Two projects in the metro area are getting a total of $400,000 in brownfield grants from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up contaminated property.
The city of Denver will receive a $200,000 grant to clean up 3 acres of contaminated land it’s buying from the Regional Transportation District at West 10th Avenue and Osage Street. Ultimately, it will seek proposals for the property.
The Golden Urban Renewal Authority will get a $200,000 grant to help complete the environmental cleanup of the future Gateway Station, a mixed-use development at 12th and Jackson streets. The development will have 16,000 square feet of street- level retail and restaurant space, 7,500 square feet of office condominiums and 34 luxury residential condominiums on the third and fourth floors of the project.
IRVINE, Calif.
Colorado still No. 2 for foreclosures
Colorado continued to hold the No. 2 spot for foreclosures in April, sandwiched between Nevada and California, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of foreclosure listings.
Colorado public trustees recorded one foreclosure filing for every 314 households during April. The rate was 1 in 232 in Nevada and 1 in 400 for California.
Greeley ranked third and Denver 10th among metro areas in terms of foreclosure filings per household.
WASHINGTON
Court won’t block Qwest fraud claims
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block fraud claims against Qwest founder Philip Anschutz and two of the company’s former CFOs brought by the New Jersey Treasury Department, according to Bloomberg News.
The court refused to hear arguments from Anschutz and Robert Woodruff and Robin Szeliga, the former chief financial officers. The agency says it lost hundreds of millions of dollars because it bought Qwest stock at inflated prices.
Anschutz, Woodruff and Szeliga argued that New Jersey courts don’t have authority to decide the case.
DENVER
505-condo project to break ground
Randy Nichols will break ground today on Spire, a $110 million residential project downtown. The project, on the northeast corner of 14th and Champa streets, will include 505 condominiums.
It’s the first of three planned residential projects on 14th Street to break ground. Toronto-based Great Gulf Group is planning a $165 million project that will have 200 condos, and the $300 million Four Seasons Hotel will include 102 private residences.
GOLDEN
Good Times posts gains despite snow
Good Times Restaurants Inc. said its operations “were severely impacted” by a pair of blizzards that socked the metro area in December and January.
Even so, the company said net revenue during the three months that ended March 31 increased to $5.57 million, up 18.6 percent, compared with the same time a year ago. The company posted a net loss of $146,000, compared with a net loss of $163,000 a year ago, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
DENVER
Spicy Pickle revenue up over year ago
Denver-based Spicy Pickle Franchising Inc. posted total revenue of $221,643 during the three months that ended March 31, up from $189,951 in revenue during the same period a year ago.
The restaurant company’s net loss was $538,229, compared with a loss of $161,525 a year ago. The company, which recently conducted an initial public offering, sold 1.6 million shares for gross proceeds of $655,750, according to a regulatory filing made Monday.
CLEVELAND
Union rail workers arrive at contract
Railroad workers belonging to unions at the biggest U.S. railroads including Union Pacific Corp. would receive a 17 percent general wage increase under a new five-year contract.
The Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition, which represents about 85,000 rail workers, said in a statement Monday that the agreement would raise net wages more than 16 percent after health-care costs are shared. The accord was reached after more than two years of negotiations.
DUBLIN, Ohio
Cardinal Health to buy Viasys
Medical products and services company Cardinal Health Inc. said Monday that it will buy medical technology company Viasys Healthcare Inc. for $1.42 billion, an acquisition that will help Cardinal expand in international markets.
Cardinal will pay $42.75 per share for Viasys’ outstanding shares, a 35 percent premium over its closing stock price of $31.55 on Friday. Cardinal also will assume debt of $50 million.
NEW YORK
Murdoch offers perks to Dow shareholders
Rupert Murdoch is stepping up his campaign to woo the controlling shareholders of Dow Jones & Co., the Bancroft family, promising them a board seat on his media conglomerate, News Corp., as well as measures to ensure the independence of The Wall Street Journal.
Murdoch, in a letter to the Bancroft family dated May 11, promised to set up an independent editorial board for the Journal as he did with The Times of London, which would arbitrate any disputes between the editors and management.
NEW YORK
Gas prices at record, but futures fall
Gas prices hit a new record at the pump Monday, but gas futures prices fell on concerns that $3 gas will crimp demand.
The average national price of a gallon of gas hit $3.073 on Monday, up almost a penny from Sunday. Meanwhile, gasoline futures for June delivery fell 5.09 cents to settle at $2.3012 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
WASHINGTON
Treasury auctions $27 billion in T-bills
The Treasury Department auctioned $14 billion in three- month bills at a discount rate of 4.730 percent and an additional $13 billion in six-month bills at a rate of 4.735 percent.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,880.44 while a six-month bill sold for $9,760.62.
