The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page 124

mmMMMnm THE SUN lo) PAGE11D FRIDAY AUGUST 25, 1995 L2) Bell Atlantic to disband state director boards Calif, bank weighs Md. loan office Silicon Valley specializes in technology market Past board members of the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone of Maryland which became Bell Atlantic-Maryland In 1994 Included the chief executive officers of Alex. Brown Sons and Corp. Mr. Grossman said current outside directors include George Bunting, former president of the Noxell Rhoda Dorsey, former president of Goucher College; and Robert Tardlo, a Bethesda financial cisions we make are consistent across the state boundaries," he said.

Mr. Grossman said the move makes Bell Atlantic the fourth of the seven regional Bell companies to abolish state-level outside boards. For a time, the state boards did fulfill a function of cementing informal alliances with powerful businesses In each of the six states In Bell Atlantic territory, plus the District of Columbia. Change continues centralizing trend By Michael Dresser Sun Staff Writer Bell Atlantic Corp. will disband the outside boards of directors of Its state operating companies, including Bell Atlantic-Maryland, and replace them with all-employee boards, a company spokesman said much greater autonomy.

Today the Independent boards at the state level are a bit of an anachronism. Mr. Grossman said one of the reasons for disbanding the boards was cost, but he added that the decision also reflected the fact that the company's operations are now organized by lines of business. "We have a lot of customers who straddle more than one Jurisdiction," Mr. Grossman said.

"It's very Important that the de yesterday. The board of the Philadelphia-based parent company will continue to have outside directors. The state-level boards will disband at the end of the year, said spokesman Jay Grossman. The change does little more than ratify a trend toward centralized operations of the telephone company. At one time, particularly before the breakup of the old American Telephone Telegraph the state operating companies enjoyed A BUILDING RECOVERY Entrepreneur gains control of WNUV-TV if l-P WMAR drops its FCC appeal to block the deal By Timothy J.

Mullaney Sun Staff Writer A Pittsburgh entrepreneur has completed his two-year drive to take over WNUV-TV (Channel 54) in Baltimore, after a rival station dropped aft appeal to the Federal Communications Commission to block the dfcal. A company controlled by Edwin V. Edwards Baltimore WNUV-TV LJcensee closed on its purchase of the station July 24, according to a letter from the company's lawyers to the FCC, which the commission released yesterday. Terms were not disclosed. The owners of WMAR-TV (Channel 2) had challenged the sale, claiming it violated FCC rules barring a single company from owning two FCC licenses for TV stations in the same city.

Under the Initial plan announced In 1993, 70 percent of the company Mr. Edwards proposed to have buy the station was owned by Carolyn Smith, whose four sons are senior executives and majority stockholders of WBFF-TV (Channel 45). leading WMAR parent Scripps-How-ard Broadcasting to contend that Mr. Edwards' company was a front for the Smith family. "We have withdrawn the complaint.

We actually did it a couple of months ago," said Joe Lewln, WMAR general manager. "It served no purpose to continue It" Yesterday, Mr. Edwards called his deal a milestone for African-American entrepreneurs. And while he confirmed a report In the Dally Record that Mrs. Smith had placed most of her shares In the company Into trust for her grandchildren to Commercial projects rose 195 infirsthalfof'95 By Timothy J.

Mullaney Sun Staff Writer New commercial construction in metropolitan Baltimore Jumped 195 percent in the first six months of 1995, Including 276 percent In June, as the industry continued Its slow climb out of a deep abyss, according to a new report by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council. Local governments granted permits In June for $32 million worth of new commercial construction and nearly $47 million In additions, alterations and repairs, the council said. The gains helped offset the effect of an 1 1.3 percent year-to-date decline in the number of permits granted to build new homes. On the surface, it sounds like great news for an industry battered more than most by the 1990 recession and Its aftermath. But as an anonymous author pointed out long ago, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.

The peak In the late 1980s) was $40 million to $50 million a month," said Josef Nathanson, economist for the metropolitan council. "The June 1995 total, while high for recent times. Is certainly not the level we were experiencing In the 1980s." Tell us about It, say the owners of local contracting companies. They describe an Industry in which work Is beginning to get plentiful, but many small competitors have been forced out of the business by the extended industry depression that followed the 1990 recession. Even In the budding recovery, they say, 'profit margins for many projects remain slim to none.

"My general impression is that everybody Is busy," said Ron Knowles, president of J. Vinton Schafer and Sons Inc. of White Marsh. The general contractor is the 12th biggest construction firm in the Baltimore area, with $25.4 million In contract revenue during the first half of 1995. "But how healthy we are Is another matter." Along with profits, Jobs have been slow to come back to the Industry In Maryland, where construction accounted for almost 6 percent of the state's work force during the late 1980s and early See PERMITS, 18D A rise in commercial projects, such as work done at Brooklyn Park's Park Elementary, has offset a drop in homebuilding.

