Dallas Business Journal articles from July 1995

Dallas Business Journal archives from July 1995

Camden plans $24 million apartment project. (Camden Property Trust)
July 7, 1995... Houston-based realty trust will construct 464 upscale units, two lakes and two pools in Buckingham An already white-hot Metroplex apartment climate is about to get one of its biggest projects yet, this one from Houston-based Camden Property...

Birth of a salesman: accountants give it a try; 'call reluctance' still rules despite solicitation freedom.
July 7, 1995... An accountant at heart and by profession, David Saddock got into the self-promotion business hesitantly. His firm, Dallas-based Saddock & Co., hired a marketing director in September and uses direct mail and focused cold-calling to build...

Middleton buys Coopers & Lybrand unit. (Middleton, Burns and Davis)
July 7, 1995... In a deal that boosts its size by 50%, Dallas accounting firm Middleton, Burns & Davis has bought the energy-asset management group from Big Six firm Coopers & Lybrand. The nine-member Coopers group worked primarily for oil-and-gas clients and...

Larry North is whipping his business into shape. (health and fitness expert)
July 7, 1995... Health and fitness expert Larry North is shedding his T-shirts and running shoes for a business suit. North, whose name has become synonymous in Dallas with exercise and eating right, has written a book, owns two health clubs, has a radio talk...

CPAs gird for buyout offers after rule change. (certified public accountants)
July 7, 1995... Dallas accountant Karl Springer is expecting a telephone call. And it won't be like any call he's taken before. A rule change adopted by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy has opened the door for licensed accountants in public practice...

Try, try again: airline burned 'em, now hopes to wow 'em. (Dallas Express Airlines Inc.'s public relations)(Growth Strategies)
July 7, 1995... After operating for only three months, Dallas Express Airlines had alienated most of its passengers with unreliability and poor service. Flights often were delayed for maintenance reasons. Passengers were forced to travel without air...

Managing workers' comp saves money. (Special Report: Health Care Quarterly)
July 7, 1995... Treating people right can improve your bottom line, your corporate productivity and employee relations when you treat workers' compensation as an integral part of your human resources philosophy. Workers' compensation costs are no different...

Diagnosis: turmoil: industry leaders debate managed care.(Special Report: Health Care Quarterly)(Panel Discussion)
July 7, 1995... Until a few years ago, the health care industry really was no different from that of the '60s, rooted in traditional fee-for-service plans. Even as prices rose, insurers and employers continued to foot the bill while doctors and hospitals called...

For-profit vs. not-for-profit: hospitals collide on the issue.(Special Report: Health Care Quarterly)
July 7, 1995... Instead of wringing their hands worrying about for-profit competitors, Dallas-area leaders of not-for-profit hospitals say they're sticking to business and planning for the future. The two sectors have collided on many issues. Not-for-profit...

As costs rise, employers will eye benefits of home health care.(Special Report: Health Care Quarterly)
July 7, 1995... The opinions on health care reform today vary to such extent that it is difficult to know which avenues to choose when making financial decisions relating to the health of your company's employees. One fact is clear, however: In making those...

Hotel planned near Texas Stadium. (Dallas, TX)
July 14, 1995... Partnership envisions 1,400 rooms to complement Elm Fork Ranch complex A partnership including Dallas developer Bill Henry is talking with national hotel chains about an Irving development that would be the second largest Metroplex hotel after...

EDS shuffles units to aid growth spurt. (Electronic Data Systems Corp.)
July 14, 1995... EDS Corp. is creating five new operating units and shuffling top executives in eight major industry groups, a restructuring effort aimed in part at exploiting red-hot markets in Europe. The information-systems giant breaks down its $10 billion...

Misko, Howie & Sweeney are splitting up. (Dallas law firm)
July 14, 1995... Law firm's cases included Pan Am 103, other crashes High-profile Dallas law firm Misko, Howie & Sweeney, which litigated over the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and other famous tragedies, is splitting up Aug. 1. Partners at the firm decided a...

Republic rips Irving's Joe. (Republic Property Group Inc.; Irving Mayor Pro Tem Harry Joe)
July 14, 1995... A feud is simmering between one of Dallas' biggest real estate companies and Irving Mayor Pro Tem Harry Joe, who is a partner in the law firm that represents the developer. Republic Property Group Inc. claims Joe had a conflict of interest...

Good Book, good dogs make Metroplex tick. (Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area)
July 14, 1995... Big D: On a wing and a prayer Lifestyle decisions that distinguish Dallas-Fort Worth residents from the rest of the country. Top 6 % of all Compared to Ranking lifestyles ...

