|
 |
|
|
Compiled by Lauri Johnson
GENOMED ANTICIPATES PATENT FOR LUNG MATURATION TREATMENT IN NEWBORNS
 Dr. David Moskowitz,
chief medical officer and CEO,
GenoMed |
|
St. Louis-based biotech firm GenoMed Inc. expects to receive a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for a treatment aimed at accelerating lung development in premature babies. The treatment would provide an alternative to the current practice of placing premature babies on mechanical ventilators until their lungs mature.
GenoMed’s treatment involves a growth factor that is present throughout pregnancy in amniotic fluid and is responsible for normal lung development. Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed’s chief medical officer and CEO, has established the precise values of growth factor at different times in pregnancy. He has determined that the growth factor doubles right before a baby’s birth, indicating a burst of lung development at the same time.
GenoMed’s treatment has not been used yet in humans (although animal studies have shown promise) and clinical trials and FDA approval will be required before it can be used widely.
MARCH OF DIMES WALK AMERICA
RAISES $1 MILLION FOR BABIES
Participants for the 2005
March of Dimes Walk America. |
|
An estimated 8,000 walkers in the St. Louis area showed up for the 35th annual March of Dimes Walk America fundraiser, which raised more than $1 million. The funds will support the March of Dimes’ mission of saving babies by preventing infant mortality, birth defects and low birth weight. The March of Dimes has launched a multiyear campaign to raise public awareness of premature births and find ways of reducing their occurrence, which happens in an estimated 21 percent of all Missouri births.
MCEAGLE PLANS $40 MILLION
SHOPPING CENTER ON THE EAST SIDE
Developer McEagle is planning to capitalize on the housing boom in O’Fallon, Ill., by constructing a $40 million shopping center at the Central Park Plaza development near Interstate 64. Located on Central Park Drive just west of Green Mount Road, “Merchant’s Row” will be a 250,000-square-foot retail center that is designed to house up to three junior anchor stores, specialty retailers and several restaurants, as well as four restaurant
out-parcels and parking.
Central Park Plaza is already home to a Wehrenberg Theater, eight auto dealerships, numerous restaurants and a Ramada Inn hotel. Broyhill and Lane are building showrooms at the
center, and both Drury Inn and Candlewood Suites are planning hotels nearby.
CLARK STREET GRILL
FEATURES ARTWORK
FROM CID STUDENTS
The Clark Street Grill, located in the Westin St. Louis, is featuring new children’s menus that showcase the artwork of students from the Central Institute for the Deaf Oral School. The project was inspired by Michael C. Jorgensen, the general manager of The Westin St. Louis, who is both the father of a hearing-impaired child and an avid fan of St. Louis.
The institute’s primary and middle school students, who range in age from six to 12, have created paintings of their favorite places in
St. Louis, namely familiar landmarks and attractions. Those paintings will be featured on the children’s menu covers at the restaurant.
“These children are very talented and we want to showcase their work,” says Jorgensen. “Every print or painting in our hotel is by a
St. Louis native. By featuring CID students’
artwork on our children’s menus, we felt it would be a nice way to familiarize visitors with both St. Louis and one of our city’s world-class institutions.”
ST. LOUIS REGIONAL AIRPORT
OPEN HOUSE
Every year for the past ten years
St. Louis Regional Airport, in Bethalto, Ill. spreads it wings and welcomes the public to a Fly-In and Open House known as Wings and Wheels.
Scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24 this event includes free flights from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. for kids ages 8 to 17, sponsored by EAA Young Eagles. It’s an opportunity to view the aircraft display of warbirds, antique, factory and homebuilt aircraft. This years featured aircraft is the Vietnam era Douglas AC-47 gunship “spooky.” And watch as aircraft owners fly and practice formation flying. In addition, the “wheels” part of the event showcases antique hot rods and classic cars. www.stlouisregional.com/events.html
LaBARGE HONORED WITH SPACE FLIGHT SUPPLIER AWARD
United Space Alliance has honored LaBarge Inc., a St. Louis-based electronics company, with the Space Flight Awareness Supplier award for its work on the shuttle program. LaBarge has supplied cables that transmit data from the space shuttle computer to its solid rocket boosters for more than two decades.
The award recognizes LaBarge for its contract performance in the areas of high-quality products, technical excellence, superior cost performance and adherence to schedules on the shuttle program.
United Space Alliance is owned by The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corp. and responsible for the daily management of the space shuttle fleet.
