Dallas Business Journal articles from July 1998

Dallas Business Journal archives from July 1998

ITS Labs closing amid probe. (ITS Environmental Laboratories in Richardson, Texas)
July 24, 1998... Richardson facility's environmental test practices under investigation by EPA RICHARDSON - An environmental-testing laboratory is being closed because of growing competition and an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency into...

Exodus from Preston Road to open flood of office space. (transfer of firms to the Far North Dallas, Texas office spaces)
July 24, 1998... FAR NORTH DALLAS - PageNet Inc.'s relocation to Addison from Preston Road last month opened a spigot - there's going to be more than half it million square feet of existing office space coming available this quarter. The exodus of more than...

Discovering Fairview. (residential real estate in Collin County, Texas)(includes related article on commercial real estate development)
July 24, 1998... Wealthy young families 'getting away' to rural bedroom burg FAIRVIEW - Developers in Fairview can't build lots fast enough to satisfy the desire of affluent young professionals who want to get away from densely populated Dallas and Plano....

Metroplex is new hotbed of computer games industry. (Dallas, Texas)
July 24, 1998... NORTH DALLAS - It was late that night in 1995. Tony Goodman and a computer programmer at the consulting company he co-owned, Ensemble Corp., were supposed to be working on a software accounting package for a client. But the conversation...

Purina targets 'ruralpolitan' niche with new retail stores. (retail stores to be opened by Purina Mills Inc.)
July 24, 1998... FORT WORTH - Purina Mills Inc. plans to cultivate a growing market on the fringes of the suburbs with a new chain of food-and-supply stores. The St. Louis-based manufacturer of animal nutrition products will open up to 10 America's Country...

Malibu directors OK alliance with Houlihan's. (joint venture between Malibu Entertainment Worldwide Inc. and Houlihan's Restaurant Group Inc.)
July 24, 1998... Combination of Dallas entertainment firm and Missouri restaurant company would be 'vehicle for additional growth' DOWNTOWN - The board of directors of Dallas-based Malibu Entertainment Worldwide Inc. has given a green light to the company's...

Plan for 'truck park' draws opposition in South Dallas. (Texas)
July 24, 1998... SOUTH DALLAS - The country's largest independent seller of used trucks is planning a $30 million business park here devoted to trucking services, which the company says will bring badly needed jobs to an area that has long been ignored by...

Long-awaited Denton hospital finally under way. (construction of the Denton Regional Medical Center in Texas)
July 24, 1998... Completion expected next year for $100 million facility, the biggest between Dallas and Oklahoma City DENTON - Finally, folks at Denton Regional Medical Center can see the light at the end of the tunnel, as construction progresses on a...

Popeyes aims at KFC with D-FW growth plan. (expansion of Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits in Texas and Kentucky Fried Chicken's dominance of the Dallas-Fort Worth area)
July 24, 1998... Major expansion would give 'spicy chicken' chain 80 local stores by 2002, up from 31 now NORTH RICHLAND HILLS - Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits hopes to shake up the pecking order for quick-service chicken by nearly tripling its number of stores...

D/FW 'warehouse war' heats up. (Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas)
July 17, 1998... New project lures Georgia firm in battle against CentrePort, D/FW Freeport GRAPEVINE - An Atlanta developer is planning to build more than 1 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space in a new Grapevine business park that will...

REIT plots an 800-acre masterplanned community. (real estate investment trust firm, American Realty Trust Inc.)
July 17, 1998... Pays $400 million so far for 'Mercer' land NORTHWEST DALLAS - American Realty Trust Inc. has snapped 'up a 132-acre tract of land here, bringing the firm closer to securing a huge swath for a mammoth, 20-year development. For three years,...

Soft money; politicians tap Metroplex for $2.39 million - so far. (top campaign contributors from Dallas, Texas during the 1997-1998 elections)
July 17, 1998... DOWNTOWN - D. Andrew Beal, founder of $1.2 billion thrift Beal Bank S.S.B., leads all Metroplex contributors of "soft money" to political parties through the 1997-98 election cycle, having tossed in a total of $250,000 so far, according to...

Ex-TI exec builds a faster chip. (coprocessor developed by Infinite Technology Corp., headed by Tim B. Smith)
July 17, 1998... RICHARDSON- A small company headed by a former Texas Instruments executive has developed technology that could help computer chips run certain applications up to 100 times faster than they do now. The device, called a "coprocessor" for...

Tower renovation restores office space in Oak Cliff. (renovation of Jefferson Tower in Texas)
July 17, 1998... Development groups to occupy landmark building OAK CLIFF - Community advocates hope the $2.6 million renovation of Jefferson Tower will spur an economic revival along Jefferson Boulevard. The Southern Dallas Development Corp., which is...

Lone Star Park attendance races ahead in second year. (horse race track in Grand Prairie, Texas)
July 17, 1998... GRAND PRAIRIE - With just five dates left in its 73-day Thoroughbred season, Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie appeared ready this week to do what no other modern horse-racing track has done: attract more patrons in its second season than it did...

Redbud putting up McKinney office building. (multitenant building of Redbud Properties in McKinney, Texas)
July 17, 1998... New company says area growth encouraged development of first multitenant office in McKinney since 1985 MCKINNEY - A new company called Redbud Properties is putting up McKinney's first new multitenant building in more than a decade. The...

Developer eyes Denton for adult retirement community. (real estate development of Robson Communities in Texas)
July 17, 1998... DENTON - A developer of luxury retirement communities has a tract of undeveloped land under contract here, contemplating a masterplanned community for active adults that could someday include 5,000 homes. But the project is far from a done...

Occidental eyes move to Irving. (Occidental Petroleum Corp. of Los Angeles)
July 10, 1998... Giant oil company reserves 150,000 square feet at Las Colinas spec building LAS COLINAS - Occidental Petroleum Corp. of Los Angeles is going east, real estate brokers say, with plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to Irving....

