Finance and Commerce Features Walsh Bishop
Minneapolis-based Finance and Commerce magazine currently features an article about Walsh Bishop’s expertise and work in the casino and gaming industry. Keith O’Brien, the Vice President of our Entertainment and Hospitality division, speaks about the hope for continued growth in casino projects. As he stated in the article, Keith expects the $26 billion industry to grow 4 to 5 percent nationally in 2009, which is down somewhat from the double-digit growth of recent years, but still strong considering the current economy. The article also summarizes our project history in the gaming industry.
Follow this link to read the entire article.
Keith’s Expert Insight
Have you checked out the December issue of Indian Gaming Magazine yet? If so, you may see a familiar face. Keith O’Brien, VP of Walsh Bishop’s Entertainment & Hospitality Group, is featured in their Ask the Experts piece, addressing the 2009 Gaming Forecast. Follow this link to gain insight from industry leaders on this topic and find out how the economic downturn will affect the Indian gaming industry.
http://www.indiangaming.com/magazine/
Also- this issue includes an overview last month’s Global Gaming Expo! (So if you missed Hulk Hogan, you will have to settle on checking out his picture…)
New Name Announced
Dennis Walsh has announced the winning entry in our “Name Our Building” contest.
The building, located at 900 N. 3rd Street, will be named “900.” Dennis chose this name because it’s simple and speaks directly to the property and location. He wanted the name to reflect identity in a way that included all of the possibilities of the building, while also allowing for an iconic sign possibility.
Out of 58 entries, the winning suggestion was provided by Jamie Brunotte, who wins $500 and a huge “congratulations and thank you” from all of us at Walsh Bishop!
The Envelope Please!
Walsh Bishop is one step closer to naming our new building. The “Name Our Building” contest was open to everyone at Walsh Bishop and 58 name suggestions have been submitted for consideration! Now, the difficult task of choosing the appropriate name and winning entry is on the shoulders of the Office Relocation Task Team. Watch this space for an announcement coming soon!
Finance and Commerce Features Walsh Bishop
The August 19 edition of Finance and Commerce features a story about Walsh Bishop and our new building. Please follow this link for the entire article.
Jake’s City Grille, Plymouth, MN
We’re pleased to have been awarded another Jake’s City Grille in Plymouth, MN. The Walsh Bishop team is all about developing long term and rewarding relationships with our clients! Since developing the prototype concept for Owner’s Rob and Tony Jacob, we’ve designed three other facilities for the brothers, each meeting outstanding success. The concept for the casual eatery blends the energy of a city café with the comfort of a neighborhood gathering spot. The prominent and open bar creates a welcoming first impression, with the open flames of the wood fired oven adding warmth and a buzz of activity as the chef’s prepare signature dishes. The concept features private dining areas, a patio seating 150 customers with a full bar for Minnesotans craving the summer sun. The Plymouth location will be one of their largest facilities, with over 8,900 SF, but they have no worries about filling up the joint. They currently operate the building as a Jake’s Sports Café – a concept they are phasing out over several years. It’s successful for them, but with an eye to the future and growing competition, they know that their City Grille concept will out perform, not only their current revenue, but their other locations have proven thatit consistently beats the national chains. People are hungry for something unique and different from the homogenized consistency of the franchised restaurant – and the brothers are poised to deliver. Jacob Restaurant Group owns and operates three Jake’s City Grille, two Jake’s Sports Cafés and Esquire Magazine’s 2006 Best Bar in America, Nye’s Polonaise.
Ramsey County Project Wins Best In Real Estate
And this year’s winner - in the Redevelopment/Extensive Renovation: Large, Office/Industrial category - the Ramsey County Department of Records and Revenue! Congratulations to the Walsh Bishop project team!
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal recently presented their 2007 “Best in Real Estate” awards in downtown Minneapolis. For these awards, a panel of 10 judges chose 24 winners from hundreds of nominees. Walsh Bishop is proud to announce that our design solution for Ramsey County was honored with an award at this event!
So what was this project all about?
When the City of St. Paul targeted their existing space for a mixed-use redevelopment, Ramsey County’s Department of Records and Revenue needed to find a new home. The Walsh Bishop team was selected to transform the former home of the State of Minnesota Department of Agriculture, a vacant building in a state of disrepair, to successfully serve the Department of Records and Revenue. Through an extensive environmental audit and comprehensive redesign, Walsh Bishop converted the large lab environment into an efficient, functional, comfortable contemporary office space that now supports the department’s operations and employees, along with the general public. Our team brought an abandoned building back to life and back into the market, and developed sustainable guidelines specifically for Ramsey County that will be used to encourage and support responsible design solutions for the County for years to come.
As Ramsey County Project Manager Jerome Biedny noted, “The County certainly received long-term solutions to our design issues that exceeded our expectations.”
ESOP Conference Energized and Educated
At Walsh Bishop, we think we’re pretty special for a variety of reasons, one of which is that on January 1, 2008 we became a 100% employee owned company.
Studies consistently show that companies that combine employee ownership with participation perform better than they did prior to implementing their ESOP and better than other similar companies without an ESOP. To encourge and foster this culture of ownership, an ESOP Committee has been appointed at Walsh Bishop. The committee’s first step is educating themselves on the implications, legalities, and possibilities of being an ESOP because like everyone at Walsh Bishop, they are new to the ESOP world.
Last week, three members of the ESOP Committee, Tina Brown, Andrea Samuelson and Joe Wagner, travelled to Chicago to attend the annual conference held by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). This conference was designed to provide learning and networking opportunities for ESOP companies and completely energized the three about the possibilities for Walsh Bishop. “We need to educate our ESOP Committee so that we, in turn, can educate everyone else” Joe said. “We are in the process of setting this commitee up in manner that will best serve our fellow employee-owners and foster a culture of ownership and leadership at all levels of Walsh Bishop.”
Attending events such as the national conference is just one of the many ways our ESOP Committee can connect with other ESOP companies and learn more about what it really means to be an ESOP company.
WBA’s ESOP Fosters Ownership
On January 1, 2008 Walsh Bishop Associates became a 100% employee-owned organization by incorporating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Unlike other employee benefit plans, which typically diversify their holdings by investing in a variety of assets, Walsh Bishop’s ESOP will, by law and design, invest in the stock of the company, thereby making employees beneficial owners of the company at which they work. Not only does this plan provide our employees with an additional retirement benefit, but it encourages a culture of ownership that has far-reaching implications for our work and clients. Walsh Bishop’s success depends directly on the teamwork and positive attitudes of all of us at every level of job responsibility. Simply put, when we do well for our clients, we do well for ourselves!