NETLOGIC LAUNCHES
VOICE OVER INTERNET
PROTOCOL SERVICE
NetLogic, a communication service provider, has launched its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service on a national basis and plans to target
business and wholesale markets. According to NetLogic, its new VoIP Plus service provides higher quality calls than other VoIP services because it bypasses interference caused by high traffic on the Internet and uses its own network to deliver voice calls directly to the public telephone network. The product works with older phone systems as well as with newer ones, and it offers number portability and foreign exchange service. The company will also offer a wholesale product designed for Internet service providers, cable companies and other technology companies.
BALKE BROWN PURCHASES
DOWNTOWN BUILDING FOR
LUXURY residential DEVELOPMENT
Balke Brown Associates and other investors have purchased the former Pet Milk Building on South 4th Street in downtown St. Louis and are redeveloping it into 118 luxury apartments. The group spent $9.2 million to purchase the building and plans to invest an additional $25 million in renovation work.
| Former Pet Milk Buildings will be renovated into 118 luxury apartments. |
|
“The new baseball stadium really influenced our decision to move ahead with this project,” states Steve Brown, principal of Balke Brown Associates. “We were also convinced by the success of residential development downtown and the uniqueness of the building itself. Developing these new apartments continues our company’s commitment to bring upscale housing to the city.”
The apartments will have nine-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows that will offer exceptional views of the riverfront, the Arch or the new baseball stadium. The building’s first two levels will contain a lobby, a residents’ lounge, a fitness center and a fine-dining restaurant. Features that are architecturally significant will be left intact.
Construction work is al-ready underway, and the apartments are scheduled to be finished in September 2006. Brinkmann Construc-tors is serving as the contractor and The Lawrence Group Colors is the architect.
600-ACRE SITE EAST OF LAMBERT SLATED FOR $400 MILLION FACELIFT
| NorthPark Partners will redevelop 600 acres
of land immediately east of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. |
|
Three local commercial real estate companies have formed a partnership to redevelop 600 acres of land immediately east of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport into a $400 million mixed-use project called NorthPark. McEagle, TRiSTAR Business Communities and Clayco have formed a development group called NorthPark Partners that will revamp the expansive property, portions of which have been unused for the past two decades.
NorthPark is projected to create 12,000 jobs and to generate an estimated $7 billion in regional economic impact upon completion. The development will ultimately create more than five million square feet of office, retail and industrial space, and plans also call for a hotel to be included on the site.
The property is bounded by Scudder Road on the north, I-170 on the west, I-70 on the south, and Hern and Martin Luther King Drive on the east. In addition to the commercial components, the North Park master plan also includes the creation of the Maline Creek Greenway, which will connect to the Great Rivers Greenway of parks and trails that encompasses the St. Louis area. Site work begins this summer and construction will continue over the next 15 years.
ST. ANTHONY’S MEDICAL CENTER NAMED A TOP
IMPROVEMENT LEADER
St. Anthony’s Medical Center in south
St. Louis County has been named one of the nation’s top performance improvement leaders by Solucient, a provider of strategic business and clinical information for the health care industry. The study, entitled Solucient’s 100 Top Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leaders, was featured in the April 25 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.
St. Anthony’s Medical Center was recognized for improving its organization-wide performance at a faster rate between 1999 and 2003 than other hospitals in the country. The study analyzed acute-care hospitals nationwide using detailed empirical performance data from nine performance measures that included quality of care, operational efficiency and financial performance.
St. Anthony’s Medical Center was the only health care facility in Missouri to be recognized by Solucient for performance improvement.
Among other findings, the study showed that performance improvement leader
hospitals had fewer patient deaths, complications and adverse safety events than expected; went from being unprofitable to maintaining a healthy positive profit margin; and spent 14 percent less per discharged patient than non-winning hospitals.
SKANDALARIS CENTER LAUNCHES
IDEABOUNCE.COM
Innovators and entrepreneurs who want an opportunity to present their ideas and collaborate with others can visit www.ideabounce.com, a new Web site launched by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
“We believe there are many great ideas in our community that, if supported by the right group of experienced people, will produce great community and economic benefit,” states Chris Dornfeld, entrepreneurship collaboration director at Washington University. “We hope ideabounce can help make those connections happen.”
The Web site is designed to complement the center’s quarterly Idea Bounce event where presenters have the opportunity to present ideas and network with other innovators. A panel of judges selects five winners who will each receive $100 and an invitation to a VIP dinner after the event. The first Idea Bounce event was held in April, and the following winners were chosen: Parie Garg, recombinant protein production by plants; Sheryl O’Toole, The Pup Tub; Stephen Foster, iMat; Connie Fry, Senior Ease; and Ari Roisman and Brandon Heller, Enable: Engineering Innovation for the Disabled Workforce.