Hillwood changes strategy for Alliance office building. (Hillwood Development Co.)
July 10, 1998... Commerce Center won't wait for Intel suppliers ALLIANCE - The delay of Intel Corp.'s $1.2 billion plant at Alliance Airport has forced Hillwood Development Co. to change its marketing strategy for a new office building, which was originally...

Area's population to explode past 7 million by year 2020.
July 10, 1998... DALLAS - The Metroplex's population will skyrocket to more than 7 million by 2020, making the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area one of the hottest growth spots in the nation. according to a new study by American City Business Journals. The...

Rangers attendance 85,000 behind 1997. (Texas Rangers)
July 10, 1998... ARLINGTON - When Major League Baseball took a break for the All-Star Game last week, the Texas Rangers found themselves only a game and a half behind the AL West-leading Anaheim Angels - but more than 85,000 customers behind last year's...

What's in a name? (name changes of banks)
July 10, 1998... Name changes help position area banks for growth, but customers care more about consistent services DOWNTOWN - Aggressive, $77 million independent Reunion Bank is preparing to change its name to Lone Star Bank. The state-chartered...

Coopership team strives to win $10 million prize. (space vehicle design)
July 10, 1998... NORTH DALLAS - A Dallas businessman hopes to raise $5 million from investors and corporate sponsors to begin work launching a vehicle into space from an airship with a rigid hull. You read that right. Dale Harris admits the idea sounds...

Software projects, cash flow in for Vectrix Corp.
July 10, 1998... Rapid growth puts company well on its way to raising nearly $10 million to go public next year NORTH DALLAS - Tuesday was a busy day for Mark Lynd. The founder, president and CEO of Dallas-based Vectrix Corp. got word that day that his...

DART short-term bond issue helps build light-rail system. (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
July 10, 1998... DOWNTOWN - Dallas Area Rapid Transit has arranged to issue $130 million in new revenue bonds and expects to issue more of the five-year notes next year. DART is using the tax-exempt bonds to help build its light-rail "starter system" from...

Jim Turner: risking it all in the soft drink bottling business. (Dr Pepper Bottling Co.)
July 10, 1998... IRVING - Jim Turner slept like a baby after he bought Dr Pepper Bottling Co. of Texas 13 years ago. A collicky baby, that is. "I'd wake up crying every two hours remembering the debt we took on," he deadpans. "It was a little scary." Of...

Soft sell: building credibility through referrals. (Senior Information Services of America)
July 10, 1998... ADDISON - At Senior Information Services of America, the hard sell is verboten. The company, which provides insurance products and financial planning for senior citizens, rarely advertises and wouldn't even think of using phone solicitation...

Cytoclonal wins Bristol-Myers deal. (Cytoclonal Pharmaceutics Inc.)
July 3, 1998... Contract helps tiny firm advance its anti-cancer technology MEDICAL CENTER - Cytoclonal Pharmaceutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CYPH) has just landed "the big one," signing a $50 million-plus deal with pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb....

Area reps support auto salvage bill. (political contributions received by Dallas congressmen from auto dealers)
July 3, 1998... IRVING - The majority leader of the U.S. House, arch-conservative Rep. Dick Armey, R-Irving, seldom agrees with diehard-liberal Rep. Martin Frost, D-Dallas. The longtime rivals have battled over everything from abortion to Whitewater. But...

Fixx My PC moving to Stemmons Corridor.(Company Profile)
July 3, 1998... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - Lawrence Schwartz's PC needed fixing. The year was 1996, and Schwartz, then a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based manager at a Fortune 500 medical company, was trying to fulfill a contract to write a book on how traveling...

Motel 6 takes affordable extended-stay approach. (to launch chain of extended-stay hotels)
July 3, 1998... Armed With a new image and renovated rooms, the Addison-based hotel chain is ready to rumble ADDISON - Motel 6 is launching a new chain of extended-stay hotels with a new look and a budget-hotel price tag. The first prototype is slated to...

LaSalle clears the deck for two more mergers. (LaSalle Partners Inc. starts on talks on acquisition of Lend Lease Corp. and Jones Lang Wooton)(includes list of Compass properties)
July 3, 1998... Global deals would make company the third-largest commercial property manager in the Metroplex NORTH DALLAS - LaSalle Partners Inc. is in transoceanic negotiations with two different real estate firms for a merger that would create a real...

Sambuca, Flying Saucer concepts branching out. (Dallas restaurants start nationwide expansion programs)
July 3, 1998... Weitzman Group will coordinate nationwide expansion for unique eateries that started in Dallas OAK LAWN - Two of Dallas' favorite concepts are taking a bite out of the national restaurant pie. The Weitzman Group in Dallas is coordinating a...

Akin, Gump makes best case for top local firm. (Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld rated as the most profitable Dallas law firm)
July 3, 1998... Dallas law firm pulls in highest 1997 profit and revenue in the Metroplex; ranks third in Texas DOWNTOWN - A new survey of Texas law firms points to Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld L.L.P. as the most successful local firm in 1997. The...

Overnight success. (Worldwide Express Inc.)(Company Profile)
July 3, 1998... Shipping reseller started first, kept costs low UPTOWN - The Houston office of Trammell Crow Co. was looking for ways to cut costs in 1990, and its annual $1 million bill for overnight shipping seemed a good place to start. Crow sent...

Creating a niche. (Protech International Staffing Services Inc.)(Technology Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 3, 1998... Tieu taps into tech market with minority staffing firm RICHARDSON - Michael Tieu sees something in minority workers that few other staffing companies do. The 29-year-old Vietnam immigrant came to Dallas four years ago and in 1996 started...