Outdoor retailer Cabela’s said it will start construction on its Wheat Ridge store this summer, finally putting a solid timeline on a project that has been mired in the approval process.
The 185,000-square-foot store planned for 40 acres near the I-70/Colorado 58 intersection has been held up by the need for an environmental assessment of proposed road improvements near the store. The Sydney, Neb.-based outfitter expects the store to attract 35,000 vehicles on weekends and 24,000 on weekdays.
The company said in a memo sent to employees Thursday it has finally received a ruling from the Colorado Division of the Federal Highway Administration allowing it to move forward on the project. The company expects the store to be completed in late summer 2008.
DENVER
Molson Coors settles suit with SABMiller
Molson Coors Brewing Co., the third-largest U.S. beermaker, said it reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit by SABMiller PLC over the brewing of Miller brands in Canada, allowing Molson Coors to continue distributing the beer.
Details of the accord won’t be disclosed, the Denver-based beermaker said Wednesday in a statement. The two beermakers revised and extended a business arrangement by which Molson has brewed and sold Miller products in Canada since 1989, the brewer said.
DENVER
Hotel-occupancy rates flat in Feb. over 2006
Hotel-occupancy rates for Colorado and metro Denver were flat in February compared with the same month last year, while room rates rose, according to the monthly Rocky Mountain Lodging Report released Wednesday.
Statewide, occupancy rates were basically flat at 61.9 percent, and room rates jumped $11.55, to $142.39.
In the metro area, average occupancy rates were 60.1 percent, and room rates increased $10.15, to $105.69.
VAIL
Council OKs move to add more parking
The Vail Town Council voted Tuesday night to move forward with a $620 million proposal to redevelop the Lionshead parking garage.
The council will start a 120-day negotiation with the developer, Dallas-based Open Hospitality Partners and Hillwood Capital.
Open Hospitality/Hillwood plan to build two hotels – a W Hotel and a St. Regis – condos, a conference center, retail and restaurants on the 6.3-acre site. It also will add more than 1,000 public parking spaces.
The public garage currently has 1,150 parking spaces.
DALLAS
11 ex-Swift employees guilty over immigration
Eleven former employees of Greeley-based Swift & Co., the third-largest U.S. beef producer, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from arrests last year by immigration officials at the company’s plant in Cactus, Texas.
Five of the workers pleaded guilty March 19 to felony charges involving falsified documents and Social Security numbers, and six other illegal immigrants pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, U.S. Attorney Richard Roper for the Northern District of Texas said.
TRENTON, N.J.
Honeywell to close aviation facility
Honeywell International Inc. plans to shut down its underused aviation manufacturing plant in Teterboro, N.J., shift some operations elsewhere and sell the property to a Denver-based development company, Honeywell said Wednesday.
Honeywell has a proposed agreement to sell the 68-year- old manufacturing plant – a key parts factory during World War II – to Catellus Development Group, Honeywell spokesman Jim O’Leary said.
NEW YORK
Morgan Stanley wins reversal of verdict
Morgan Stanley Inc. on Wednesday won a reversal of a $1.58 billion verdict handed to billionaire Ron Perelman for misleading him in a deal to sell Coleman Co. to Sunbeam Corp.
The Florida Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach ruled that Perelman failed to prove his entitlement to damages in the original trial. The latest decision will be appealed in a case that could end up in the Florida Supreme Court.
ST. LOUIS
Vonage wins ruling over state regulation
Vonage Holdings Corp., an unprofitable Internet phone company, won a court ruling that bars U.S. states from regulating its service, thwarting a challenge from telecommunications regulators in Minnesota.
Vonage’s service should be regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, an appeals court in St. Louis said Wednesday in a unanimous decision. The move by the three- judge panel backs a 2004 order from the FCC.
CHICAGO
Motorola replaces CFO in Q1 shake-up
Motorola Inc. replaced its chief financial officer Wednesday in a shake-up of top management as it slashed its first-quarter sales forecast.
The company, still reeling from sales and profit problems that emerged in the fourth quarter, blamed weaker-than-expected revenue from its cellphone unit. Motorola Inc. said it expects to report a first-quarter loss because of what chairman and chief executive Ed Zander called an “unacceptable” performance by its mobile-device business.
CHICAGO
Defense in Hollinger case: Clients not guilty
Two of Conrad Black’s co-defendants, accused of helping him steal $60 million from Hollinger International Inc., didn’t do anything illegal or were in the dark about any wrongdoing at the company, their lawyers said.
Ronald Safer, who represents Mark Kipnis, Hollinger’s former chief lawyer, told a jury in Chicago federal court Wednesday that his client relied on Hollinger’s outside attorneys and auditors to draft public disclosures of the company’s finances.
NEW YORK
Pfizer’s insulin option not getting prescribed
Pfizer’s stab at giving diabetics insulin without needles is getting more praise than prescriptions so far.
Exubera, a powdered form inhaled through a special device, was introduced last year in a targeted launch to specialists, a debut analysts deemed disappointing.
While doctors applaud Pfizer Inc.’s effort to find a new way to deliver insulin, some are concerned about the drug’s long-term effects on the lungs, cost and insurance coverage.
