Expert: GM plant site could be redeveloped

DJIA 14,013.7 +118 / S&P 500 1,538.5 0 / NASDAQ 2,723.3 +21.8 Tonight: Clearing skies, not as windy. Low 58. Tuesday: Mostly sunny, dry and warmer. High 82.
	Monday, October 1, 2007
	Expert: GM plant site could be redeveloped General Motors Corp.'s stamping plant west of downtown has potential to be redeveloped for manufacturing or distribution use, a senior executive at Summit Realty Group said today. Jeremy Woods, senior director of industrial services at Summit, said the facility could be competitive with undeveloped sites in Plainfield, Greenwood and other suburban cities if it had the advantage of tax abatements. Questions about the future of the site emerged this morning after details of a tentative agreement between GM and the United Auto Workers union showed work at the Indianapolis stamping operation will continue or be reallocated to another GM plant "until such time as the plant can be sold to an outside buyer."
	Homebuilder C.P. Morgan cuts workforce C.P. Morgan Communities LP, the Indianapolis area's largest home builder, this morning confirmed it has made a "workforce reduction" as a result of the slowing housing market. The privately held company would not reveal how many jobs it cut or the types of positions eliminated. In May, the company said it had 360 employees in Indiana.   Bank of America closes LaSalle acquisition Charlotte, N.C., behemoth Bank of America has closed its $21 billion acquisition of Chicago-based LaSalle Bank Corp. LaSalle, which was owned by Dutch banking giant ABN Amro, has six offices in Indiana, including at least one in the Indianapolis area. LaSalle focuses on commercial services in Indianapolis. Bank of America had no local presence. Lilly prevails in Supreme Court patent tussle The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Eli Lilly and Co. to keep its patent on its top-selling drug Zyprexa today by denying an appeal by two generic drug makers seeking to break the patent. Without comment, the court denied a request by units of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for the justices to force a lower appeals court to reconsider the case, Bloomberg reported.   Teamsters organize UPS Freight in Indianapolis A long battle by workers of UPS Freight, formerly Overnight Transportation Co., to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been won in Indianapolis, the union said last night. The Teamsters intend to use the agreement as a pattern to attempt to organize other UPS Freight sites. The tentative contract covers 125 drivers and dockworkers who are members of Local 135.   Lilly, GE to study cancer therapies Eli Lilly and Co. launched a three-year collaboration today with GE Global Research, the central research and development unit of New York-based General Electric Co. The companies will develop diagnostic tools to predict patients' response to targeted cancer therapies.   Indianapolis 500 winner to earn $2 million Indy Racing League and Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials tomorrow are expected to announce a restructured earnings package for teams that includes a 20-percent increase in the purse for the Indianapolis 500. Sources close to the league said they expect next year's race winner to net $2 million, up from $1.64 million this year; 33rd place should receive at least $300,000. The total Indianapolis 500 purse only has grown modestly from $10 million to $10.66 million since 2002. Since 1997, the winner's share has increased from $1.56 million. International Truck workers without contract International Truck and Engine Corp. and the United Auto Workers have failed to agree on a new contract, but the 3,700 employees represented by the UAW are expected to continue working, the Warrenville, Ill., company said today. In Indiana, International operates an engine assembly plant and foundry on the east side, and a truck engineering center on the east side. The Indianapolis operations temporarily closed overnight because Ford is selling fewer pickup trucks with the diesel engine option.
	Local machine shop launches $20M expansion Major Tool & Machine Inc. will invest $20 million and hire 50 workers to expand near its headquarters at 1458 E. 19th Street northeast of downtown. The expansion will add 150,000 square feet to house automated production equipment, Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced today.   Railroad access spurs cooperative mergers Grain elevators throughout the state are merging to gain advantages of scale, according to The Journal Gazette. The 268 grain-storage companies operating in 2006 was a 16 percent drop from five years earlier, the Fort Wayne newspaper reported. The elevators, many of which were started in the 1920s, are striving to gain better access to railroads and become large enough to compete with livestock farms, ethanol plants and farmers who increasingly are storing grain on farms. Elevators remaining from the consolidation are boosting storage capacity. They had 444 million bushels last year, a 53 percent increase from 2001. From IBJ staff and Associated Press-Compiled by Norm Heikens
	Speed a factor in deadly Carmel crash Carmel police are investigating a single-vehicle accident at 96th Street and Westfield Boulevard this morning that killed the driver and a passenger. Police say the driver lost control of the vehicle after entering a roundabout and hitting a barrier wall about 3 a.m. Their identities have not been released. Fox 59 will have the latest at 10 p.m. Metro police search for shooting suspect Metro police are looking for the person who shot a young man and left him for dead on a north-side street at 11:34 p.m. last night. A passerby found Howard Stevenson, 20, alive in the 3500 block of North Illinois Street, but he died before emergency workers could arrive. Investigators want to talk to four women seen leaving the area around the time of the shooting. Dog alerts owner to apartment fire Lawrence Township firefighters say a man's pet alerted him to a fire at his apartment at Clearvista Townhomes this morning. They say his dog nuzzled the man to wake him, and he saw the flames out on his patio and called 911. Firefighters say it's too early to say what caused the fire. Income tax hike starts today Marion County taxpayers will notice a change on their paychecks starting today. The county's individual income tax jumps to 1.65 percent from 1 percent to help pay for Mayor Bart Peterson's $90 million crime-fighting plan. WRESTLING over RETAIL Premier Properties USA's attempt to build the Venu development at 86th Street and Keystone Avenue puts the scrappy company head-to-head with retailing giant Simon Property Group.   Desperate home builders? The local housing industry is rolling out incentives to weather the downturn.   Atterholt's toughness questioned Critics charge that Indiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt is soft on insurance companies, but consumers have benefited during his tenure.   Largest Indiana Business Incubators       Indianapolis Business Journal is in-depth coverage of local business news, brought to by IBJ's award winning editorial team.     n 52 weekly issues plus annual Book of Lists (valued at $35.00) n News, people, analysis and trends of the business community n More than 30 special interest publications n And much, much more     Click HERE for Bonus Subscription Offer
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