Newsday from New York, New York • 50

A a iv 4 a 9 BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY T-k A50 nynewsdayxombusiness UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT The Markets 10-DAY DOW TREND anew Times Square Paramount Hotel set to be transformed by Sol Meliaf Hard Rock Cafe International BY ELIZABETH SANGER STAFF WRITER Rock and roll will soon be paramount at tbe Paramount HoteL Hard Rock Cafe International and Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts of Spain said yesterday they will jointly develop and manage the 600-room Times Square Paramount Hotel and transform it into the Hard Rock Hotel New York When it is refurbished next year with the rock and roll theme and rminc memorabilia decor it will be the ninth Hard Rock hotel or casino managed by Hard Rock Cafe International The Paramount owned by hotelier Ian Schrager was bought by Becker Ventures LLC for $1265 million with Hard Rock Cafe International and Sol Melia as a minority investor The hip mhfl ataffordaSeJ prices Hard Rock plans to fBake upscale i The hotel will feature a nation restaurant but twist riot a Hard Rode rant The Hard Rode Cafe er Joint now 20 years remain on 57th Street There are more than Rode restaurants in 44 tries and the company clahr own the ofmuaicmemonbilialt recently bought items at a auction of Eric guitars 1 Hand Rock which is owned by The Rank Group Pic of Lon--don is getting into the hotel -business to extend the brand Deborah' Sierchio a spokes--woman for the company said The Manhattan hotel will have a Hard Rock Hotel stored and a basement speakeasy bar will be converted to a space for corporate and social events -jf Until the transformation into die Hard Rock is finished die Paramount will keep its cur- rent name NEWSOAV FIU PHOTO 2001 REBUILDING GROUND Cultural center to get Investors went bargain hunting day after three days of sending the markets up ADOW a NASDAQ 1024029 196608 2095 265 ASV500 BONDYKLDS 111833 lO-ymor Hwmuwy 212 447 down from 448 $970 Slock watch Dad DELL: $3521 Up $028 (08) The No 1 computer maker will open a sales office in Oklahoma and hire up to 250 people to meet growing US de- mand L-3 Communications -Holdings LLL: $6025 Down $375 (59) Shares tumbled after JP Morgan Securities cut its rating on the maker of bomb detectors and defense electronics be-cause of concern the company may sell shares to finance acquisitions Overheard -'They found the Lord quickly when it KaaTq4ari Data point 1 billionNum ber of pounds to which Hewlett-Packard Co plans toexpand its recy- cling program for personal computers and other electronic devices in the 'next three years One billion pounds is the equivalent of about 400000 passenger which owns the Hard Rock Cafe develop Paramount HoteL Linda Shelton executive director of the Joyce said die new theater at the former World Trade Center will allow dance companies to expand their reach beyond the 472 seats at Chelsea locale The proposed cultural offer-at Ground Zero are expedite enhance the city's arts portfolio by complementing activities of die Brooklyn Academy of Music and Lincoln Center Officials chose the four institutions last month from a list of 113 that submitted proposals which were then cut to a short list of IS For Signature a company that features die work of one playwright each season the space also offers opportunity to expand Ift a great place to show a- THE NEWS Hard Rock Cafe International restaurants says It will jointly ZERO proposed cultural buildings During a meeting today die LMDCs board is also expected to set aside $6 million for architectural designs for the buildings which will stand at the site's northern edge just east of die Freedom Tower Sources fa-miliar with the awarding of the grants said the agency expects to One of the proposecT buildings would house a 900- to 1000-seat theater of dance operated by the Joyce along with three smaller auditoriums for Signature The second building would feature exhibition halls for the Drawing Center and the Freedom Center which would organize meetings and presentations on the ideal of freedom NAVIGATING ON NYNEVMDAYCOM College loans 'Goto the 4 Internet to: $15M case said Kathryn Lipu- ma the company's executive di- rector LMDC board member Made- lyn Will said the initial funding will not come in the form of a matefling grant but future awards would be It will be up to the organizations to their profile and fundraising she meeting will be the) first for board member Robert Balachandran appointed to the panel by Gov George Patald to replace Christine Fexer who resigned to join the Port Authority board Balacbandraih managing director in the public finance de- partment of Bear Steams an in-' vestment bank is a former special counsel to the governor I Alexandra Middendorf was an executive product er with the Learning Chan-'J- ri nel whose work included laEiii Z0 BY ERROL A COCKFIELD JR STAFF WRITER The agency leading the Ground Zero rebuilding is expected today to approve $L5 million in grants for the creation of a cultural center at die site sources said The Lower Manhattan Devei-Corporatkm intends to the money to four institutions: the Joyce Theater Foundation the Signature Theater Com-pany die SoHo-based Drawing Center museum and a new Freedom Center The money split based cm need would help those institutions craft business plans programming and fundraising strategies before they move into two MORE IN BUSINESS In response to a growing' number of Americans who afford prescrip- tion drugs' Pfizer has announced a plan to save some without coverage up to 37 percent' AS! sstef jet wwwjiynewsdaycom.