STAENBERGS CREATE
FAMILY FOUNDATION
Michael Staenberg, president of THF Realty, and his wife, Carol, have donated $5 million
in assets to create the Staenberg Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will assist more than 50 organizations initially. Many of the fund recipients help underprivileged children or benefit education and the arts. The Staenbergs plan to augment their initial contribution in later years.
“We have come to appreciate how important sustainable philanthropic support can be to segments of our community,” states Carol Staenberg. “Just as we have been inspired by the generosity of families who have preceded us, Michael and I hope that our foundation will inspire others to act.”
Some of the organizations slated to receive funds are Habitat for Humanity, the Jewish Federation, St. Louis Crisis Nursery, St. Louis Variety and the United Way. The foundation will also provide direct support to deserving individuals.
MCCARTHY, MOSLEY WIN NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PARTNERING
McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and Mosley Construction Inc. have been awarded a 2005 Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award for their cooperative partnering efforts on the Lindbergh Boulevard Tunnel project.
The $50 million project reroutes Lindbergh Boulevard underneath a new runway being constructed at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport via a six-lane, 1,420-foot-long tunnel.
| McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and Mosley Construction Inc. have been awarded a 2005 Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award from the Associated General Contractors of America for their joint venture’s successful use of cooperative partnering on the Lindbergh Boulevard Tunnel project. The six-lane, 1,420-foot-long tunnel was constructed to reroute the existing high-traffic Lindbergh Boulevard. |
|
The award, presented by the Associated General Contractors of America, recognizes the ingenuity, size, scope and appearance of a construction project, as well as the construction team’s ability to resolve conflicts, improve communications and incorporate team-building activities.
The McCarthy/Mosley team finished the tunnel within the budget and ahead of schedule, which played an important role in Lambert Airport’s expansion schedule.
“The tunnel project being completed on schedule is one of the reasons we will be able to begin operating the new runway on time in 2006, which is important as we continue to add flights at Lambert,” states Gerard Slay, deputy director of Lambert Airport.
BUCKINGHAM ASSET
MANAGEMENT PASSES
$1 BILLION MARK IN
ASSETS MANAGED
Buckingham Asset Management Inc. has announced that it has passed the
$1 billion mark in total assets under
management.
“This is a major milestone for our firm, and we are grateful for the trust that our clients have in us,” states Bert Schweizer III, principal at Buckingham Asset Management. “In 2004, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary and we’re looking forward to continuing to serve our clients in the years ahead.”
The firm was founded in St. Louis by Schweizer, Paul Forman, Steve Funk and Stuart Zimmerman to help investors build financial portfolios.
MOHELA AWARDS
GRANT TO SEMO
Thanks to a $24,946 grant from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, Southeast Missouri State University students and families will have better access to higher education resources.
The loan authority has dedicated seed money to establish a financial resource center on campus that will help families search for ways to pay for higher education. The center will contain computers, printers, financial aid resources and other information to help students and families with the process.
“We are very pleased that MOHELA funded the center. This will provide access to online financial aid applications to individuals that may not have that opportunity,” states Kenneth W. Dobbins, president of Southeast Missouri State University. “We look forward to continued partnership opportunities with MOHELA as we try to increase college attendance rates in our region.”
RENOVATED ROBERTS ORPHEUM
THEATER OPENS
Michael and Steven Roberts,
owners of The Roberts Companies |
|
Theater-goers have a “new” venue to attend now that The Roberts Orpheum Theater has been unveiled. Located at 416 North 9th Street in downtown St. Louis, the former American Theatre has been renovated and now hosts concerts, theater, dance, and movies, as well as private parties and special events. The renovation updated the venue with new restrooms, new bar areas, improved lighting, new theatrical light and audio systems, new seating on the main floor, new carpet and paint, and new electronic message boards on the marquee. Owners Michael and Steven Roberts of The Roberts Companies unveiled the revamped theater in April.
