“Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news ... - Austin American-Statesman” plus 3 more |
- Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news ... - Austin American-Statesman
- Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news ... - Austin American-Statesman
- Personal Finance - Daily Telegraph
- Personal Finance: Prosperity for a purpose - Washington Post
| Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news ... - Austin American-Statesman Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:33 AM PST Home > The Real Deal > Archives > 2010 > March > 11 > Entry Cypress buys undeveloped land at former Concordia campusThe developer of the mixed-use University Park project on the former Concordia University campus north of downtown has sold most of the undeveloped land on the site to Cypress Real Estate Advisors, an Austin-based real estate investment firm, Cypress Chairman Steve Clark said today. Clark and Andy Sarwal, lead developer for the project, would not reveal the purchase price. Clark said Cypress intends to develop the land once the economy turns around. "We wouldn't have bought it if we didn't think it was really good land," Clark said. "We think it's a great site, a great location." Sarwal bought the 23-acre site from Concordia in 2007, with financing from Lehman Brothers. Clark said Cypress had bought the original note from Lehman after the firm went bankrupt in October 2008. Clark said the land sale occurred three or four weeks ago. He said it consists of about 10 acres — basically most of the undeveloped land. The sale includes the land where a movie theater and 390 apartments are planned, as well as the site where Onair Development plans to build a 120,000-square foot medical office building. The sale of the medical office tract is subject to the contract Sarwal had with Onair, Clark said. Clark said the sale does not signal that the project is in trouble. "I would say just the opposite, that it's stabilized," he said. The sale does not include the existing office building that Texas Monthly moved into last year, and where the Aveda Institute plans to open a salon training school later this year. Hyatt Hotels also has said it plans to build an Andaz boutique hotel at the site, on I-35 north of 32nd Street. "Our company's strategy wasn't to warehouse or land-bank this property," Sarwal said. "We did extensive due diligence and have the utmost confidence in the buyer that, when the time is right, the project will continue to be developed in a way that maintains the integrity and vision of our original development plan." Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Commercial Real Estate Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Business, Personal Finance, Technology, Employment news ... - Austin American-Statesman Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:26 AM PST Home > The Ticker > Archives > 2010 > March > 11 > Entry Dillard's, Westin open at the DomainA new Dillard's department store and the Westin Austin Hotel opened at the Domain this morning, and more is coming at the development. The Dillard's, on Braker Lane east of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), is the chain's first new Austin-area store since 2007. The Westin is the chain's first Austin-area hotel. Both are part of a 600,000 square foot expansion of Simon Property Group's mixed-use project that will include retail, apartments, offices and an upscale movie theater. Dillard's plans promotional events through the weekend at the store, which is 208,000 square feet. The chain also opened a new store in Dallas on Wednesday. Gold Class Cinema will open its movie theater at the Domain on April 23, with features such as reserved seating and in-theater food and beverage service. And Hanger Orthopedic Group plans to move its headquarters into an office building there later this year. Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Retailing CommentsBy nunya March 11, 2010 12:40 PM | Link to this The Domain will someday become getto-fied in itself as well. By Eye for an eye March 11, 2010 12:05 PM | Link to this Wow…the changing of Austin. I moved here in '96 and Highland Mall was the best: Close to Hyde Park where I lived and great stores. Now Highland Mall is the hood and the Domain for the filthy rich…. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Personal Finance - Daily Telegraph Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:01 AM PST The best deals for credit cards, loans, savings, current accounts, home insurance, car insurance, and utilities. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Personal Finance: Prosperity for a purpose - Washington Post Posted: 11 Mar 2010 07:17 AM PST That's the story of Grace Groner, who lived modestly in a plainly decorated one-bedroom house and rarely made large purchases. But she did what experts tell people all the time: She invested for the long term. In 1935, she made a $180 stock purchase. When she died at the age of 100, Groner left $7 million to her alma mater, Lake Forest College, according to the Chicago Tribune. The donation will be used to fund internships and study-abroad programs. "She got her clothes from rummage sales," the Tribune reported. "She walked everywhere rather than buy a car. And her one-bedroom house in Lake Forest held little more than a few plain pieces of furniture." Groner was definitely not a pretender. Instead of using her wealth for show, she used it to give. Stop Acting Rich Last week's guest for my online chat was Thomas J. Stanley, author of "Stop Acting Rich and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire." Stanley's research over the years has found there are many people like Groner who live modestly, but have millions. It was a pleasure to have Stanley as my guest. Here are his answers to a few questions I didn't get a chance to post: Q: I live in an area with lots of homes in the $1 million and up price range. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I've found out that a lot of the mortgages on these homes are in the very high 6 figures and up. And they are frequently interest-only, negative amortization, and/or adjustable rate mortgages. Are these people in homes that they really can't afford? Or are they following the (in my opinion, stupid) theory that it is better to keep a large mortgage and use their funds for investment purposes, or some combination of both? Thomas J. Stanley: Most people who live in million dollar homes do not have an investment portfolio of $1 million or more (only 27 percent do). They are typically income statement affluent - high income, low net worth. People who are acting rich are actually impersonating people who are only income statement affluent, not balance statement affluent. Only 10% of millionaires live in homes valued at $1 million or more. In contrast, 28% of millionaires live in homes valued at under $300,000. Q: Yes, houses are expensive, but how much would private school cost for three kids? How much house would that pay for if you lived in the better school district? When we were house hunting, we figured out real quick that a house in a bad school district wasn't a good deal: the $100,000 cheaper home in the "bad" area would have let us save $8,000 to $9,000 a year on the mortgage payments, but private school for our two kids would have run $45,000. And at least the mortgage ultimately