Dallas Business Journal articles from October 1997

Dallas Business Journal archives from October 1997

Lau pins McKinney acreage. (real estate developer John Lau)(McKinney Municipal Airport)
October 3, 1997... Low-profile investor contracts for Perot land surrounding airport MCKINNEY - Metroplex real-estate mogul John Lau is negotiating a potential $14 million deal to buy 790 acres of land around McKinney Municipal Airport from Ross Perot Jr.'s...

Pay for it, and they will come. (economic growth in professional teams)
October 3, 1997... But pro teams spark little economic growth, experts say DOWNTOWN- Dallas Mavericks fan David Swindell has studied the use of taxpayer money to build pro sports arenas for more than a decade. He still sounds amazed at what his research has...

MFS execs launch Dallas phone firm. (MFS Communications Co.; Allegiance Telecom Inc.)
October 3, 1997... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - Backed by $100 million in venture capital, two former executives of MFS Communications Co. have launched a new telephone company that will challenge the industry giants. Allegiance Telecom Inc., which last week leased 40,000...

Camden-Townset moves to remake itself as a REIT. (Camden-Townset Inc.; real estate investment trust)
October 3, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - A struggling Dallas property firm is aiming to revive its fortunes by becoming the newest real estate investment trust in the Metroplex. Camden-Townwest Inc. plans to take itself public through a stock swap with a Denver public...

Bankruptcy protection for wireless firm? (General Wireless Inc.)
October 3, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - General Wireless Inc., which holds federal licenses to provide personal communications services in 14 markets, may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a company official says. "It's just an option that's open to us," said...

Alaska pension fund buying providence fund buying Providence Towers building.
October 3, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - What may be the most recognizable office building in North Dallas is being sold for about $73 million. Cambridge Realty Partners of Hartford, Conn., is selling Providence Towers to an Alaska state pension fund represented by...

Entrepreneurs 'smell opportunity' in China.
October 3, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Hong Kong's changeover in July from British to Chinese role left the international business community nervous. But Metroplex businessman Michel Ross saw it as an opportunity. Like his father and grandfather before him, Ross...

UPR's exploration success coming at opportune time. (Union Pacific Resources Group)
October 3, 1997... FORT WORTH - It looks like there's oil underneath the "valley of despair." Over the past month, Union Pacific Resources Group has announced four major finds and promised to spend $400 million before year's end on exploration and production....

American National buying bank in Wills Point. (National Bank of Texas)
October 3, 1997... WILLS POINT - Two of the state's oldest banks are about to become one. Terrell-based American National Bank of Texas, founded in 1875, has agreed to acquire $32.4 million First National Bank in Wills Point, which was founded in 1879. First...

AT&T unveils cellular service with flat-rate feature. (AT&T Corp.)
October 3, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - AT&T Wireless Services plans to introduce on Oct. 6 a cellular phone service that provides unlimited access to information like e-mail for $29.99 a month. Subscribers to the "AT&T PocketNet Service for the Individual" also get...

Why suburban basketball arenas don't make sense.
October 3, 1997... They sit in fields of pavement, jutting out of the prairie like fanciful castles guarding the suburbs. Professional sports arenas are much beloved by city councils and economic development directors in the Metroplex, as well as the citizens who...

AudioNet's sounding strong with its Microsoft link. (AudioNet Inc.; Microsoft Corp.)
October 3, 1997... DEEP ELLUM - AudioNet Inc. scored a marketing coup Sept. 30 when Microsoft Corp. released the latest version of its Internet browser. The Web site for AudioNet, which broadcasts radio and other audio programs over the Internet, is one of about...

Philantrophy's essential for community life, Dallas says. (Dallas, Texas)
October 3, 1997... DALLAS - Residents of the Dallas area may disagree on lots of things, but they agree by a wide margin that philanthropic giving is important to community life. That's one finding of a new survey on charitable giving in Dallas County. Results...

Mixed blessing for conventions: arena plan puts Dallas hotel taxes among nation's highest.
October 10, 1997... DOWNTOWN - David Whitney was amazed. As the president of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau leafed through the city's agreement with the Stars and the Mavericks for a new professional sports arena, he found a provision for which he'd...

Railcar shortage could slow Santa.
October 10, 1997... DALLAS - It's not yet a case of the grinch that stole Christmas. But a nationwide shortage of railroad cars is slowing delivery of goods at a time when retailers are stocking shelves for holiday shopping. "There's congestion all over the system...