AQUINAS INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGY FINDS NEW HOME
IN HISTORIC BUILDING
Paric Corp. is transforming a 100-year-old factory in midtown St. Louis into a new home for the Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Catholic graduate school. The $5.5 million project will create offices, classrooms, a library, a student lounge and a chapel in the former factory, which is located across from Saint Louis University on Forest Park Parkway.
| A development entity headed by Rick Zimmerman, Rick Yackey and Bill Bruce has begun transforming a more than 100-year-old factory in mid-town St. Louis into the new home for Aquinas Institute of Theology. Paric Corp. is managing the $5.5 million renovation. |
|
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, and the renovation will attempt to retain its historic character by incorporating the interior’s exposed heavy timbers, brick and stone into the new design.
“We’ve outgrown our current facility,” states Charles Bouchard, president of Aquinas Institute. “We wanted a new building that would meet our space needs and make a statement about theology and spirituality in the midst of city life. This facility—close to Saint Louis University—will fit the bill.”
UMSL RECEIVES $530,000 GRANT
FOR INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
INCUBATOR
The University of Missouri-St. Louis received a $530,000 grant from
the Ameren Community Development Corporation to further develop an information technology incubator adjacent to its campus in Normandy, Mo. Once
finished, the incubator will be capable
of housing 12 start-up companies and
is expected to open by late summer
in 2006. The facility will also house
the Center for High Performance Computing, which will be staffed by the university’s research faculty and graduate students and will provide computational capacity and technical advice to incubator tenants.
The grant was one of 12 awarded by the Ameren Community Development Corporation that totaled $2.7 million. Last year, the University of Missouri-
St. Louis received $1 million in federal funds through the 2004 Omnibus Appropriation Bill to create the incubator.
MISSOURI LEADS NATION
FOR PRIVATE INVESTMENT
IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Developers in Missouri invested more than $357 million in buildings certified for federal historic preservation tax credits in fiscal 2004 and led the nation in private investment in historic preservation, according to an annual report produced by the National Park Service. Missouri surpassed second-placed Pennsylvania by $134 million and is more than twice the $157 million invested by developers in third-placed Illinois.
Missouri’s investment money benefited 92 historic preservation projects in communities across the state. The report notes that rehabilitation using federal tax credits in Missouri doubled after 1998, when state rehabilitation tax credits could be combined with federal credits.
ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS, MODOT RAISE AWARENESS OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION ZONE SAFETY
As part of National Work Zone Awareness Week, the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis designated April 7 as Work Zone Safety Day in an effort to improve the safety of workers in construction zones on highways, roads and bridges.
The Associated General Contractors of St. Louis has teamed up with the local construction industry, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the American Automobile Association and the Missouri Department of Transportation to urge drivers to stay alert, to drive carefully through construction zones, and to be more aware of safety signs, barricades and traffic cones.
“With more than 100 highway, road and bridge construction projects getting underway as part of the construction season, drivers will want to slow down and pay attention to the road signs and be prepared for merges and traffic congestion on our major roadways,” states Len Toenjes,
president of the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis.
Work zone safety is particularly important in the congested metro area. According to Missouri Department of Transportation
statistics, work zone crashes in 2003 on state highways around St. Louis resulted in
10 fatalities and 754 injuries. Those figures
represented 43 percent of the fatalities and
48 percent of the injuries statewide.
FORMER CITIMORTGAGE BUILDING SOLD TO
CHIGAGO-BASED DEVELOPER
TRiSTAR Business Communities has sold a portion of the former CitiMortgage campus in Ellisville, Mo., to an affiliate of Chicago-based developer Centrum Properties for $17.1 million. Centrum and its St. Louis-based partner, Walpert Properties, purchased 37.85 acres and a 260,000-square-foot, three-story office building at the site and plan to create a mixed-use development. Centrum Properties focuses on new and renovated residential and commercial developments, primarily in metropolitan Chicago.
TWO LOCAL REAL ESTATE FIRMS MERGE
Solon Gershman Inc. Realtors, and Follman Properties•ONCOR International have merged and formed the second-largest commercial real estate firm in the St. Louis area, according to the companies. Operating under the name Solon Gershman Inc., Realtors, the merged companies manage a portfolio of more than 4.5 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space and more than 3,000 residential units.
| Thomas A. Stern, president and CEO of Solon Gershman Inc. Realtors and Burton E. Follman, founder of Follman Properties•ONCOR International |
|
The 50 members of Follman’s professional staff have moved into Solon Gershman’s offices in Clayton. Thomas A. Stern is president and CEO, and Burton E. Follman, the founder of Follman Properties, is the executive managing director of the commercial brokerage division. Edward Balk continues to serve as executive vice president of Solon Gershman, and Bruce H. Pompe, Follman’s president, is the executive vice president responsible for property management.
