreneur Steve O'Brien believes he has a dirt-cheap solution for contractors who need construction fill, or for those who have too much soil and gravel. O'Brien's new Web-based business,...

Interview with Rick Krueger, exec. director of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance.
May 13, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw The transportation issue heated up at the Capitol this week, with the House passing a 10-cent a gallon gas tax increase and higher license plate tab renewal fee as part of its transportation funding bill on Thursday....

MN Senate OKs new standards for construction code inspectors.
May 13, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Minnesota construction code inspectors would have to meet state-required competency criteria under a bill that passed the state Senate this week. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, passed 60-4...

MN Marketing Briefs: May 14, 2005.
May 14, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Bloomington ad agency Colle + McVoy has been hired by El Segundo, Calif.-based FEI Women's Health to creative a nationwide branding campaign for the company's ParaGard intrauterine contraceptive device. Colle +...

Local option on sales tax changes gets a look at MN Capitol this year.
May 17, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Another tax idea was added to the heap when the House passed its omnibus tax bill last week. For months, tax changes ranging from reforming foreign operating corporations to increasing the state tax on motor fuels...

Businesses shift priorities in wake of Sri Lankan disaster.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Peter Yearneau describes the area along the coast as a "ribbon of life." At one time, it was alive with beach houses, railroad cars, palm trees and resorts. Then the devastation came. Once-strong buildings,...

Five Viracon executives promoted to V.P. slots.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Viracon, an Owatonna-based maker of building-glass products, has promoted five employees to vice president. Randall Bush was named vice president of information technology; Steve Jensen, vice president...

MN Construction Assn. plans visit to Midtown Exchange.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Members of the Minnesota Construction Association will visit the site of the Midtown Exchange project next week. The event is set for Wednesday, May 25, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Midtown Exchange...

Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture collects two FAB! Awards.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group Architecture recently won two FAB! Awards for interior design. The firm won in the hospitality category for Z The Club, a floating casino in Biloxi, Miss. In the...

Hartford Group of Eden Prairie opens senior housing unit.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Real estate developer Hartford Group Inc. of Eden Prairie has formed a new unit that will specialize in developing senior housing. Company officials said they already have experience in that niche,...

Spyglass Marketing develops niche planning bank interiors.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Banking is more of a strategic intelligence-gathering venture than an errand for Molly Rice. Are the tellers behind glass? Can customers tell where to go for service? Is there ample promotional signage to inform...

JLT Group quietly enters Minneapolis office market.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Jerry Trooien has been grabbing a lot of ink lately for The Bridges of St. Paul after kicking off the residential sales push last month. But while no was paying much attention, Trooien's JLT Group bought its first...

Hudson concrete company uses hard sell to attract new customers.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger With dreams of supplying big-box retailers like Minneapolis-based Target Corp., Concrete Arts of Hudson, Wis., has created a terrazzo-like polished concrete aggregate flooring that is cheaper, easier to care for and...

St. Paul BOMA plans giant game of catch.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association and the St. Paul Saints will team up today for what is being billed as the world's biggest game of catch. People who want to participate should meet...

Two join management team at St. Paul-based CommonBond Communities.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff St. Paul-based CommonBond Communities, the state's largest nonprofit provider of affordable housing and services, announced two additions to its senior management team. Ellen Higgins was named vice...

Minneapolis-based NorthMarq Capital promotes 27-year veteran.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Lawrence Stephenson has been promoted to senior managing director in charge of NorthMarq Capital's 11 regional offices in the western United States. Stephenson, who has been with the Minneapolis-based...

Kraus-Anderson Construction hires project manager in Circle Pines.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Corey Furst has been named a project manager at Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. Furst, an engineer who previously was a project manager with JE Dunn Construction Co. in Denver, will...

Union investment funds put money where work is.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements Six years ago, the construction of the 29-unit Lake Phalen Townhomes represented the first vital step in the huge Phalen Corridor Initiative on St. Paul's East Side. Failure of the $7.1 million Lake Phalen...

CB Richard Ellis appointed receiver for downtown St. Paul office building.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard CB Richard Ellis has been appointed receiver for the Railroader Printer Office Building, an aging Class C building at 235 E. Sixth St. in downtown St. Paul. The previous owner handed the keys to the building back to...

Twin Cities developer plans to take middle road in Senate run.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Mr. Doran goes to Washington? On Monday, local developer Kelly Doran announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate in 2006 to replace Democrat Mark Dayton, who decided not to run for re-election. While the...

Plymouth-based Carlson Hotels takes over management of 12 struggling hotels.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson Carlson Hotels Worldwide expanded its domestic hotel management business by two-thirds in a single transaction earlier this month. On May 4, the Plymouth-based hospitality giant began assuming operational duties...

Owner gives middle-aged Southdale Square a facelift.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Southdale Square, a middle-aged neighborhood retail center that dates to 1961, was beginning to show its age around the edges. When a Snyder's Drug Store closed amid the firm's bankruptcy filing, it presented a...

Minnesota OSHA focusing on 'lockout/tagout' rules.
May 19, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson Minnesota OSHA officials are increasingly vigilant about enforcing safety rules that require machines to be turned off and disconnected from their power source before service or maintenance is performed on the...

Three Twin Cities firms named business ethics winners.
May 20, 2005... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Three Twin Cities businesses have been named winners of the 2005 Minnesota Business Ethics Award. The award was presented to the Awes Agency insurance firm of Edina, the Gray Plant Mooty law firm of...

