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01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, May 31, 2007
Towerstream Corp., of Middletown, told the financial markets yesterday it plans to publicly offer up to $40 million of shares of its common stock. The shares have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and will be traded under the symbol TWER. Currently, Towerstream trades on the over-the-counter bulletin board market. Lazard Capital Markets LLC is acting as the lead placement agent for the offering. Canaccord Adams Inc. and Morgan Joseph & Co. are acting as co-placement agents with respect to the offering. Towerstream is a fixed WIMAX service provider that delivers high-speed Internet access to businesses.
Affiliates of Meritage Properties and Avenue Real Estate Fund LP have acquired One Financial Plaza, in downtown Providence. The seller was a joint venture comprised of an affiliate of pension plan investment advisor GE Asset Management and Commonwealth Ventures, LLC. Debt financing was arranged by Ed Finnegan of Holiday Fenoglio Fowler, in coordination with Michael Sherman of CBRE Melody. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The 28-story, 322,000-square-foot building is a class-A landmark. “We are genuinely excited about this investment opportunity, which is an ideal strategic fit to our existing portfolio” said Arthur DellaSalla, managing director of Meritage Properties. “We believe adding our hands-on, service-oriented ownership approach will be a strong complement to this already distinguished Providence office tower.” The property currently has about 28,000 square feet of vacant space, including a full floor with 12,925 square feet of contiguous office space.
Shares of Belo Corp., owner of The Dallas Morning News and The Providence Journal, have risen for eight consecutive trading days and closed yesterday at a new 52-week high of $22.19, up 51 cents for the day. During the period, the stock (BLC:NYSE) has gained 11.7 percent. The Dallas-based media company has made no market-moving announcements during the period. Volume has been heavy, especially during the last two days. Yesterday, 3.7 million shares changed hands. Average daily volume is 835,135 shares. On Tuesday, Citigroup raised its recommendation for the company from a “hold” to a “buy” and increased its price target to $25 from $19, sending the stock up 5 percent, or $1.06 a share. Citigroup said its upgrade reflected the company’s low leverage and valuation.
The largest waves of layoffs so far have begun at Pfizer Inc.’s research and development facility in Ann Arbor, Mich., which the pharmaceutical giant is shutting down by the end of next year. Slightly more than half of 1,000 Ann Arbor employees who Pfizer offered other jobs in the company have accepted the transfer offers and most will go to the Pfizer site in Groton, Conn., spokesman Rick Chambers said. Pfizer laid off 50 employees earlier this month, and is cutting between 50 and 150 people in two-week cycles through the rest of the summer. The company anticipates that by the end of this year, the number of employees in Ann Arbor will be down to 400, Chambers said. Pfizer announced its plans in January to shutter the facility as part of a corporate restructuring that aims to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide and save $2 billion a year. At the time, the Ann Arbor site employed 2,100. In addition to relocation assistance, Pfizer will kick in extra help, up to $100,000, for transferring employees who sell their homes for less than the assessed value.
Cardi’s Furniture Superstores was cited earlier this month for cutting down trees and shrubs in wetlands behind its store in South Attleboro, Mass., according to a Cardi family member. The company is working out a plan with the Attleboro Conservation Commission to replant the half-acre of vegetation cut down. The plan is expected to be ready by June 6, which is the date of the commission’s next meeting. Cardi’s opened the 150,000-square-foot store on Newport Avenue in 2004, on a 10-acre plot that borders Sweetens Swamp. “It was 100-percent on our land,” said Ron Cardi. “It was an innocent mistake.”
Richmond, Va.-based, Dominion Resources Inc., which owns the Manchester Street gas-fired power station in Providence, the Brayton Point oil- and gas-fired station in Somerset, Mass., Salem Harbor oil-fired station in Salem, Mass., and Millstone I and II nuclear plants in Waterford, Conn., has agreed to sell its Canadian natural gas and oil exploration and production operations to Paramount Energy Trust and Baytex Energy Trust, both of Calgary, Canada, for about $583 million. These operations include about 267 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas and oil reserves in western Canada. “This announcement represents another step toward achieving our goal of refocusing Dominion on the power-generation and energy distribution, transmission, storage and retail businesses,” said chairman, president and chief executive officer Thomas F. Farrell II. “When the transition is completed, the company’s risk profile will be substantially reduced, earnings growth should be less volatile and our capital structure will be even stronger.”
Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Worcester Business Development Corp. have announced that the Gateway Park LLC is a finalist for a 2007 Excellence in Economic Development Award from the Economic Development Administration for the partnership’s revitalization of a contaminated, under-utilized and environmentally stagnant area of Worcester. Gateway Park is one of three finalists in the “urban or suburban economic development” category, in which nominations were evaluated based on their effectiveness in utilizing innovative, market-based strategies to improve urban or suburban economic development. Award winners will be announced soon. Gateway Park was formed as a partnership between WPI and WBDC to undertake a large-scale brownfields revitalization project that has created a new “gateway” to Worcester and will showcase the city’s vibrant and growing life sciences and bioengineering industry. At full development, the park will feature more than $250 million in private investment and 1 million square feet of research, development and office space geared to the life sciences and bioengineering fields, and will create 2,500 new jobs.
…The Wellness Councils of America has awarded FM Global of Johnston, the national “Well Workplace” designation, which recognizes the property insurer for having obtained strong senior-level support, created integrated wellness teams, collected strategic organizational health data, and delivered tailored wellness programs to meet company needs.
…The Rotary Club of Providence, the 22nd oldest in the world, will hold its annual Charity Awards luncheon at noon Monday at The Providence Marriott Hotel and will make awards to 13 organizations that have benefited young people and families.
 | Johnston's Central Landfill: More than just putting trash in a hole in the ground |
 | Tour points to transformation of South Side, Elmwood |
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