St. Louis Business Journal articles from May 1995

St. Louis Business Journal archives from May 1995

Audit criticizes handling of tourism account. (Missouri Division of Tourism)
May 1, 1995... Questions concern cost overruns by production firm using director Beenders' son Four months before Missouri's Division of Tourism chose to put its $5 million advertising account up for review, State Auditor Margaret Kelly issued an audit...

TWA chases host of foreign routes. (Trans World Airlines Inc.)
May 1, 1995... Trans World Airlines is hoping to win new routes to several international business centers, including London, Toronto, Johannesburg, Tokyo and, eventually, Mexico City. Of these, a New York/London route - worth in excess of $100 million a year...

MAC seals county pact, reverses membership drop. (Missouri Athletic Club)
May 1, 1995... The Missouri Athletic Club's renowned caramel rolls will be available in west St. Louis County soon. Members of the MAC have approved the $2.75 million acquisition of the Town & Country Racquet Club. The deal is scheduled to close May 15. In...

Rallo firm, 2 others gain $212 million steel mill deal. (CMR Construction Co.; Guarantee Electrical Co.; Murphy Company Mechanical Contractors and Engineers Inc.)
May 1, 1995... The rejuvenation of a Pennsylvania steel mill is expected to bring three St. Louis construction contractors as much as $212 million during the next five years. The trio, CMR Construction Inc., Guarantee Electrical Co. and Murphy Co. Mechanical...

Dallas group developing site for Southwestern Bell. (Beck Realty Co.)
May 1, 1995... A Dallas real estate group plans to develop a $15 million to $20 million office building for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. on land near Interstate 270 and Manchester Road. Southwestern Bell Telephone will be the sole tenant of the...

Boeing, Airbus put strain on Douglas' commercial arm. (McDonnell Douglas Corp.)
May 1, 1995... Analysts are speculating about the health of McDonnell Douglas' commercial aircraft division in the wake of a series of contract setbacks. The aerospace giant has lost at least one major contract and has seen another put on hold, both within...

Contractors cite problems in city's current system. (awarding of contracts to minority and women-owned businesses in St. Louis, MO)
May 1, 1995... Results of Atlanta firm's study due this month The city of St. Louis has contracted with an Atlanta firm to evaluate its practice of awarding contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses. In a public hearing held April 22, a variety of...

Casino bidder Duchossois already notable in Chicago. (businessman Richard Duchossois)
May 1, 1995... Richard Duchossois isn't a household name here - yet. But if the Levy Restaurants win the competition for downtown casino rights, the billionaire industrialist will be a part of the deal. He's already made a name for himself in Chicago....

Johnson Agency rides Metro East growth. (Kenneth Johnson Agency)
May 1, 1995... Terry Johnson, vice president of the Belleville-based Kenneth Johnson Agency, says the commercial real estate company lives by a simple philosophy. "You can call it East County. You can call it the Metro East. You can call it whatever you...

BJC planning maternity tower at Missouri Baptist. (BJC Health Systems)
May 1, 1995... The centerpiece of BJC Health System's plan to transform Missouri Baptist Medical Center into its west St. Louis County baby factory will be a new seven-story tower on what's now a parking lot. The health-care giant has kept details of its $50...

Levy cut deal breaker from plan. (riverboat gambling in St. Louis, Missouri)
May 15, 1995... City allows casino group to alter bid A casino group led by the Levy brothers of Chicago was allowed to alter its proposal prior to gaining riverfront gambling rights from the city of St. Louis, an attorney for the city said. Levy dropped a...

St. Luke's joins Mercy system. (St. Luke's Hospital; Sisters of Mercy Health System)
May 15, 1995... Grisham grabs second slot in three-hospital alliance A new holding company will unite St. John's Mercy Medical Center, St. Luke's Hospital and St. Anthony's Medical Center in the Sisters of Mercy Health System this summer. St. Anthony's...

Motown projects give Alberici a lift. (J.S. Alberici Construction Company Inc.)
May 15, 1995... '94 revenue doubles to $659 million Gabe Alberici rode Motown to post the biggest revenue gain among local construction firms last year. His J.S. Alberici Construction Co. jumped from $333 million in 1993 to $659 million in 1994 - a 98%...

GenCare, GHP buck slumping profits' trend. (GenCare Health Systems Inc.; Group Health Plan Inc.)
May 15, 1995... For a majority of the health maintenance organizations operating in St. Louis, 1994 was a year of stiff competition, price cuts and slimmer profits. "Six of the nine largest HMOs doing business here saw their profits drop in 1994, according to...