Hospitals try reaching out to minority customers.
October 10, 1997... EAST DALLAS - Dallas County's burgeoning minority population spells potential new business for the area's large health care systems. Prompted by that growth, several hospitals are rethinking the way they reach out to the minority community,...

Rockwall County ranks 9th in growth potential. (Texas)
October 10, 1997... ROCKWALL - According to those who live here, Rockwall County has been "the best-kept secret in the Metroplex" for more than 15 years. Now the secret is out. A new study by American City Business Journals ranks the tiny county east of Dallas as...

Dallas investors kicking off Pacific Rim football league.
October 10, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - After five Super Bowls, three NFL teams and a successful marketing career, Preston Pearson has seen it all in football. These days, though, the former Dallas Cowboys running back is taking the ball in an entirely different...

Projects leasing in 'explosive' tollway market.
October 10, 1997... Even so, skeptics ask, will the Dallas North Tollway submarket be overbuilt by 1999? FAR NORTH DALLAS - Take a picture of the grass fields along the Dallas North Tollway - they won't be there much longer. That's the evaluation by Cushman &...

Acquisition puts Keystone on right path. (Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc.)
October 10, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - For years, Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc. had a King Kong-sized monkey on its back. This particular two-ton gorilla was an underfunded pension plan that, since 1990, annually had sucked an average of $18 million in cash...

Independent Bank could open in Plano by May. (First Independent National Bank)
October 10, 1997... PLANO - Collin County's largest city is about to get its first new charter for an independent bank in more than a decade. Federal regulators have approved the charter application for First Independent National Bank from a group of 10 Metroplex...

Office vacancy rate in Metroplex drops to 15.8%. (Dallas, TX)
October 10, 1997... ADDISON - Office vacancy rates are down, rental rates are climbing, appraisal rates are set to jump and new construction is booming. And, Far North Dallas and Las Colinas continue to earn their reputations as the Metroplex's hottest office...

Dynamex purchases three companies in New York City.
October 10, 1997... IRVING - Dynamex Inc., which provides same-day delivery services in major cities, has acquired three New York City-based companies for $12.1 million in cash and the assumption of $2.5 million in obligations. The Sept. 30 purchase of City...

PUC may revise Dallas area code plan. (Texas Public Utilities Commission)
October 10, 1997... GREATER DALLAS AREA - The Dallas area might not get a new area code after all. The staff of the Texas Public Utilities Commission plans to recommend Oct. 22 that the agency merge the 214 and 972 area codes with an "overlay" system, with the...

University names Bell's Joiner executive of the year. (Texas Wesleyan University; Bell Helicopter Textron CEO Webb Joiner)
October 10, 1997... FORT WORTH - Webb Joiner, chairman and CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron, is being honored this month as "Outstanding Business Executive" of 1997. The honor is bestowed annually by Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, and is considered one of...

TI results boost OSHA's effort to set ergonomic standards. (Texas Instruments)
October 10, 1997... WASHINGTON. D.C. - Thanks to a government study involving Texas Instruments and four other companies, the U.S. Occupational Health & Safety Administration has received a boost in its effort to set ergonomic standards in the workplace to reduce...

A package deal: pro-business environment, vast opportunities offer strong case for relocation.(Corporate Expansion and Relocation Guide)
October 10, 1997... Pro-business environment, vast opportunities offer strong case for relocation Companies reap huge benefits when relocating to the Metroplex, experts say. "The forecast for Dallas, as far as corporate expansion and relocation, is very...

Developments springing up all over Fort Worth. (Texas)(Corporate Expansion and Relocation Guide)
October 10, 1997... FORT WORTH - When it comes to new and expanding facilities. Fort Worth ranks high among the fastest growing metro cities nationwide. Fort Worth-Arlington is eighth among Site Selection magazine's ranking of companies who landed the most...

Mecca of high-tech activity: more growth planned for Telecom Corridor. (in Richardson, Texas)(Corporate Expansion and Relocation Guide)(Directory)
October 10, 1997... More growth planned for Telecom Corridor RICHARDSON - The Telecom Corridor continues to expand in spite of those who thought Richardson's development market was saturated, said John Jacobs, vice president of economic development for the...

