The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 39

The Indianapolis Star SUNDAY, JULY 5, 1992 Business Commercial Classified. Economic powers attempting to forge a new trade order By BOB DEANS COX NEWS SERVICE Munich, Germany President Bush meets this week with his counterparts from six other wealthy democratic nations in the first of several sessions widely seen as the last substantial opportunity to forge a new world trade order. At stake, analysts say, is a choice between two starkly dif iSt fi'-r 'QA mt-A i 'Qr Sixty f-fA AA STAR STAFF PHOTO KELLY WILKINSON Youths scrape paint off a house in Anderson as part of a summer project helping homeowners in Anderson's enterprise zone. From left are Chuck Laster (on ladder), Frank Morgan, Katie Boots, Kristina Plummer and Tamara Givens. The zone is one of 15 in the state.

State a leader in enterprise zones Grants, local support help revitalize urban neighborhoods 15 Indiana enterprise zones ilies and a lack of day care. Despite controversy at the federal level, Indiana's zones are considered by many to be among the country's most successful because of how they are structured and because of the. Lilly Endowment. Basically, enterprise zones of-i fer tax incentives or credits tq, businesses, and sometimes residents, who work and live In the blighted areas. Inventory tax credits and credits for hiring, enterprise zone residents are supposed to make it more attractive to do business there.

And while the federal government and Congress continue the national debate, several things are going on locally that will affect the future of the economic development program in this state. The Tax Incentive Study Committee of the Indiana General Assembly began hearings last month, in part to evaluate the state's first eight enterprise zones, including the one in An-See ZONES Page 3 mostly empty campaign promises; no federal money was ever spent to help pay for them. In the wake of April's riots in Los Angeles, however, enterprise zones are again the darling of politicians in this election year. The U.S. House on Thursday approved an urban aid bill including $2.5 billion in capital gains exclusions and other tax incentives to lure business Investment to blighted areas and enterprise zones.

The bill now heads to the Senate. Critics argue enterprise zones have not done enough to turn around economic decline In urban areas. But proponents argue that the zones have been In place about 10 years and cannot be expected to undo what It took 20 or more years to create. Enterprise zones are designed to create Jobs, said Reynold A. Boezl, president of a Toledo, Ohio-based community economic development consulting firm.

The idea: If Jobs were created "it would break the welfare cy- By JO ELLEN MEYERS SHARP STAR STAFF WRITER Charlie Wallace knows a good deal when he sees one. After looking at a dozen spots In Anderson to expand his plumbing supply business, Wallace picked one that was centrally located. The dilapidated, boarded-up, two-story brick building was Just the structure he needed for his third central Indiana location. And even though the roof may have leaked, the building came with a tax incentive that made It very attractive, said Wallace, president of Ross Supply in Marion. Wallace's building is in Anderson's enterprise zone, one of 15 blighted and depressed areas the state has deemed viable for economic development.

Enterprise zones, modeled after a British system of economic development, were touted as a cure for urban blight during the 1980 presidential campaign and subsequently adopted by 30 states. But that touting was ferent futures for global commerce. An agreement in Munich could help to dismantle outmoded trade An analysis of business issues barriers and promote new opportunities for spectacular growth, creating millions of new Jobs in rich and poor nations alike. If the talks fail, growth potential could be sharply diminished, as global partners are left to duke out their trade disputes one by one, potentially replacing old barriers with new ones and hastening the division of the world marketplace into three regional trade blocs: Asia-Pacific, the European Community and the Americas. The main parties to the talks have been negotiating for six years over how to amend the world trade laws embodied In the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT.

But time may be running out for the GATT talks. If there's no agreement within the next cou ple of months, experts agree. It will be difficult if not Impossible to revive them before the expiration of several critical deadlines. "It's probably the last opportunity," said a German trade official reached by telephone in Bonn. "It's either now, or I don't know when." The leaders of the so-called Group of Seven, or G-7, countries (Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States) have more to discuss here than trade, of course.

They're try to coordinate fiscal and monetary policy in hopes of guiding the world economy out of its two-year funk. They're also searching for some way to begin channeling part of the $24 billion in aid money they've pledged to the former Soviet republics, which are struggling to replace their centrally controlled economies with free markets. On both counts, though, political and economic realities seem to dictate little more than muddle. It's hard to stimulate the global economy when the two largest engines of activity the United States and Japan are stumbling along in hopes of an anemic 2.5 percent growth rate this year. Germany, and its European Community partners as a whole, are groping to reach 2 percent growth.

Russia has made major strides in recent weeks toward satisfying the G-7's conditions for massive economic aid to the largest of the former Soviet republics. More must be done before the full package Is delivered, however, and that will require political and legislative successes Moscow for President Boris Yeltsin. Still, with his election-year approval rating hovering ominously near 30 percent, Bush would appear to welcome a G-7 See TRADE Page 8 SUMMIT GOALS Here's a look at what the seven countries attending the Munich economic summit are looking for UNITED STATES The Bush worried about lingering weakness as the November elections approach, has been pressuring Japan and Germany to do more to stimulate their economies and provide markets for U.S. exports. JAPAN To placate the critics, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa brings to the summit a proposed budget supplement to boost government spending on public works projects, with officials talking about an increase in the range of $55 billion.

GERMANY Chancellor Helmut Kohl, as the summit host, gets to set this year's agenda He will try to persuade Western countries to pool their resources to reduce the possibility of another ChernobyUike nuclear power accident He also will be seeking assurances from the G-7 countries that they will follow through on the promised $24 billion Western aid package for Russia. BRITAIN British officials say Prime Minister John Major hopes that the summit will break the holdup on aid to Russia, but he is worried that the $24 billion Western package will become bogged down in the U.S. Congress during the election year. FRANCE The French economy is weak with unemployment currently at 9.8 percent, the single-biggest economic issue. Due to very low inflation, France feels interest rates have room to come down and will join the United States in pressuring Germany to make that possible.