Matthews-Dickey among sites for Rams practices. (St. Louis Rams football team)
May 15, 1995... The Mathews-Dickey Boys' Club has emerged as the late leader in the competition for the location of the St. Louis Rams' temporary practice facility. The Rams are still considering the Pipefitters' Union complex, which was ruled out a few...

LAB home care projects $10 million revenue for '95. (LAB Health Professionals Inc.)
May 15, 1995... Hockey stars Brett Hull and Adam Oates are scoring big with LAB Health Professionals. Hull and Oates are investors with Larry James in LAB, a home health-care agency that has grown fivefold since being founded in 1992, The name of the company...

Med students getting education on controlling costs. (medical students)
May 15, 1995... As the health-care industry focuses on ways to cut medical costs, medical schools nationwide are giving students a crash course on the economics of medical costs. Locally, neither Washington University Medical School nor St. Louis University...

Amid rising tide, Schmids' area bank racks up a loss. (First Financial Bank of St. Louis)
May 15, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] During a stellar year for the banking industry, First Financial Bank of St. Louis struggled. The $82-million-asset bank, located on South Broadway in St. Louis, posted a $1 million loss in 1994, according to its...

McCormack Baron hired as 'quarterback' for Cupples. (McCormack Baron and Associates; Cupples Station)
May 15, 1995... Owners of the vacant Cupples Station buildings are pushing ahead with development plans for the turn-of-the-century warehouse complex. In recent weeks, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri has hired a developer, architects and applied for...

Shortfall of specialist residents unlikely here. (medical residents; St. Louis, Missouri)
May 15, 1995... A nationwide trend of more medical students choosing primary care fields for their residencies is causing medical educators to worry that the shift could result in fewer physicians being trained in specialty disciplines. However, officials at...

Brass, ammo boost Olin. (Olin Corp.)
May 15, 1995... Stronger sales, continuation of a sweeping reorganization program and rigid cost controls all helped push Olin Corp. back into the black, according to the company's annual report. Olin's earnings almost doubled in 1994, rising to $91 million...

Certificate of Need OKs $62 million in '95 projects.
May 15, 1995... Despite threats to its very existence, the state's Certificate of Need program has been busy in 1995. In the first part of 1995, the program has approved 20 medical projects worth $62 million. Of those, seven worth $30 million are in the St....

Pick of the crop: Eckert family business gets nod from MassMutual. (Eckert Cos.; MassMutual Life Insurance Co.)
May 15, 1995... Back in the mid-1800s, on a grassy knoll near Fayetteville, Ill., Michael Eckert planted a few apple seeds and unwittingly gave root to a business that would feed the next four generations of Eckerts. Those seeds sown by Michael Eckert marked...

Computer input: consultant Lindenberg sees sales up 40% in '95. (Lindenberg and Associates Inc.)(Company Profile)
May 15, 1995... Lindenberg & Associates Inc. 701 Emerson Road Suite 300 Creve Coeur, Mo. 63141 Business Activity: Lindenberg & Associates is an information systems consulting and contracting services company with its home office in Creve Coeur and branches in...

The May Department Stores Co. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 15, 1995... David C. Farrell Chairman and chief executive The May Department Stores Co. is one of the country's leading department store companies. It operates 314 quality department stores nationwide, as well as Payless ShoeSource, the nation's largest...

Group shops Schnuck's spinoffs. (investors; Schnuck Markets Inc.)
May 22, 1995... Lloyd Jordan, Bert Walker in deal A group of investors, including Lloyd Jordan, Mayor Freeman Bosley's chief of staff, plans to bid on stores being divested by Schnuck Markets Inc. People familiar with the deal said Jordan is playing the...

CPI cuts execs' pay, then freezes it. (CPI Corp.)
May 22, 1995... Essman must lift profits to boost compensation Picture this. CPI Corp.'s key corporate officers have had their salaries reduced $400,000 beginning this year - then frozen through 1997 by the photo-finishing and portrait company's board of...

St. Anthony's forms foundation with $100 million. (St. Anthony's Medical Center)
May 22, 1995... St. Anthony's Medical Center plans to create a $100 million charitable foundation following its new alliance with St. John's and St. Luke's hospitals. The nonprofit foundation, which will be called the St. Anthony's Foundation, will be...

Missouri pension fund dumping $60 million real estate portfolio. (Missouri State Employees' Retirement System)
May 22, 1995... The Missouri State Employees' Retirement System - a $2.4 billion pension fund - is getting out of the real estate business. MOSERS, as the pension fund is commonly called, plans to sell off its entire $60 million real estate portfolio spanning...

