Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN articles from September 2006

Finance and Commerce Daily Newspaper, MN archives from September 2006

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: September 2, 2006.
September 2, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Metro Transit is encouraging prospective riders to get past griping about high gas prices and discover transportation alternatives with a new ad campaign themed "Learn a new way to move." Created by Minneapolis ad agency...

MN Historical Society moves forward with plans for museum at Historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson The Minnesota Historical Society is moving forward with plans for a 70,000-square-foot museum at Historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul, although most of the state funding for the $22.6 million project won't be available...

Lino Lakes concrete products company promotes garages with basements.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson A Lino Lakes concrete products company hopes to capitalize on an emerging trend in residential construction: garages with basements. Molin Concrete Products is promoting "bonus basements" as good vehicles for the...

Conference in St. Paul to educate contractors on LEED and how it affects them.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson James Brew wants the world to know that green building isn't a concern just for architects. That's why Brew -- a green building specialist with Duluth-based LHB Architects -- is taking center stage at an upcoming...

Increase in number of companies hiring industrial hygienists reflects a growing industry segment.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson With the addition of professional scientist Julie Taylor this summer, Bloomington-based Braun Intertec now boasts a dozen industrial hygienists, reflecting a growing industry segment. While industrial hygiene as a...

Maryland home builders position themselves for upward trend in green building.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Dori Berman (This story originally appeared in the Daily Record, Baltimore, another Dolan Media publication.) Green building might be gaining traction in the residential market at a slower pace than its commercial counterpart,...

Kraus-Anderson completes medical center expansion in Virginia, Minn.
September 5, 2006... Byline: F&C Staff Report Kraus-Anderson has completed the 80,772-square-foot redevelopment of the Virginia Regional Medical Center (VRMC) in Virginia, Minn. The Minneapolis-based general contractor has worked on the four-level facility for...

Builders Outreach Foundation breaks ground on St. Paul's Frogtown project.
September 5, 2006... Byline: F&C Staff Report The Builders Outreach Foundation will break ground this week on a renovation project in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. St. Louis Park-based Aulik and Associates, in partnership with the foundation and the...

Highway 36 meeting set for Sept. 13 in St. Paul.
September 5, 2006... Byline: F&C Staff Report An upcoming workshop aims to show how North St. Paul businesses can "thrive and survive" during the Highway 36 reconstruction project. The "Open for Business" workshop, presented by the Minnesota Department of...

National homebuilders backpedal as a result of downturn in market.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements In February and again in April, a national homebuilder walked away from a purchase agreement on a 50-acre parcel of land on the east side of Woodbury, each one giving up more than $100,000. Landowner Tim Thone, of...

Minneapolis-area builders see potential in cancelled projects.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements Local developers Jeff Schoenwetter and Don Uram believe national homebuilder DR Horton made a mistake when Horton walked away from a deal for a 45-acre portion of a larger residential project in Otsego. And this and...

Woodbury, Minnesota, grows into prime real estate location.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements Tim Thone has spent each of his 46 years in Woodbury. You could say he grew up alongside his hometown: When he was a kid, the population there was 3,000 -- and now it's approaching 60,000. Thone graduated from...

Riding out the homebuilding downturn.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements Dan Wozniak's father, D.D. Wozniak, was a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 1983 to 1992, serving as chief judge starting in 1987. He also "liked to buy farms," his oldest son said, concentrating his buying...

Flour Exchange building in downtown Minneapolis gets a full overhaul.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard The venerable Flour Exchange building in downtown Minneapolis has seen better days. The historic structure, 310 Fourth Ave. S., is 55 percent empty. The owners recently tapped the local office of Colliers Turley Martin...

Plymouth-based Dominium Development and Acquisition positioned for a rental recovery.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson The apartment development industry has been through a rough patch in the last few years, and one of the Twin Cities' busiest apartment owners hasn't been immune to the slowdown. Plymouth-based Dominium Development and...