By Bill Atkinson SunStaffWrlter A California-based bank Is considering opening a loan production office near Baltimore to tap the region's burgeoning high-technology Industry. Santa Clara-based Silicon Valley Bank will decide by fall whether it will open the office in the region, said Kenneth Wilcox, senior vice president of Silicon Valley Bank. "We are giving strong consideration to it," said Mr. Wilcox, who is based In the bank's Boston location. "It looks like fertile territory for us.

It Is one of two or three of the fastest growing technology markets In the nation." Mr. Wilcox said that several locations are appealing, Including Columbia, Bethesda, Rockville and Tysons Corner, Va. Over the past two years, the bank has developed a book of business In the Baltimore region and Its executives travel here once a month, Mr. Wilcox said. The bank, which has $1 billion In assets, specializes in financing equipment and working capital for early stage high-tech companies.

Many larger banks turn these kinds of loans away because fledgling high-tech firms often don't make money for years. "It's highly volatile," Mr. Wilcox said. "Many of the larger banks just don't feel It fits their business model." High-tech lending, which makes up 65 percent of the bank's $650 million loan portfolio, has been a booming business for the bank. Its Boston office, which was opened five years ago, now employs 20 people, up from three.

It also opened offices In Beaverton, in 1991, and San Diego three months ago, to make high-tech loans. Earnings have improved dramatically since the bank decided to focus on high-tech lending and reduced its exposure in commercial real estate. In 1992, the bank suffered heavy losses when California's commercial real estate crashed. For the first six months of the year. Silicon Valley earned $7.3 million, vs.

$4 million for the same time a year ago. It also returned 1 .50 percent on assets and 18.4 percent on equity, Mr. Wilcox said. Banks believe they are doing well If they earn 1 percent on assets and 1 5 percent on equity. Charles W.

Newhall III, chairman of the Baltimore-based venture fund New Enterprise Associates, said If Silicon Valley opens an office It will be a "major event" for technology and health care firms. They have knowledge of the technology and health care Industries," he said. "They understand the risks they are taking." He grumbled that banks in the area don't understand the high-tech businesses and are reluctant to lend. "Other banks say, 'I'm sorry, we can't loan you money because you don't have profits he said. Silicon Valley "completes the circle.

The part of the puzzle that was missing was the banking side. With Silicon Valley Bank we will have it" July to stimulate economic growth. The 7.7 percent decline In transportation orders, most of which was cars and Jight trucks, was the fifth drop this year and the biggest since a 10.2 percent plunge in Economists at Merrill Lynch Co. projected orders should increase In August as auto production schedules return to normal. Excluding the transportation category, orders managed a 0.

1 percent advance. Still, the only industry group posting a gain was electronic and other electrical equipment, a 6.5 percent jump. Orders for Industrial machinery and equipment fell 4.8 percent after a 2.6 percent gain In June. And orders for primary metals were unchanged from June, when they had slipped 0.7 percent. Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 6.6 percent after rising 3 percent In June and 5 percent in May.

Although these orders often are a barometer of business plans to expand and modernize, Mr. Bemer said It appears that companies are merely taking a breather from their recent strong capital spending. Value of new nonresidential construction, by subdivision, during the second quarter. assure Mr. Edwards' Independent control of the station, he declined to say who the trustee Is who will have the power to vote the shares In the trusts and effectively control the company.

"I'm in complete control," said Mr. Edwards, who already has television stations In Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. "I'm Just one of a handful of African-Americans In the driver's seat of a major television company. We're not represented in higher, levels of management and ownership roles. This is a very positive thing." But one thing that won't change is much of the programming on WNUV.

which is affiliated with the fledgling United Paramount Network (UPN). Another thing that won't change is the station's very close relationship with the Smiths' Channel 45, a Fox Network affiliate. Mr. Edwards said he had extended for five years a deal first agreed to by former WNUV owner ABRY Communications under which Fox 45 parent Sinclair Broadcasting Group decided what will air on Channel 54 for up to 20 hours of each day. WNUV will handle Its own programming only between 2 a.m.

and 6 a.m. six days a week and between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sundays, Mr. Edwards said, under a deal called a local management agreement.

The deals, known as LMAs, allow the owner of a TV station to lease blocks of time on a station to another party, which then programs and sells ads during that time. "It worked well for ABRY," Mr. Edwards said. "We'll see how it works and hope for the best" Mr. Lewln of WMAR said the existing relationship between Fox 45 and WNUV has made the two stations essentially one operation, and was one reason his station withdrew its challenge.