Community Introductions personalizes taste of Dallas; Lebovitz eases relocation concerns. (Joyce Lebovitz)(Corporate Expansion and Relocation Guide)(Directory)
October 10, 1997... Lebovitz eases relocation concerns The Metroplex isn't always an easy sell for organizations trying to recruit and relocate key personnel to the area. But easing the anxiety of relocation is just the niche Joyce Lebovitz identified and has...

Metroplex market is vibrant for retailing concepts; retailers test ideas in flourishing Metroplex economy. (Texas)(Corporate Expansion and Relocation Guide)(Directory)
October 10, 1997... Retailers test ideas in flourishing Metroplex economy Newcomers to Dallas who enjoy shopping will be glad to know that Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the United States. Dallas, the seventh largest city in the...

Sterling Commerce eyes new campus; company favors Las Colinas site for communications software headquarters.
October 24, 1997... LAS COLINAS - Sterling Commerce Inc. is negotiating to build a divisional headquarters campus in Irving that would house about 1,300 employees of the fast-growing company. The first phase of the development would comprise about 300,000 square...

Ericsson will cut back jobs by December. (Ericsson Inc.)
October 24, 1997... RICHARDSON - Ericsson Inc. is offering early retirement to 800 employees age 55 and over, including about 150 in the Metroplex, as part of a major cost-cutting program. The maker of telecommunications equipment also plans to cut about 300...

The crafts store wars: Hobby Lobby, Michaels set to invade Metroplex. (Dallas Metropolitan Area)
October 24, 1997... COPPELL - Two hobby superstores are crafting plans to challenge the dominance of MJDesigns Inc. in the Metroplex market. The first of 15 Hobby Lobby stores slated to open in the area by 2000 debuted in Denton last month. And the recent...

High-tech school supplier gets first of new office loans. (Lone Star Communications)
October 24, 1997... Small businesses allowed 10% down, 30 years to pay GRAND PRAIRIE - Six-year-old Lone Star Communications has become the nation's first company to buy a new type of commercial loan product from New Jersey-based finance company The Money Store....

Equity Office set to close on Lakeside Square deal. (Equity Office Properties Trust)
October 24, 1997... PARK CENTRAL - Equity Office Properties Trust is about to buy one of the premier office towers in North Dallas for about $60 million, real estate sources say. The Chicago-based real estate investment trust, Equity Office (NYSE: EOP), is within...

C.C. Young plans $21 million expansion. (retirement community)
October 24, 1997... WHITE ROCK LAKE - C.C. Young retirement community is marking its 75th anniversary with a $21 million expansion and renovation project. The nonprofit long-term care facility, located on a 20-acre campus at the north end of White Rock Lake, plans...

Compass to acquire Fidelity's 14 Dallas banks in stock swap. (Compass Bancshares; Fidelity Bank N.A.)
October 24, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Alabama-based Compass Bancshares has agreed to make its largest Metroplex acquisition ever in a stock swap for University Park-based Fidelity Bank N.A. and its holding company. Among Metroplex banks, Fidelity ranks 20th in assets...

Wisconsin-based sub shops scouting Metroplex locales. (Cousins Subs Systems Inc.)
October 24, 1997... GARLAND - Cousins Subs Systems Inc. is ordering up plans for 100 sandwich shops throughout the Metroplex by 2003. The first 10 stores are slated to open in Plano and Richardson within the next 30 months, said John Pinnock, who with his wife...

Cross Timbers joins the ranks of top independents. (Cross Timbers Oil Co.)
October 24, 1997... FORT WORTH - While other independent oil companies are venturing into hot plays in the Gulf of Mexico, Cross Timbers Oil Co. is making waves by staying on land. After meeting with some initial skepticism because of the high costs involved,...

Developers join forces for Addison office project. (Vigor Properties Inc.; Red Sea Group)
October 24, 1997... ADDISON - Vigor Properties Inc. has joined forces with the Red Sea Group to develop a new $13 million multitenant office building designed as an alternative to the high cost of life along the Dallas North Tollway. Wilcox Realty Group Inc. and...

Experts: love traffic will not affect D/FW bonds. (Love Field airport; Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport)
October 24, 1997... Arguments about startup's impact on bondholders at international airport are 'totally political,' analyst says ALLIANCE - Despite U.S. Rep. Kay Granger's comments to the contrary, bond analysts say increased commercial flights out of Dallas'...