Post launches 'Get Out' to help sales. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper; entertainment magazine)
May 22, 1995... New entertainment guide aims at Riverfront Times If USA Today and The Riverfront Times would produce an offspring together, it might look like the new entertainment tabloid soon to be launched by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Post-Dispatch...

West county draws tenants despite bargains elsewhere. (St. Louis, Missouri)(Real Estate)
May 22, 1995... Even though it's cheaper to lease office space in downtown St. Louis or north St. Louis County, corporate tenants are voting with their feet - and their trail leads to west county. "Tenants bid against one another and pay steep prices for new...

Rams used Sonnenschein for Mathews-Dickey deal. (football team; Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal; office space deal)
May 22, 1995... The law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal represented the Rams in hammering out the deal with Mathews-Dickey Boys Club. The law firm, through its ties to Rams Vice Chairman Stan Kroenke, is expected to handle a number of legal issues for the...

Downtown commercial property boosts value 9.6%. (St. Louis, Missouri)(Real Estate)
May 22, 1995... The assessed value of commercial property downtown increased about 9.6% for 1995. The boost in assessed value points to a gradual upturn in market value for commercial property downtown, say property managers and real estate experts....

Demand for apartments fuels rent surge. (St. Louis, Missouri)(Real Estate)
May 22, 1995... At Baxter Crossings Apartments, the second rental increase for 1995 occurred in May. Rates inched up 1.5% to 2%, depending on size of the unit. And Fogelman Properties, owner of the nearly 700-unit complex southwest of Chesterfield Village,...

NADA comes out against tariff on Japanese autos. (National Automobile Dealers Association)
May 22, 1995... The National Automobile Dealers Association says it will oppose a proposed tariff that would double the cost of Japanese luxury automobiles. That's although the association represents domestic, as well as imported, auto dealerships, including...

Corn-to-ethanol plant may go up at SIUE research park. (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)(Real Estate)
May 22, 1995... An engineering feasibility study is being performed to determine whether the world's first corn-to-ethanol pilot plant could be built at University Park, the research and mixed-use technology park on the campus of Southern Illinois University at...

Company helps business people find home on the road. (Corporate Accommodations)(Real Estate)
May 22, 1995... Creating a "home away from home" is the primary challenge of Beverly McIntyre, who owns and operates Corporate Accommodations, a West Port-based company specializing in interim housing. But she's found herself providing much more. . .even a...

BJC Health System pulls Missouri Baptist expansion plan. (Missouri Baptist Medical Center)
May 22, 1995... BJC Health System has pulled the plug - for now - on its $50 million plan to transform Missouri Baptist Medical Center into a major women's and children's center. The hospital giant filed a letter with the state's Certificate of Need program...

Grisham, Swift split hospital group duties. (St. Louis Regional Holding Pres. Rich Grisham and CEO Jim Swift)
May 22, 1995... St. Anthony's president and chief executive Rich Grisham will oversee cost-cutting efforts at the new holding company that will include St. Anthony's, St. John's and St. Luke's hospitals. Grisham will be sharing the executive suite at the St....

BlueChoice walks away from St. Louis city business. (Missouri)
May 22, 1995... BlueChoice, the health maintenance organization for Alliance Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is dropping the city of St. Louis as a customer. The HMO is walking away from about $3.4 million it received in health-care insurance premiums from the...

Home contracts up 58% for Crow-Rufkahr. (Crow-Rufkahr Homes)(Real Estate)
May 22, 1995... Crow-Rufkahr Homes is bucking the trend of lagging home construction in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The St. Charles County home builder reported a 58% increase in home construction contracts for the four-month period ending April 30,...

If the shoe doesn't fit. (Comfort Shoe Specialists)(Company Profile)
May 22, 1995... Comfort Shoe finds money in bunions, flat feet Comfort Shoe Specialists 12143 Manchester Road Des Peres, Mo. 63131 Business Activity: Comfort Shoe Specialists makes custom shoes to help relieve pain or other problems caused by an improper...

Argosy Gaming Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 22, 1995... J. Thomas Long Vice chairman and chief executive officer Argosy Gaming Co. owns and operates riverboat casinos in Alton, Ill., Riverside, Mo., Baton Rouge, La., and Sioux City, Iowa. The company recorded a profit of $9.6 million, or 40 cents a...

Building owners hitting the roof. (use of rooftops for telecommunications)
May 29, 1995... Rooftops aren't just for sunbathing. For example, when Clayton's Sevens Building went up for sale in 1993, the building's owner - Great Britain's Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor - disclosed that the rooftop generated nearly $400,000 annually in...