Ramsey-based Premier Commercial Properties forges ahead with Blaine Medical Center.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Medical office construction continues to boom in the Twin Cities. On Wednesday, Ramsey-based Premier Commercial Properties formally broke ground on the Blaine Medical Center, a new 84,000-square-foot facility at 11855...

Eden Prairie-based C.H. Robinson shifts into growth mode.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard What began as a single building in Eden Prairie will become a new corporate campus for trucking, transportation and logistics giant C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. This summer, C.H. Robinson moved into its new...

Coliseum Building in Minneapolis gets another medical clinic.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger The Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) plans to open a clinic in the Coliseum Building, 2700 E. Lake St., in November, replacing the La Clinica en Lake health clinic that closed in the same space in July. La Clinica...

Holmes selected U of Minnesota's Entrepreneur of the Year.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Gary Holmes, president and founder of CSM Corp., a Minneapolis-based property acquisition, development, leasing and management firm, has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Minnesota....

Minneapolis office of The Durrant Group wins design contest for Korean hotel.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Republic of Korea Air Force has selected a signature design by the Minneapolis office of The Durrant Group Inc. for a $20 million hotel the air force will own and operate as a business venture on...

Minneapolis district sells school for $3 million.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minneapolis School Board has agreed to sell Phillips School at 2300 Chicago Ave. S. to Friends of Hope Academy LLC for $3 million. Dan Hambrock, executive director of planning and facilities, called...

Edina realtor named to board of home ownership center.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Robin Peterson, president of the Edina-based Coldwell Banker Burnet residential real estate firm, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center. The group promotes...

Shoreview-based Ecumen announces sale of Bloomington nursing home.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Ecumen, a Shoreview-based firm that bills itself as the state's largest provider of housing and services for older adults, has agreed to sell the 137-bed Martin Luther Manor nursing home in Bloomington....

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: September 9, 2006.
September 9, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Lee Lynch thinks Minneapolis' longtime "City of Lakes" motto and sailboat logo might need some tweaking, and the city council seems to agree. "I urged them to do this," said Lynch, the retired chairman of Minneapolis ad...

Minnesota Auto Dealers Association opposed to transportation amendment challenge.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The Minnesota Auto Dealers Association says it's still opposed to a transportation funding amendment that will go before voters this fall, but it will no longer actively campaign against the amendment. "Our...

Group says transit projects aren't the answer for Twin Cities' crowded roads.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The Twin Cities can expect Los Angeles-like congestion by 2030 "unless major steps are taken" to relieve crowded roads, according to a new study from the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. The study, based...

Minnesota colleges plan joint law enforcement training facility.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson A planned 59,000-square-foot facility at Hennepin Technical College's North Campus in Brooklyn Park has the potential to become a mecca for Minnesota's future law enforcement elite, serving as a nexus for students at...

Developers are betting that 2,100-unit mixed-use Lakeville community will appeal to buyers.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson The developers behind a planned 2,100-unit mixed-use Lakeville community, Spirit of Brandtjen Farm, are betting the project will have enough unique appeal to attract a host of buyers in the years to come, even though...

University of Minnesota breaks ground on $14 million equine center.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The University of Minnesota has broken ground on a $14 million equine center that promises to be one of the top facilities of its kind in the nation. The facility, under construction since August in the northeast...

Associated General Contractors of America works to break the barriers of communication.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson Anyone working in the construction industry knows the frustration of working with peers and clients who don't use the same computer software, meaning that project data has to be faxed, re-keyed or, worse, hand...

Associated Builders and Contractors Minnesota receives national accreditation.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Associated Builders and Contractors has awarded its "Excellence in Association Management" accreditation to ABC's Minnesota chapter. The accreditation recognizes the chapter's "commitment to...

Associated General Contractors of Minnesota awards $12,500 in scholarships.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Associated General Contractors of Minnesota Foundation has awarded $12,500 in scholarships to eight college students enrolled in construction programs. Four Minnesota State University-Mankato students...

'Topping off' party planned for Skyscape condo project in Minneapolis.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Tandem Developers will celebrate the "topping off" of its 27-story Skyscape Condominiums project Thursday, with a party from 5 to 8 p.m. at the company's new sales center, 609 S. 10th St., in downtown...