Real Estate Council president resigns to start consulting firm.
October 24, 1997... DALLAS - The president of the Real Estate Council is stepping down from her post, effective Nov. 1. Alice Murray joined the Real Estate Council as its first full-time executive director in early 1992 and was named president in 1995. "I have...

Renewed interest in PPOs could boost MedicalControl. (preferred provider organizations)
October 24, 1997... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - MedicalControl Inc., the Dallas-based company best known for its preferred provider organization, is poised to capitalize on the growing wave of discontent with HMOs. Some health care experts anticipate renewed interest in...

Prentiss marks profitable anniversary as a REIT. (Prentiss Properties Trust; real estate investment firm)
October 24, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Tom August describes Prentiss Properties Trust as a real estate firm that has come full circle and that's ready to roll into the future. He would know. August, president and chief operating officer for the Dallas-based real...

GTE free to compete locally; PUC puts area codes on hold. (GTE Communications Corp.; Texas Public Utilities Commission)
October 24, 1997... IRVING - An affiliate of GTE Communications Corp. got the go-ahead from state regulators this week to begin providing local phone service in other companies' territories. Separately, the state Public Utilities Commission put off until December...

Consumer debt is affecting retirement; study says millions fail to save, but younger generation is doing better.
October 24, 1997... WASHINGTON. D.C. - American workers are increasingly putting up their future as collateral to live in the present. The dramatic increase in consumer debt over the past few years and a feverish attempt to keep up with debt payments have resulted...

Sterling Commerce sees rapid growth after spinoff.
October 24, 1997... LAS COLINAS - Sterling Commerce Inc. has grown at a rapid-fire pace since it was spun off from sister firm Sterling Software in 1996 and taken public. Fueling Sterling Commerce's boom has been what analysts say is its leading position in the...

Rail head: railroad CEO makes it big with 'shorts.' (StatesRail CEO Peter Kleifgen)(Growth Strategies)
October 24, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - For Peter Kleifgen, it was as if his 3-year-old company, StatesRail Inc., had finally arrived. In September, StatesRail was named winning bidder by Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) of Fort Worth for one of its...

Network support: companies weigh benefits of managing IT, balancing total cost of ownership expenses.(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... The employees at marketing firm Bustin & Co. of Dallas learned a lot about technology after a $250,000 overhaul of the firm's computer network. But they are doing what they know best: business, market and relationship development. They aren't...

Customer service is No. 1 use for intranet networks.(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... Intranet systems are a growing phenomenon in corporate America, says industry analyst Allen Bonde. A July 1997 survey of Fortune 1000 companies revealed 84% are presently developing intranet networks. In addition, 46% of these companies...

Good wireless deals today may not deliver tomorrow.(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - When CompuCom Systems Inc. decided to streamline its cellular phone expenses, the desktop and network integration support company placed all of its wireless business with a new carrier. While bottom line costs were immediately...

Use of 'cookie' raises issue of privacy on Net. (tracking visits to World Wide Web sites)(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... The increased use of the Internet, along with advances in Internet monitoring technology, has raised many issues regarding personal privacy on the Internet. As everyone knows, the Internet is popular because it provides a wealth of resources...

It's not black and white anymore; widespread use of color printers gives boon to consumables industry.(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... What comes first - the razor or the razor blade? Well, of course it's the razor but you're going to spend several years buying disposable blades for that razor. This is exactly the analogy manufacturers of ink-jet printers are counting on...

Security open to inside, outside hackers.(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... Fueled by the explosion of high-profile break-ins, security on the World Wide Web is a growing concern to businesses worldwide. "For any kind of electronic commerce, security is a major concern and will continue to be for some time," said Jay...

Fire walls keep locks on doors to your system. (data security)(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... Security experts don't agree on many areas, but there is one: If you are going to connect your business to the Internet, you need a fire wall to keep your system secure from intruders. The Internet boom and the ensuing demand for fire walls...

Hotmail quickly catching fire among savvy e-mail users.(Information Technology Guide)
October 24, 1997... SUNNYVALE, Calif. - As every venture capitalist knows, sometimes the best ideas are those that are so obvious that everyone else misses them. Such is the case with Hotmail, a company whose idea was so simple that even the founders of the...