The new firm has retained Follman’s affiliation with ONCOR International, a worldwide network of 55 top-ranked independent commercial real estate companies.
AMERINET WINS NIELSEN HEALTHCARE GROUP AWARD
Amerinet, a health care margin improvement company, has been recognized as a top partner for Nielsen Healthcare Group and donated a $500 award to the Project Perfect World Foundation, which helps provide health care for underprivileged children.
Amerinet received the award for its members’
high-volume use of Nielsen’s interim managers. The Nielson Healthcare Group is a St. Louis-based placement firm that provides temporary managers for health care organizations.
DOVE FOUNDATION EARNS
AWARD FROM HABITAT
FOR HUMANITY
The Dove Foundation received the Silver Hammer Award for donating $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County. The award was presented at Habitat’s “Horray for Habitat” awards dinner in April. The Golden Hammer Award was presented to Ed Pundmann, and the Bronze Hammer Award went to the Dale Carnegie Institute.
The Dove Foundation raised more than $100,000 at its 2004 Dove Designers’ Showhouse & Gardens and donated half of it to Habitat for Humanity. The other $50,000 benefited the SSM Health Care Foundation. The Dove Foundation raises money for the working poor in
St. Charles County.
ST. LOUIS ARTWORKS
CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
| In 2004 St. Louis ArtWorks apprentices collaborated with artists to create this mural for the
Missouri Foundation for Health headquarters. |
|
This year marks the 10th anniversary of
St. Louis ArtWorks, a nonprofit organization that provides job training for the young people of St. Louis through apprenticeships in the arts. The organization matches apprentices, who frequently come from inner-city neighborhoods, with professional artists working in the development of visual, literary and
performing art.
Since its inception, St. Louis ArtWorks has offered part-time summer apprenticeships to more than 700 young adults, ages 14 to 21. The opportunity helps them improve their art skills while they develop good employment skills and accumulate work experience.
“A job creating works of art both as an individual and as a team is the kind of experiential learning that produces elevated self-esteem, something needed to have the desire to stay in school and succeed,” states Priscilla Block, the program’s executive director. “In addition, the job experience has helped participants find jobs later. Many of our apprentices go on to participate in other local arts programs . . . and most plan to go on to college.”
| ArtWorks Apprentice from the North St. Louis Arts Council photography discipline “CityEye” and artist Roscoe Crenshaw. |
|
The St. Louis region’s finest arts and
education organizations provide the artists who instruct and mentor the apprentices. Partnerships have included the Contemporary Art Museum, Craft Alliance, St. Louis Art Museum, MidAmerica Dance, Center for Contemporary Art and City Museum.
| ArtWorks Apprentice from the Modern American Dance Company dance discipline “Dr. Dance.” |
|
This summer, apprentices are collaborating with artists to create a ceramic collage for the Deaconess Foundation, photo portraits for the Missouri Foundation for Health, a mosaic mural sculpture for McCormack Baron Salazar’s Renaissance Place community, a visual study of the Benton Park West neighborhood for the Incarnate Word Foundation, sculpture for the new River Des Peres Bike Trail in conjunction with the Great Rivers Greenway District, neighborhood portraits for the Habitat for Humanity and a sculpture at Vashon High School. Apprentices are also producing and performing a professional dance concert.
ALBERICI FORMS
NEW BUSINESS FOR “GREEN” FACILITIES
Alberici Group has launched a business enterprise aimed at targeting a new market segment: clients who want “green” buildings that can earn LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The new business venture, Vertegy, will provide clients with design, procurement and construction consulting services for green facilities with “sustainable” design and construction. Sustainable design involves significantly reducing life cycle costs, conserving natural resources and enhancing the quality of work life for
building’s occupants. Vertegy will be led
by Thomas A. Taylor, a LEED® Accredited Professional, and will be based at Alberici’s headquarters in St. Louis.
COMPUTER RESELLER
OPENS ELECTRONIC
RECYCLING CENTER
Executive Personal Computers, a
St. Charles, Mo.-based computer reseller, has opened a new division devoted to recycling used computers and other electronic products, which comprise the fastest-growing portion of waste in the country. Founded in February 2005, the E-Scrap Processing Center is a “de-manufacturing” operation devoted to handling any electronic component that is unusable or cannot be sold. Items are disassembled into plastic, steel, aluminum, circuit boards, power supplies, etc., and shipped out in 1,000-pound bales to sites around the country where raw materials are recycled.
The firm works with the Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Economic Development.
|
|
|
|
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
