Workers began tearing down the vacant buildings Dec. 6. The bank plans to build a two-story branch on the block that will be a replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Since June, three businesses on the block moved and one closed after the bank purchased the land in two tracts: one along Broadway and LaBelle Avenue from local businesswoman Alberta Davis for $535,000, and the other along Jefferson and 32nd streets from Mississippi-based Secured Loans Inc. for $500,000.
— For the 18th time, financial services firm Edward Jones ranked No. 1 in REP magazine’s annual survey of the nation’s six largest financial services firms. The magazine selects financial advisers nationwide and asks them to rank their firms in various categories. Edward Jones’ overall score was 9.3 out of 10 possible points.
According to REP, invitations were emailed to print subscribers between Sept. 6 and Oct. 26 to participate in an online survey. The magazine received 3,402 completed responses.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Edward Jones operates 10 offices in McCracken County and 17 more in far western Kentucky and extreme southern Illinois.
— Gersh and Terry Lundberg bought the former Modine Manufacturing building at 3047 Jackson St. with plans for a medical or wellness services village on the 12-acre site. Drivers along Jackson Street can see the demolition under way on the 153,000-square-foot building, which the Lundberg’s bought for $435,000.
— Stringworks, LLC, a new string instrument repair and renovation shop, opened Dec. 1 at 2101 Broadway.
Co-owners Timothy Corts and Don Rushing repair and restore vintage tube amplifiers, as well as buy, sell or trade the products.
Corts worked for 13 years at Music Zone in Lone Oak, and said he’s excited about the new venture. Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. For more information, call 270-534-5015 or 1-888-330-1419.
— Computer Services Inc. of Paducah picked up another customer in the banking industry: Busey Bank, based in Champaign, Ill.
CSI will provide a new core system and other technology solutions to meet IT management and compliance needs, according to a company release.
The bank, with about $3.5 billion in assets, selected CSI’s products, including its NuPoint core solutions, to provide cloud-based technology and help increase operational efficiency across the bank’s 43 banking centers in Illinois, Indiana and Florida.
— The Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 29 for the new Dunkin’ Donuts in Murray at 300 N. 12th St., Suite B.
— OpenTable, an online company that provides reservations and collects restaurant reviews, recognized Patti’s 1880’s Settlement in Grand Rivers in the 2012 Diners’ Choice Awards for the Top 100 American Fare Restaurants.
OpenTable’s list of winning restaurants span across 31 states and Washington, D.C., with top honors going to kitchens across the country. The Diner’s Choice Awards are generated from more than 5 million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 15,000 restaurants in all 50 states. Kentucky claimed four of the list’s establishments. The other three are: Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar in Covington, and Corbett’s Fine Dining and Lilly’s Bistro, both in Louisville.
— Early construction work beside Bluegrass Dermatology on Village Square Drive was going toward building the eventual home of Cunningham Dental, according to documents filed with Paducah’s inspection office.
The building at 4570 Pecan Drive will have multiple tenants, according to site plans, though interior design plans hadn’t been approved in late November.
— Small businesses launched in a Lower Town apartment held a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12 noon Nov. 14 at 404 Broadway, the location of Cook’s Computer Solutions and Jo’s Baskets and Gifts.
Daniel E. Cook, a technician and Cook’s Computer owner, purchased the building at 404 Broadway in November 2010 with Jo Zulkowsky-Cook. Cook provides personal and business computer services along with sales of new equipment.
Zulkowsky-Cook helps manage Cook’s Computer and runs the Jo’s Baskets and Gifts.
For more information call 270-444-7699 or email jo@josbaskets.com.
— Luxor Cleaning & Concierge Co., 2620 Jefferson St., a locally owned house cleaning business, partnered with Cleaning for a Reason, an organization that provides women surviving cancer treatments with free house cleaning services.
As a nonprofit serving the entire United States and Canada, Cleaning for a Reason partners with maid services to offer professional house cleanings to help women undergoing treatment for cancer, any type of cancer. The nonprofit has helped more than 9,000 women with cancer with more than $1 million in donated cleanings. For more information, call 270-816-3642.
— Computer Services Inc. of Paducah announced a partnership with Charlotte, N.C.-based TRUPOINT Partners to offer its Comparative Analytics Engine to CSI’s NuPoint customers. TRUPOINT’s Comparative Analytics Engine is a Software-as-a-Service-type comparative analysis engine that greatly simplifies compliance with Fair Lending, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Community Reinvestment Act.
The Bank of Kentucky, a Florence-based CSI customer, utilizes TRUPOINT to automate HMDA and CRA compliance.
The partnership allows CSI customers to leverage TRUPOINT Analytics platform and compliance expertise to meet the increased challenge Fair Lending and CRA compliance.
— Baptist Express Care Clinic, located inside Walmart on Irvin Cobb Drive, celebrated its one-year anniversary Nov. 25 through Dec. 1. During the week, there were daily free screenings, such as blood sugar and cholesterol testing.
— A manufacturing building under construction in mid-December, and a renovated brick building off South 16th Street, will house employees for Shoreline Steel by February, according to Thomas Willey, a manager for the New Haven, Mich.-based company.
About seven workers will make steel pilings in the manufacturing building for use in seawall construction, bridge foundations and cofferdams.
Willey said the company will hire locals for two or three positions, and a small office staff will work in the renovated brick building.
The company bought about 15 acres from VMV Paducahbilt, the diesel locomotive re-manufacturer adjacent to the property, earlier this year for $285,000.
— The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported that two contractors were set to begin removing rock pinnacles at Thebes, Ill., by Dec. 13. The work was meant to help preserve a 9-foot channel on the Mississippi River to sustain barge traffic and other commercial navigation.
River shipping industry organizations American Waterways Operators and the Waterways Council, Inc. released statements saying the rock pinnacle removal helps, but wouldn’t be enough to sustain barge traffic along the middle of the Mississippi River after Christmas.
“While this is welcome news, it only solves part of the problem to avoid an effective Mississippi River shutdown to commerce. The release of sufficient water from Missouri River reservoirs during the time this rock pinnacle work takes place is essential to preserving a 9-foot channel on the Mississippi River that will sustain commercial navigation and the movement of our nation’s critical commodities and exports,” said Michael J.Toohey, President & CEO, Waterways Council, Inc. in a statement.
“The mid-Mississippi River will be as good as closed later this month without the release of a modest amount of water from the Missouri River reservoirs,” said Tom Allegretti, President & CEO, American Waterways Operators.
The river depth in St. Louis on Dec. 12 was about 12 feet.
According to an Associated Press report, barges on the Mississippi were already carrying lighter and more frequent loads, and some operators say they’ll halt shipping if they face more restrictions from reduced water levels.
Barge industry trade groups say a prolonged stoppage of shipping on the Mississippi could have an economic impact reaching into the billions of dollars, with the movement of agricultural products, coal, petroleum and other goods reliant on river for transit.
— Greg McKeel, of McKeel Equipment Company of Paducah and Murray, is the recipient of the 2012 AGC of Western Kentucky Chapter Service Award. This award is presented to individuals who share their personal time, talent, and expertise with the association.
McKeel has served on the board of directors for 17 years, and serves on the executive board. He has also chaired the social committee and education committee, where he is directly involved in the overwhelming success of the AGC/MSU Construction Day.