Millipore shops for expansion space: high-tech manufacturer would create 300 jobs at new division headquarters.
October 31, 1997... PLANO - Millipore Corp. is shopping around the northeastern portion of the Metroplex to see which municipality will offer it the best incentive package for the firm's new divisional headquarters. The carrot Millipore (NYSE: MIL) is dangling is...

Nortel plans worldwide hiring spree. (Northern Telecom Ltd.)
October 31, 1997... RICHARDSON - During war, the best business to be in is arms sales. That's what Northern Telecom Ltd., a Canadian maker of telecommunications equipment, is discovering about the phone wars. Nortel's Richardson-based wireless networks business,...

Conversion experience: appeal of intown lifestyle spurs redevelopment pace.
October 31, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Sometime next year, someone will wake up, turn over and stare the Flying Red Horse straight in the eye. That someone will be privileged enough to occupy a two-story penthouse apartment atop the Kirby Building at 1509 Main St. He or...

The Studios at Las Colinas nabs 50% of production firm. (Thornhill Productions Inc.)
October 31, 1997... LAS COLINAS - The Studios at Las Colinas is vying for the Southwest entertainment industry's starring role with plans to create one of the region's top one-stop shopping centers. This month, The Studios inked a deal to acquire 50% of the...

Presbyterian Healthcare is fighting for control of PHO. (Presbyterian Healthcare Resources; physician/hospital organization System Health Providers Inc.)
October 31, 1997... NORTHEAST DALLAS - Like the system that spawned it, one of the area's largest physician/hospital organizations is changing its ownership structure. Leaders of Genesis Physician Group, a 1,000-doctor network, want to buy out Presbyterian...

Companies will pay to lose business. (telephone companies mandated to provide local-number portability in seven states)
October 31, 1997... GREATER DALLAS AREA - Beginning in May 1998, Dallas callers who switch their local phone service to providers with their own networks will get to keep their phone numbers. Sounds easy enough for the phone companies to accomplish, right? Not by...

Fort Worth's Sundance Square populated with lively mixture. (Fort Worth, Texas)
October 31, 1997... FORT WORTH - When you enter the Sundance Square district of downtown Fort Worth, you are likely to breathe in the lively aromas of restaurants, hear the sounds of musical festivals and see the life of a downtown neighborhood. Neighborhood?...

UT study says high-tech firms need stronger bonds. (University of Texas Bureau of Business Research)
October 31, 1997... AUSTIN - Texas high-tech companies need to establish tighter supplier relationships if they are ever to match the speed of innovation in Silicon Valley and Japan, a new study says. The University of Texas Bureau of Business Research study...

UP railroad congestion plaguing Metroplex shippers. (Union Pacific Railroad Co.)
October 31, 1997... Businesses explore alternatives or face the prospect of shutting down until Union Pacific gets on track IRVING - When Keith Wolfe of Western Road Rail Systems USA saw that one of his customer's steel shipments couldn't be delivered because it...

Pharmaceutical firm could spell 400 jobs in Allen. (Dey Laboratories Inc.'s expansion plans)
October 31, 1997... ALLEN - A growing Napa, Calif.-based pharmaceutical company plans to expand its Metroplex distribution center, eventually bringing as many as 400 jobs here. Dey Laboratories Inc. now employs about 40 in a distribution center on Miller Road in...

Does Alliance violate the D/FW bond covenants? (Alliance Airport; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport)
October 31, 1997... ALLIANCE - Fort Worth's lawsuit against the city of Dallas has thrown open the door to accusations that Alliance Airport violates the 1968 bond covenants restricting flights from Dallas Love Field. "'Glass houses' is the phrase that comes to...

Utilities face price pressures in maintaining service. (natural gas utilities Texas Utilities Co. and Central and South West Corp.)
October 31, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Officials from both Texas Utilities Co. and Central and South West Corp. say they're withstanding Union Pacific Railroad Co.'s rail travails fairly well. However, the rising cost of natural gas is putting pressure on both...

Theater chain finds a market in small towns. (Hollywood Theaters Inc. of Dallas)(Company Profile)
October 31, 1997... TURTLE CREEK - Call it the Wal-Mart approach to movie theaters, only more upscale. In its roughly two years of existence, Hollywood Theaters Inc. of Dallas has built a chain of 85 movie theaters with 461 screens in five states by taking a page...