Lowry Professional Building in downtown St. Paul shows its artistic side.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard When developer Rich Pakonen tackled the redevelopment of the former Lowry Professional Building in downtown St. Paul, the primary goal was converting the former office building into new residential condos. But along...

Lyndale Garden & Hardware Center in Richfield shopped to developers.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger The owner of the 9.35-acre Lyndale Garden & Hardware Center has retained a commercial real estate broker to sell the longtime Richfield business, which closed for the winter earlier this week because it could no longer...

Site near downtown Mound where storm debris was dumped to be redeveloped.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements More than 40 years have passed since some of the worst tornadoes in Minnesota history ripped through the north and west regions of the seven-county metro area on May 6, 1965. Thirteen people died and almost 700 were...

Tough to replant floral shop in south Minneapolis.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Glen Luedtke found himself getting a lot of local media coverage seven months ago. The storefront location of Luedtke's business, Petersen Flowers, was hit by a burglar and then torched in February, just before...

Real estate lawyers adding 'anti-terrorism' clauses to new contracts and leases.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an executive order targeting supporters of terrorism has affected an unlikely group -- real estate attorneys. Executive Order 13224 froze the assets of persons designated...

Commentary: Chasing a moving target.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard There's an old western swing song title that says a lot about the news business, commercial real estate and life itself: "Time Changes Everything." Facts are facts, until they change. A deal is a deal, until it's...

Mozaic takes an edgy approach in Minneapolis.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Got ink? Maybe Mozaic's for you. At least that's what developers of the 70-unit Mozaic condominium project near West Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue want prospective buyers to believe. Mozaic, which is scheduled to break...

Met Council chair featured at next MN chapter of NAIOP meeting.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Peter Bell, chairman of the Metropolitan Council, will be the guest speaker at the September meeting of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Bell will talk...

Event in Minneapolis to look at retirement fund real estate investing.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff An event for people who are interested in investing their retirement fund assets in real estate will be held next Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Four Seasons Minneapolis, 301 Fourth Ave. S. Experts...

Health-care specialists join TSP in Minneapolis.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Craig Hall and John Rode have joined the health-care design group at the Minneapolis office of TSP Inc. Hall, who was named director of medical planning, has more than 35 years of architectural experience...

Minneapolis DCPE seeks firm to develop Uptown plan.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development is seeking a consulting firm to assist in creating a small area plan to guide development in Minneapolis' Uptown area. Uptown is...

Condo project in south Minneapolis concerns Windom neighborhood.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Emergency access and density concerns have been raised by the Windom Community Council about a proposed 42-unit condominium project just north of Crosstown 62 in south Minneapolis. Moundsview developer...

Real estate group notes slowing residential market in the Twin Cities.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Growth in new residential listings slowed in the Twin Cities in August, a signal that sellers are recognizing a shift in the market. The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR), using data from the...

Minnesota Marketing Briefs: September 16, 2006.
September 16, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger A refurbished fire station in southeast Minneapolis is the site of Brew, a small ad agency formed by Bruce Bildsten, former executive creative director of Minneapolis ad agency Fallon, and Michelle Fitzgerald, another...

Historian brothers at center of controversy regarding Minnesota's Coldwater Spring.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements Since the release of a federal report last month on the historic significance of an area that includes Coldwater Spring near Fort Snelling, John Anfinson has been nervous -- and his older brother, Scott, can relate....

Though critic doesn't agree with the Anfinsons, he still has respect for them.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements Bruce M. White used to eat lunch with John Anfinson back when both were studying for their doctorates in history at the University of Minnesota in the late 1970s and early 1980s. White, who runs St. Paul-based...

The Anfinson clan.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements Mark is the oldest Anfinson brother at 57. He's a Twin Cities attorney who specializes in First Amendment cases -- one client is the Minnesota Newspaper Association. Reed, who is John's identical twin, is...