Plano business climate spurs rise in Chapter 11 filings. (Texas)
July 14, 1995... The bubbling business climate north of Dallas is creating runoff for a fledgling bankruptcy office in Plano. The Sherman division office there, a little over three years old, has been receiving so many filings for Chapter 11 protection that a...

United Bank seals $6 million deal to purchase Commercial. (United Bank and Trust Co.; Commercial National Bank)
July 14, 1995... United Bank and Trust has sealed a deal to buy Commercial National Bank for about $6 million and the merger needs only the approval from federal regulators to become final. The agreement was struck a few weeks ago to sell to United Bank,...

Fidelity Bank plans to ink INB deal for $4.3 million. (acquisition of Interstate National Bank)
July 14, 1995... Fidelity Bank expects to ink its purchase of Interstate National Bank by July 14, adding to its blockbuster growth and ridding Interstate of an old buyout offer from Christian media owner Gary Acker. Directors of Interstate and Fidelity are...

Company wraps up advertising on buses. (Transportation Displays Inc.)
July 14, 1995... Think of pasting up wallpaper inside a house or piecing together a puzzle. Only it is a Greyhound-sized bus. And it has to be covered perfectly to appear as if it was painted. On this particular day, Transportation Displays Inc. is...

Cinemark plans McKinney expansion, Mexico development. (Cinemark USA)
July 14, 1995... Cinemark USA is expanding its McKinney theater by 1,000 seats to capture more of the booming movie business in the Metroplex. The company also is making moves outside Texas. A subsidiary, Cinemark de Mexico, will double the company's presence...

The case for space. ("hoteling" and "free addressing" of office spaces)(includes related article)(Special Report: Total Office)
July 14, 1995... Chaos could ring in the new century The information age may come to a screeching halt in the year 2000. The world probably won't end, but the computers that run it might. Mission-critical computer systems are in danger of breaking at the...

Greenhill Park wins chase for GE Capital. (General Electric Capital Corp. leases office space in Farmers Branch, TX)
July 21, 1995... Farmers Branch office complex lands financial-services firm with a 100,000-square-foot lease Ending a hunt for space that involved myriad brokers, designers and building owners, GE Capital Corp. has agreed to lease 100,000 square feet in the...

World Business Academy: kinder, gentler Dallas?
July 21, 1995... Editor's note: More and more is heard these days about building "soul" in the workplace, about bringing a higher purpose than profit to the world of capitalism. The concerns spark everything from environmental activism to controversies over...

Insider buying fueled CompUSA stock surge.
July 21, 1995... CompUSA Inc. chief James Halpin looked pretty cocky last summer when he bought 75,000 shares of his company's stock while it was languishing at $7 a share. Later, when the computer-retailer's stock busted $18 a share last February, he just...

Ground breaking nears for new Galleria-area shopping center. (Dallas, TX)
July 21, 1995... A development team led by Wayne Nash is close to breaking ground for a shopping center on red-hot retail land near The Galleria, according to real estate sources. Nash couldn't be reached for comment. Sources said Just For Feet, Circuit...

Swearingen founder wants firm to give back his name. (Wayne Swearingen)
July 21, 1995... Again, controversy follows the Swearingen real estate legacy. It was less than three months ago that two original partners of The Swearingen Co. - Bill Lawley and Gordon Davis - bought their old firm's assets and changed its name to Swearingen...

Drug benefit managers try for part of health care market.
July 21, 1995... Southwest Airlines is looking for a PBM. That's not a Pretty Big Motor for One of their Boeing 737s. The acronym stands for Pharmaceutical Benefits Manager. These management companies have been around for a while and are becoming more...

BankOne retrenches, but has big growth plans. (Bank One, Texas N.A.)
July 21, 1995... BankOne Texas has been trying to grow a banking giant from its Dallas headquarters, despite dwindling deposits and tough competition that have the bank scaling back operations. But bank management insists it will not surrender its position in the...

Banks loosen purse strings for businesses.(Special Report: Metro Market Report)(Industry Overview)
July 21, 1995... Officers at local banks say competition to make commercial loans is tough and terms to borrowers remain favorable. What's more, experts are predicting a continued borrower's market for the next six months. Banks have been trying to boost...

Health care industry is in a state of flux as it consolidates.(Special Report: Metro Market Report)(Industry Overview)
July 21, 1995... Ask anyone in health care what the Dallas-area market will look like six months from now, and the response most likely will be a curious smile, a shrug of the shoulders and a few war stories about what's happened in mature markets like Los...