gives us something back in terms of equity. Thomas J. Stanley: Most of the children of millionaires attended public schools. That being said, we see this trend even in Atlanta. People living "in-town" to be able to say that they live "in-town," and being "forced to" send their children to private schools - spending an enormous amount every year. Instead, consider the suburbs...not as trendy, but certainly more affordable. The archive of the chat with Stanley is available here. Unemployment Benefits With the numerous unemployment benefit extensions, some believe the expensive entitlement is a disservice to unemployed Americans, report Post writer Michael A. Fletcher and Dana Hedgpeth in Are unemployment benefits no longer temporary? (Mar. 9) With that in mind, here's the Color of Money Question of the Week: Do you think unemployment benefits discourage people from looking for work? I especially want to hear from people who have been receiving unemployment checks for six months or longer. Submit your answers to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put "Unemployment" in the subject line. Credit CARD Act Impact Under the new legislation, credit card payoff information is supposed to become clearer. Here are the provisions in the CARD Act requiring better disclosure of people's true debt load: --Card issuers must include a warning in monthly statements that indicates that consumers who make only minimum payments increase the amount of time it will take to pay off their debts in full and the amount of interest they will pay. --Issuers must disclose the amount of time it will take card users to pay their balances off in full if they make only minimum monthly payments. They must also share what the total amount will be, including interest, if they only make minimum payments. Furthermore, they must show how much card holders would have to pay each month if they wish to pay off the balance in three years. --Card issuers must set up toll-free telephone numbers for consumers to get information about nonprofit credit counseling and debt management assistance. Learn more about the Credit CARD Act of 2009. My inbox was flooded with questions about the CARD Act. Here are a few questions: Q: Harry Brooks of Gaithersburg, Md. asked: "What should people like me--who pay their bill in full every month--worry about or keep track of because of these changes?" A: If you pay your bill off every month, there isn't much to worry about. Many of the changes under the CARD Act were aimed at helping people who carrying credit card debt over month to month. You may however, keep an eye on your available credit limit. Many of the institutions have drastically reduced people's line of credit. Q: Cathy Duvall of Annapolis, Md. wrote: "I have several credit cards that I do not use except on rare occasions. I am wondering how much or often do I need to use them to avoid having them canceled for nonuse? A: I honestly have no idea how often you need to use your cards to avoid being kicked to the curb by the issuer. Many credit card issuers have notified people their dormant credit accounts are being closed, but every lender is developing different policies. If you are concerned, checked with the companies issuing your cards. Q: Shantel Brown of Houston, Tex. asked: "Is it legal for the credit card company to charge me an over-the-limit fee due to a late fee?" A: Under the new rules, the credit issuer cannot charge you an over-the-limit fee that was triggered by a late fee. Under the law, companies can no longer push you over your credit limit with fees or interest charges. Those over-the-limit charges can only be assessed when a transaction or an extension of credit causes you to exceed your limit. Further, only one over-the-limit fee may be imposed during a single billing cycle. And you can't be charged an over-the-limit fee unless you have agreed to permit transactions exceeding your credit limit. You may find the answers to more of your questions in this recent Color of Money column. Color of Money Challenge For this year's Color of Money Challenge, I am following Christine Foote and Stephanie Harris, two women who will be paroled soon from the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. Read more about these soon to be former inmates ready to rebuild their lives. Upcoming Events Please join me at one of these events. All of them are free, so if you are still doing your 21-day financial fast, these events are the perfect fit. -- March 13, 2 p.m.: Book signing at Borders bookstore located at 420 Mitchellville Road, Bowie, Md. 20716. 301-352-5560. -- March 19, 7 p.m.: The third and last part in the bible study based on "The Power to Prosper" at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden, 600 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro, Md. 20774. 301-773-3600. -- March 20, 10 a.m.: Financial workshop at Greater Mount Nebo AME Church, 1001 Old Mitchellville Road, Bowie, Md. 20716. 301-249-7545. -- March 27, 1 p.m.: Book signing at Barnes & Noble located at 7851 L. Tyson's Corner Center, McLean, Va. 22102. 703-506-2937 (This is a rescheduled event canceled because of inclement weather). -- March 29, 7 p.m.: Celebration of Ideas Lecture Series, Fairmont State College, Turley Center Ballroom, 1201 Locust Avenue, Fairmont, W.Va. 304-367-4215. Tax Time Tip If you're unsure whether you qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit, here are some tips from the IRS: --The child care must have been provided for one or more qualifying persons. A qualifying person is your dependent child, age 12 or younger when the care was provided. Additionally, your spouse and certain other individuals who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care may also be qualifying persons. --The care must have been provided so you or your spouse (if you are married and filing jointly) could work or look for work. --The payments for care cannot be paid to your spouse, to someone you can claim as your dependent on your return, or to your child who will not be age 19 or older by the end of the year even if he or she is not your dependent. You must identify the care provider(s) on your tax return. Here's more information about the credit. Tia Lewis contributed to this e-letter. You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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By John
March 11, 2010 10:56 AM | Link to this
Well I hope you neighborhood activits and the Austin City Coundil who sold out on this project take note. In fact all neighborhoods and All City Councils in Austin should take note of this. When people objected to this and other projects people pooh pooh us and said look at the fine development "secret" Andy was proposing. Now he has sold an undisclosed portion and the neighbors have no idea who sort of develpment is coming. Certainly not the glossy development "secret" Andy showed up. He got his huge up zoning change and now the neighbors are forced to live with this "unknown" new development. You can thank our former disgraced mayor for all of this. Thanks Will Wynn. You did us no benefit of this one.
By Swindle
March 11, 2010 11:32 AM | Link to this
Austin is turning into the People Republic as fast as they can. A politburo decree. What is best for the People! We decide. Beware of out of towners. they are here to pillage and move on. I heard some have infiltrated city clouncil.