"It existed already because of this LMA," he said. There won't be any change competitively." 6 Given the location, we liked the long-term potential of the garaged MATT REED Production the holding company established by American OH founder Jacob Blausteln could not be reached for comment on the garage's sale." "This Investment attracted a large group of regional and national Investors, providing further evidence of a positive trend of Increased investment sales activity in Baltimore," said Dennis P. Malone, the Colliers Pinkard executive vice president who together with Pinkard principal Philip C. Iglehart brokered the transaction. He declined to comment on the status of either the Blausteln or Grace buildings, which are being offered for sale at a combined $24.5 million.

The four-level, underground garage Is the fourth major sale Involving a downtown property since the start of the year. Other notable transactions Included debt purchases on the 26-story 250 W. Pratt St. office tower; the 37-story Tre-mont Plaza hotel; and the eight-story NationsBank Center II. American Trading completed the Downunder garage In 1965 as part of the 33-acre Charles Center urban revttalization.

The garage Is expected to generate net operating Income of $1.25 million this year, according to an Investment package compiled last year. Chicago investors buy the Downunder garage If I j.l 1 .0 ALGEF9NA PERNVSUN STAFF PHOTO Carroll Harford Howard County County County JEROLD COUNCILSUN STAFF GRAPHIC from $159.1 billion a month earlier. The decline was the largest since orders dropped 4.6 percent April. Bookings rebounded 2.5 percent In May, the first advance since January, but then slid 0.3 percent in June. Durable-goods orders are a key barometer of manufacturing plans.

Falling orders often lead to production cuts and the loss of jobs. In fact, the manufacturing sector has lost 260,000 Jobs since last March. In a second report yesterday, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment Insurance Jumped by 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the third consecutive advance. Analysts had expected an increase of only about 2,000. But the closely watched four-week moving average of jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 334,750, lowest since 332,750 during the period ended Feb.

18. Although the manufacturing sector remains sluggish, other parts of the economy have begun to show some improvement. As a result, the Federal Reserve decided earlier this week to hold short-term interest rates steady after lowering them In 30 1994 1995 'L 1 I 1 I i i La Anne Baltimore Baltimore Arundel City County County SOURCE: BaMmore Metropolitan Council BuHding Pwmlt Data System Durable-goods orders drop, jobless claims rise By Kevin L. McCjuaid SunStaffWrlter A Chicago-based commercial real estate Investment group yesterday purchased the 796-space Down-under parking garage, a key component of the city's urban renaissance 30 years ago. LaSalle Partners' $10.3 million -acquisition marks the first in what is rxpected to be a series of local commercial real estate sales by American Trading Real Estate Properties line, the Blausteln-famlly organization that owns the 30-story Blausteln Building at 1 N.

Charles St. and Cine 16-story W. R. Grace Building at i-IO E. Baltimore St "Given the location, we liked the potential of the garage," Matt Reed, a LaSalle senior vice president The garage, which Is beneath -Hopkins Plaza, the Fallon Federal 'Building and the Morris Mechanic Theater, represents LaSalle's second Ilocal parking venture.

In February 1991, the $16 billion pension fund "adviser completed a ga-Irage at 414 Water St. and subse--quently sold It to the city for $13.1 'million. The 1 1-story garage Is intended to serve as the base for an -eventual sky-scraper. American Trading, which began "marketing Its local properties a year "ago, Is attempting to diversify Its ice-dominated portfolio by buying apartments and industrial buildings. company has thus far spent roughly $75 million to acquire projects In Charlotte, N.C., Indianapolis Dallas.

In all, the firm controls projects nationwide. Officials at American Trading a subsidiary of American Trading New figures show sluggishness in the economy Associated Press WASHINGTON Factory orders for big-ticket durable goods are down for the fifth time this year and claims for jobless benefits are up for a third straight week, new signs of economic sluggishness. The Commerce Department said yesterday that more than 75 percent of the orders drop In July was a decline In the automobile industry due to a two-week shutdown of production lines for model changeovers. Still, the decrease In manufacturing was widespread, with orders for electronic and other electrical equipment posting the only gain among major Industry groups. The manufacturing sector Is still on the sluggish side," said economist Richard Bemer of the Mellon Bank In Pittsburgh.

The report suggests that the Improvement In the summer quarter is proceeding at a slow pace." Economist Allen Sinai of Lehman DURABLE GOODS ORDERS Orders to U.S. factories for goods expected to last at least three years, seasonally adjusted MAMJJ ASONDJ FMAMJ '94 SOURCE: Commerce Department SUN STAFF GRAPHIC Brothers Capital Markets In New York agreed, predicting "a long, long business expansion, but on average slower than what we have seen." Orders In July fell 1.7 percent, to a seasonally adjusted $156.4 billion Im L--m 1 150 sari BJJJJJJJJJ 140 I 130 1 120 110 Jul.