After 62 years, longtime tenant leaving Foshay Tower.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger A tenant relationship that has endured for more than six decades in a landmark downtown Minneapolis building is coming to an end. The Royal Norwegian Consulate General's office, which has been located in the historic...

Navigator Real Estate Group ramps up investment strategy.(Company overview)
September 21, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Minneapolis-based Navigator Real Estate Group has suddenly moved to a larger stage. The fledging firm, founded just last year, announced last week that it has acquired the International Plaza office building in...

JLT Group signs Kamper Brands for condo campaign.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Minneapolis firm Kamper Brands has been hired by St. Paul-based JLT Group Inc. to create advertising for its proposed Bridges of St. Paul development and Cloud 9 condominium project. Founded by 28-year-old adman Patrick...

RR bridge eyed for expansion of Midtown Greenway.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Todd Messelt With the recent completion of the third phase of the Midtown Greenway, bicyclists can now pedal their way across the breadth of south Minneapolis mostly unimpeded. But, while the Greenway is tied to the Minneapolis...

Opus Northwest plans 'power center' in Rochester.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Opus Northwest is looking south for its next major retail development -- all the way to Rochester. Last week, Opus announced plans for Shoppes on Maine, a 570,000 square foot project on a site of approximately 60...

Cafe di Napoli taking up residence in skyway.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard The storied Cafe di Napoli is returning to downtown Minneapolis. The family Italian restaurant closed in the summer of 2005, after operating at 814 Hennepin Ave. since 1938. Now the business is reopening in the Six...

Sheriff candidates featured at St. Paul BOMA meeting.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff The two candidates for Ramsey County sheriff, Bob Fletcher and Bill Finney, will participate in an "information exchange" sponsored by the St. Paul chapter of the Building Owners & Managers Association...

Brandon Megal named V.P. at CB Richard Ellis.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. promoted Brandon Megal to vice president at its Bloomington office. Megal has worked for CB Richard Ellis for more than seven years and is a member of...

Panel named for central corridor project.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff A Central Corridor Management Committee (CCMC) has been named to provide advice during the design and construction of the proposed 11-mile light rail transit route that would run along University Avenue,...

Liberty Property Trust buying former Best Buy site.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Liberty Property Trust plans to acquire the former Best Buy corporate campus in Eden Prairie from Minneapolis-based Hoyt Properties Inc. The Pennsylvania-based real estate investment trust said it plans...

Rosemount considering redevelopment of church site.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff Rosemount officials are forming a task force to decide the best use for a former church in the city's downtown. The city purchased the 4.4-acre St. Joseph Parish property last year to serve as the site of a...

Luxury residential real estate firm expanding to Twin Cities.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Finance & Commerce Staff SKY Sotheby's International Realty, a luxury residential real estate brokerage in Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida, is entering the Twin Cities market. The firm said the move marks its first...

Carolyn Marinan, director of public affairs for Hennepin County, handled media after tornado.
September 23, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Tornadoes and the ensuing race for facts by reporters are the antithesis of the controlled release of information and arranging of interviews typically handled by public relations executives. Carolyn Marinan, director of...

32-year-old worker dies in trench cave-in on construction site in Credit River Township.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Sept. 13 should have been just another day at the office for Paul Holasek. Tragically, the day was anything but routine for the 32-year-old New Prague resident and his loved ones. Holasek's office was a trench on a...

Soil, air conditions key factors in trench safety.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson Recognizing soil conditions, and knowing what to do when different conditions exist, are important when it comes to working safely in construction trenches, according to construction safety experts. "If you have...

Extensive remodeling to begin on University of MN's old Mineral Resources Research Center.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson With cleaning and abatement work expected to wrap up this week at the University of Minnesota's old Mineral Resources Research Center, 56 E. River Road, extensive remodeling will soon begin on a building that once...

High construction bids delay start of University of Minnesota-Morris biomass project.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson The University of Minnesota-Morris hoped to start building an on-campus biomass burner system this fall, but construction will have to wait -- perhaps until spring -- because of higher-than-expected construction bids....