Watchdog group calls for campaign finance reform in Minnesota.
May 20, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw A campaign finance watchdog group says $3.5 million in independent expenditures was spent on state House races for the 2004 election. The per candidate amount of expenditures for certain House races exceeded the...

MN Marketing Briefs: May 21, 2005.
May 21, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger With an aim of bringing more TV and film business to Minnesota, a sales tax exemption for production services was inserted into the Senate Omnibus Tax bill this week. The exemption, which would apply to TV and film...

Minnetonka-based Orphan Medical sets date for shareholders' meeting.
May 24, 2005... Byline: staff Minnetonka-based Orphan Medical announced Monday that it will hold a special shareholders' meeting next month to vote on the company's proposed merger with Jazz Pharmaceuticals. The meeting is set for June 24, 10 a.m. at...

Illinois-based Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Edina firm.
May 24, 2005... Byline: staff Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an Illinois-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm, announced Monday that it has acquired Edina-based Alternative Market Specialists. Alternative Market Specialists, a managing...

Elk River waste-to-energy plant wins American Society of Mechanical Engineers award.
May 24, 2005... Byline: staff Great River Energy's waste-to-energy plant in Elk River has received the 2005 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Facility Recognition Award. The award, presented Monday at the North American Waste-to-Energy...

More than party labels, geography can sometimes unite MN lawmakers.
May 24, 2005... Byline: Charley Shaw Not all issues at the state Capitol are split across party lines. Minnesota legislators hail from the central cities, suburbia and rural parts of the state and often bring agendas that reflect geographic needs in...

MN Marketing Briefs: May 26, 2005.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Positioning itself as a development "for people who want to live life, not watch it go by," Loop Calhoun condominiums mailed 30,000 tubes of lip balm to prospective buyers before the grand opening of a project model last...

Financing for St. Paul's Rondo Community Outreach Library comes from many pieces, players.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson St. Paul's University and Dale neighborhood will soon have a new state-of-the-art public library with 98 mostly affordable homes perched above. The development, which will open early next year, is winning kudos,...

Twin Cities office of L.J. Melody announces three financing deals totaling nearly $200M.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Mark Anderson The Twin Cities office of L.J. Melody, the Houston-based mortgage banker, had a week to remember early this month. Between May 5 and May 10, Melody's local principals Doug Seylar and Murray Kornberg announced...

EPA awards brownfield grants for Minnesota.
May 26, 2005... Byline: staff The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has awarded brownfield cleanup grants to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and four communities in the state. DEED received a $1 million grant...

Vinyl industry fights back against documentary linking cancer with exposure to vinyl resin.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The vinyl industry is fighting back against an award-winning documentary that links liver cancer with exposure to vinyl resin, a basic plastic found in siding, flooring, PVC pipes and other building materials. ...

MN Construction Briefs: May 26, 2005.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Brian Johnson The Twin Cities is the place to be if you're in the home improvement or remodeling business, if a new survey is to be believed. The survey, conducted by New York-based Scarborough Research, rated Minneapolis-St....

CW Lofts development in northeast Minneapolis to be sold on eBay auction.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger With long waits in line at condo openings now a regular occurrence in the Twin Cities, why not just flick on the home computer and watch an online condominium auction unfold on eBay? It may sound like a joke, but the...

Proposed mixed-use development planned near Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements The proposed mixed-use development across Second Street South from the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is unique in a way that has nothing to do with the project itself. The development stands out because of...

Minneapolis restaurant developer to speak at Minnesota Entrepreneurs meeting.
May 26, 2005... Byline: staff Phil Roberts, founder of Parasole Restaurant Holdings, a Minneapolis-based restaurant development company whose concepts include Manny's Steakhouse, Good Earth and Figlio, will be the featured speaker at the next meeting of...

Franchising is subject of Minnesota Shopping Center Association meeting.
May 26, 2005... Byline: staff The next meeting of the Minnesota Shopping Center Association will examine the pros and cons of franchising. The gathering is set for next Wednesday at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, 7800 Normandale Blvd. The event will...

Jacob Fick promoted to assistant VP at Shakopee-based Laurent Development Co.
May 26, 2005... Byline: staff Jacob Fick has been promoted to assistant vice president of development at Shakopee-based Laurent Development Co. Fick joined the company six months ago as project manager for construction and consultant management. ...

Dublin, Ireland real estate firm to open first North American office in Minneapolis.
May 26, 2005... Byline: staff Prestige Group, a real estate investment and development firm from Dublin, Ireland, is opening its first North American office in Minneapolis. The unit, to be known as Prestige International, will provide investors with...

City of Minneapolis seeks proposals for North Washington Jobs Park industrial area.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard More than 10 years ago, the city of Minneapolis outlined plans for the North Washington Jobs Park - an effort to revitalize several acres of blighted industrial land. Today, much of the area has been successfully...

Midtown Exchange development in Minneapolis does not make the cut for federal tax credit.
May 26, 2005... Byline: Burl Gilyard Ryan Companies U.S. Inc. got some disappointing news earlier this month about its Midtown Exchange development. Last fall, the city of Minneapolis applied for $85 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) on...

Minnesota housing association plans session on multi-family housing.
May 26, 2005... Byline: staff The Minnesota Multi Housing Association will present a seminar entitled "Owning and Managing Multi-Family Housing in Uncertain Times" next month. The session is set for 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, June 7, at the Jerome...