Technology innovations continue to focus on consumer. (multimedia, Internet and wireless communications)(Special Report: Metro Market Report)
July 21, 1995... If the technology industry learned one thing over the last year, it's that people don't care how the gadgets work. They just want immediate communication - without knowing what cables, wires or software are needed to do it. "Customers want...

Retail looks 'OK' through '95.(Special Report: Metro Market Report)(Industry Overview)
July 21, 1995... If you're in the apparel industry, don't look for signs of increased sales and customers, experts say. But other areas of retail in the Metroplex are experiencing some growth that is expected to continue. "We've had two to three years of...

Market is moving; brokers advise against overbuilding. (status of real estate market in Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area)(Special Report: Metro Market Report)(Industry Overview)
July 21, 1995... As the dog days of summer drag on, the U.S. economy may be feeling the heat. After a banner year in 1994, most experts believe the nation's economic comeback is slowing. So why are Dallas real estate professionals all smiles? "Dallas and...

Video dreams. (OneMultiMedia Inc.)(Growth Strategies: An Information Arsenal for Emerging Companies)
July 21, 1995... Startup's owner searches for market niche It's the second time around for Pat Antaki and his video dream. In 1993, Antaki took his computer consulting company, AnTel, and decided to point it in a new direction - making equipment used in...

New Wal-Mart may add 300 jobs in Rockwall. (new superstore planned in Dallas suburb)
July 28, 1995... 202,000-square-foot superstore would be company's biggest in Metroplex Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is set to build its largest store in the Metroplex, a Rockwall superstore that would combine a huge discount retail store with a full-size grocery....

Tensions rise over religion in the workplace. (religious discrimination suit filed against Resolution Trust Corp.)
July 28, 1995... When Lindsey Fouts found a memo in his chair telling him that he would no longer manage almost 200 Resolution Trust Corp. employees, he didn't know it was the first shot in a battle he would still be fighting three years later. It's a fight...

Developer plans 250-room hotel in Las Colinas. (John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc.)
July 28, 1995... A Springfield, Mo.-based hotelier has land under contract in Las Colinas with plans to build a 250-room, full-service hotel. Those plans aren't finalized, but the hotel would bear the Embassy Suites name if the deal goes through, said Dave...

Baylor, Cooper Center officials discuss starting joint venture. (Baylor University Health Care System; Cooper Aerobics Center)
July 28, 1995... Baylor University Health Care Systems is eyeing The Cooper Aerobics Center. Health care sources speculate that Baylor wants to buy the world-famous fitness center. Officials at Baylor and Cooper say they are discussing a joint venture, but...

Governments swell LOGIC fund pool. (Local Government Investment Cooperative Fund)
July 28, 1995... When SW Capital Corp. decided last year that it would set up a conservative fund for small governments to invest in, its managers probably had no idea that a treasurer in Orange County, Calif., might make them look pretty smart. But $740...

Surviving in Dallas' highest office. (Mayor Ron Kirk)(Interview)
July 28, 1995... Mayor Ron Kirk discusses selling the region, S. Dallas redevelopment, survival Editor's note: Following are excerpts of questions and answers from Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk's July 21 appearance at the Dallas Business Journal's monthly power...

Tech marketer back in business with Preferred Telecom. (Ray Miller)
July 28, 1995... Ray Miller is back. The founder of U.S. Telephone and a string of other technology ventures some failed - is pitching a new company called Preferred Telecom Inc. Miller purportedly made millions when Sprint Corp. gobbled up U.S. Telephone in...

ESOP gave insurance company rapid growth. (employee stock ownership plan; Thomas C. Higgenbothom and Co.)(Growth Strategies)
July 28, 1995... The aging owner of Thomas C. Higgenbothom & Co. was reaching retirement age and younger employees of the Fort Worth-based insurance agency had two choices: buy the company, or hope a new owner would keep the firm and their jobs intact. To...

Despite slump, home realtors still optimistic. (Dallas residential real estate market)(Residential Real Estate Quarterly)(Industry Overview)
July 28, 1995... If you're not selling $10 million per year within the next 10 years, you'll be but of business. That's the perilous prediction by one of the top Realtors in the country, made at a seminar earlier this year. It is both the cause and effect of...

Market forces are driving consolidation. (Dallas residential real estate market)(Residential Real Estate Quarterly)(Industry Overview)
July 28, 1995... United we stand. That seems to be the theme in Dallas residential real estate in 1995, with big-name mergers grabbing the attention - and larger shares of the market. In January, Henry S. Miller Co. bought Allie Beth Allman Real Estate Inc....