Continued price hikes forecast for construction materials.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Adam Johnson The cost of construction materials is likely to continue rising much faster than the rate of inflation over the next year, economist Ken Simonson told the American Society of Civil Engineers in Bloomington last week....

'Canstruction' set for Oct. 13-15 at Mall of America in Minneapolis.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Canstruction, a design/build competition showcasing the talents of Twin Cities design and construction industry professionals and students, will be held Friday through Sunday, Oct. 13-15, at the Mall of...

University of Minnesota Carlson School breaking ground on new building.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management will break ground on Hanson Hall at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot just south of the Carlson School, 321 19th Ave S., in Minneapolis. The...

LandCor breaking ground on Otsego building.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Officials will break ground today on the 11,000-square-foot River Plaza Building in Otsego. The building, developed by LandCor Cos., will house BoB's Produce Ranch, a specialty food store. The...

Twin Cities Parade of Ponds tour raises money for local groups.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The 2006 Twin Cities Parade of Ponds event raised more than $38,000 for a local charity and a nonprofit water garden group, according to event organizers. The event -- a self-guided tour of 119 water...

Schoell Madson moves to larger offices in Elk River.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The Schoell Madson planning, engineering and surveying firm has moved its Elk River offices to a larger space. The firm more than doubled its office space to 2,000 square feet with its recent move to the...

St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association program examines building leakage.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff "When Water Attacks!" will be the title of a program sponsored by the St. Paul Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) on Thursday. The event, scheduled for 8:30 to 10 a.m. at 55 E. Fifth St. in...

Developer Larry Abdo plans to build a small office tower in downtown Minneapolis.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard Serial entrepreneur and developer Larry Abdo is planning to build a small office tower in downtown Minneapolis -- the first new office construction in the central business district in five years. Abdo has a contract to...

Politics and development collide in Roseville.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements At one time, not long ago, Craig Klausing and Amy Ihlan were political allies. In January 2004, in one of his first acts as the new mayor of Roseville, Klausing appointed Ihlan to her first political post -- the city...

Twin Lakes project in legal limbo; next move up to Minnesota Supreme Court.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Bill Clements No matter the debate between the Roseville mayoral candidates about the Twin Lakes redevelopment plan, the project is on hold for now. The next move is up to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Paul Reuvers, attorney for the...

Newspaper gossip columnist/ artist C.J. tapped to help attract Minneapolis-area condo buyers.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Newspaper gossip columnist and artist C.J. plans a celebrity appearance tonight at a reception to help promote the sale of her paintings and a condo at the Security Warehouse Lofts development. C.J.'s presence at the...

Struggling churches in south Minneapolis consider options.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Burl Gilyard In south Minneapolis, two church congregations share a common problem. Their small congregations can no longer afford to maintain their large, aging churches -- remnants of another era. But the seemingly simple idea of...

Pullback in number of video stories shouldn't worry retail investors, say leasing veterans.(Company overview)
September 28, 2006... Byline: Mark Anderson The video store down the block is under siege. The Internet, cable packages and even the big Red Box at the local McDonald's are making the Friday night trip to Blockbuster a thing of the past for more and more...

Deal ushers in a new era for the Foshay Tower building in Minneapolis.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger Seventy-seven years after it was completed, the Foshay Tower is entering a non-office life after a group of developers bought the Minneapolis skyscraper from Basant Kharbanda. Real estate developer Ralph Burnet, who...

Blogger couple rave about Minneapolis-based condo purchase.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Bob Geiger After agreeing to buy unit 308W in Mozaic, the 10-story condominium development planned in Uptown, Christopher Douglas and Alan Newbold started a blog to chronicle their two-year wait to move in. Mozaic, a 70-unit...

Linda Solberg named leasing director at IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff Linda Solberg has been named leasing director at the IDS Center. The building, which was purchased by the Inland Real Estate Group of Chicago on Aug. 17 for $277 million, is the tallest structure in...

Luncheon to examine transit development in the Twin Cities.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Finance and Commerce Staff The impact of transit development in the Twin Cities will be the subject of a luncheon meeting sponsored by the Twin Cities chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services and the American...