Broker hunts for Laclede Town land. (A.G. Edwards Inc.)
May 29, 1995... A.G. Edwards offers $2 million cash for 7.6 acres A.G. Edwards, the area's largest brokerage firm, is offering the city $2 million in cash for a portion of the 53-acre series of parcels known as Laclede Town, according to people familiar with...

Thomas Coffee churns out retail line. (Thomas Coffee Co.)
May 29, 1995... Bean deals brewing at Dierberg's, Schnuck's Tom Charleville pointed out the business shortcomings of his Thomas Coffee Co. on South Boyle. * His coffee bean inventories are too, high from a financial standpoint for his tiny, 12-person...

State nixes Adamson's bid for tourism work. (Missouri; Adamson Advertising Co.)
May 29, 1995... Wiethaupt pops up in Kansas City Missouri's Division of Purchasing pulled the plug on Adamson Advertising Co.'s pitch for the $5.7 million state tourism account. But the agency's apparent trump card in the bidding - Glennon & Co. account...

Retailers find premium locations in short supply. (St. Louis, Missouri)
May 29, 1995... Wal-Mart and Builders Square are peddling their goods on Barrett Station Road where McGraw Hill once distributed books. Mark Shale Men's and Women's Clothing induced the St. Louis Galleria to redesign an entrance to the mall to fit in. Stage...

Business making itself at home in St. Peters. (Missouri)
May 29, 1995... City in top 10 for home-based businesses Every morning as she watches her husband drag himself out to his car for that daily battle with the Blanchette Bridge, Judy Lowe finds herself silently laughing. "I really get a kick out of it on...

Airlines' cost would soar under Lambert expansion. (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport)
May 29, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] The cost for airlines to serve Lambert Airport will soar under each of the airport's eight expansion plans. In fact, some of plans appear to make the field too expensive for Southwest and TWA, the two airlines that...

Local zoning laws emphasize 'home' aspect of home office.
May 29, 1995... The city of Chicago revised its zoning laws pertaining to home-based businesses last month. Previously, the city simply banned all home-office activity. Now, beginning June 17, it will officially license home offices that meet certain...

Casinos bet GameDev will manage to produce profits. (Gaming Development Group Inc.)
May 29, 1995... When gaming debuted in Iowa in 1991, residents of Sioux City bet on a big economic boost for their city from riverboats. But with a state-mandated $200 loss limit and a maximum bet of $5, the Sioux City casino, like others in the state,...

Gaming license decision clouds some bidders' future. (Missouri)
May 29, 1995... Delays in gaining a gaming license cast an air of uncertainty around several local bidders scrambling to launch new casinos, according to at least one stock analyst. The Missouri Gaming Commission Wednesday chose only one local proposal -...

UE looking to expand pilot telecommuting program. (Union Electric Co.)
May 29, 1995... Eight months after Union Electric Co. launched a pilot telecommuting program with four workers, the gains in productivity and employee satisfaction have far outweighed the additional costs of home-computer hookups, company officials say. As a...

Darst-Webbe redevelopment price tag hits $118 million. (public housing neighborhood)
May 29, 1995... As city and federal housing officials determine what is the best course for the redevelopment of the Darst-Webbe public housing neighborhood, one element of that debate goes undisputed: Reinventing public housing won't come cheaply. A team of...

Allsup backs private processing of disability claims. (Allsup Inc. president James Allsup)
May 29, 1995... Leaders of the Social Security Disability Insurance system should study public-private partnerships to make more efficient the nation's process of filing disability claims, a local disability financial services executive testified before a...

Average area hospital charges range from $1,700 to $17,000.
May 29, 1995... Average charges for treatment at St. Louis hospitals in 1994 varied widely, ranging from $1,700 per illness to more than $17,000, according to an analysis of hospital charges. The analysis examined data on commercial, or privately paid, charges...

Resting easy. (Heartland Futons & Fibers)(Small Business)(Company Profile)
May 29, 1995... Couple finds plastic-filled futons biz in bedding Heartland Futons & Fibers 2107 Lucas St. St. Louis, Mo. 63103 Business Activity: Heartland Futons & Fibers makes futon beds and couches as well as futon beds for pets at its warehouse in the...

Angelica Corp. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 29, 1995... Lawrence J. Young Chairman, president and chief executive officer Angelica Corp. is one of the country's leading providers of textile rental and laundry services; a leading maker and marketer of uniforms and business apparel; and a leading...

State's 15-year highway plan hinges on bill's approval. (Missouri)
May 29, 1995... Missouri stands to lose as much as $154 million a year in federal funding for interstate highways unless a bill, which has yet to be introduced in the House of Representatives, makes it through Congress in the next four months. Virtually all...