CANADA Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is probably the only G-7 leader with a lower approval rating than Bush. In fact, he is the most unpopular prime minister since they began polling in Canada with a Gallup Poll earlier this month putting his approval rating at 13 percent ITALY With so little time to prepare, new Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato was not expected to have much of an agenda in Munich. Sunbeam is By BILL KOENIG STAR STAFF WRITER Sunbeam Development Corp. may be a soft-spoken company. But Its Impact on Indianapolis is unmistakable.

The Florida-based company was a major player in the development of Castleton, one of the biggest retail and residential areas in Indianapolis. Sunbeam now Is developing in Fishers near 1-69. Yet. Sunbeam is relatively low key. "They go slow and they don't run after all the deals In the marketplace," said Michael Mc-Kenna, Indlanapolls-based senior vice president of CB Commercial Real Estate Group Inc.

Moreover, at time other developers worry about credit. Sunbeam doesn't have to. The com in the our Indianapolis' zone shops for a supermarket A lATrrrnwiifTi wmmm i 9 Source: Lilly Endowment, Inc. cle with dignity, but in the last 20 years other things have made that Incredibly difficult," Boezi said, pointing to drugs, the rise of single-parent fam Hedding said the zone is ready for Cub. It has plans to offer Job training for enterprise zone residents, some of whom may have few skills for work.

A $3.3 million program from Lilly Endowment will help enterprise zones focus on the human need. Hedding hopes to win funding from the endowment for a cooperative program with Indianapolis Network for Employment and Training for Job-search training and placement at the enterprise zone's Eastside office. 3912 North Keystone Avenue. The enterprise zone also has applied for assistance to conduct leadership training programs for neighborhood organizations. "The endowment's involvement and (he weight it carries helped the board develop the hu By JO ELLEN MEYERS SHARP STAR STAFF WRITER While Downtown pegs Its economic future on dozens of retail shops for Circle Centre mall, an Eastside neighborhood in Indianapolis' enterprise zone sees vitality in a Cub Foods store.

"We think it will help the neighborhood tremendously," said Don Shoemaker, owner of Shoemaker Motion Picture with offices on Meadows Drive. Cub, which has expressed Interest in building a store at the once-vibrant Meadows Shopping Center at 38th and Oxford streets, would be a major boost to retailing in Indianapolis' enterprise zone. The Indianapolis zone has very little business, said Robert J. Hedding executive director of the Indianapolis Urban Enterprise Association. fiiiy man aspects of the program," Hedding said.

Violet Gwln, an activist in the Rosecrest (neighborhood) Association adjacent to the enterprise zone, said the area no longer has a retail district. The supermarket Is needed "even more In my way of thinking than Circle Centre mall, which might be needed and might not be needed. Cub is desperately needed and It's been needed for a long time." The vacant shopping center Is considered the enterprise zone's most valuable property. It Is surrounded by middle-and working-class neighborhoods, most of which "keep their places up," said Gwln, a member of the Indianapolis enterprise zone's strategic planning committee. See SHOPS Page 2 Noblesville STAR STAFF MAP "rk.

116th st. ft a land developer that's been growing with Indianapolis Sunbeam Development Sunbeam owns about 900 acres east of 1-69. Company is developing Exit Five Corporate Park and Exit Five Business Center. Sunbeam also has FILE PHOTO The vacant Meadows Shopping Center is considered the zone's most valuable property. While Sunbeam is low key, that doesn't mean It's not a competitor.

Earlier this year. Sunbeam's Castle Creek Corporate Park recruited ITT Educational Services as a tenant. For years, ITT had offices in the Pyramids office complex In northwest Indianapolis. "Sunbeam likes tenants like ITT," McKenna said. "If you look at their tenant roster you'll see It Is pretty much Grade McKenna said.

Besides ITT, Castle Creek tenants Include regional offices for McDonald's Corp. and the car-financing subsidiaries of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. "They're very selective," McKenna fiaid of Sunbeam. "They can get aggressive." Sunbeam entered the In sold some land for residential development.

dianapolis market in the late 1960s. The company bought more than 600 acres of land in Castleton. At one time. Sunbeam owned much of the land from 86th to 96th streets. Just north of the Castleton Square shopping mall.

Hollis said Sunbeam's approach in Indianapolis was similar to the way the company operated In Florida. "We buy large tracts of land In the path of growth," Hollis said. Sunbeam sold much of its Castleton land to developers of residential projects, both single-family homes and apartments. Sunbeam concentrated on commercial projects such as Castle Creek. The office park sits back from See SUNBEAM Page 2 pany is owned by Ed Ansin, who's on the Forbes 400 list of the country's richest people.

Ansin Is active In South Florida real estate and he also owns a Miami television station. Sunbeam doesn't borrow. Sunbeam executives will tell you their Job isn't easy. "We're under pressure to perform," said Ned Hollls, an Indianapolis-based Sunbeam vice president. But he added it's nice to not worry, as other developers have, about anxious lenders.

Some of those lenders have taken over office buildings and other projects from developers because of soft commercial real-estate market. "Wf don't have someone who's going to put a padlock on door," Hollis said. erairawi Sunbeam buys more than 600 acres beginning in late 1960s. Much of the land is sold for residential development. Sunbeam also develops Castle Creek Corporate Park, comprising six office buildings.

Tenants include subsidiaries of ITT, McDonald's, General I Motors and Ford. 1 Source: Sunt Development Corp,.