Ramshaw Real Estate / Sperry Van Ness
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FACILITY NEWS |
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PASS PROGRAM will be moving from Trade Centre South to the freestanding office building at 505 W. University in Old Town, thus increasing their space from 8,000 square feet to 16,000. This expansion will help them further their mission of inspiring, encouraging, and empowering the medical students and physicians who enter their doors. |
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Scanics has renewed their lease at Illini Plaza, where they occupy 3,900 square feet. More information on Scanics can be found in the Tenant News section below. |
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United States Department of Agriculture has increased the size of its local operation, expanding its space at Illini Plaza from 600 square feet to 2,000. |
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Improvements are ongoing for Ramshaw's commercial properties. We re-landscaped all of Illini Plaza and Trade Centre throughout the summer. The building at 103 W. Kirby was demolished to create additional parking at Trade Centre, and a new canopy was installed at the building's west entrance. As the weather grows colder this fall, we will begin remodeling the atriums of both buildings, as well as the third-floor common hallway at Trade Centre. |
TENANT NEWS |
Applied Research Associates
New method's impact felt globally
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recently took the first steps to approving a new method for designing pavements that will be used all over the country and world. Applied Research Associates (ARA), located in Trade Centre South, created this new design guide. This means that all approved roads around the world will be designed using the methods and tools that ARA developed. www.ara.com
Atlanta Bread Company
Going strong into the fall
Much to the delight of those who live or work in south Champaign, Atlanta Bread Company completed construction in June and opened to the public in July on south Neil Street, adjacent to Illini Plaza. www.atlantabreadcompany.com
CIMRO
Another C-U company pushing medicine forward
CIMRO Quality Healthcare Solutions, which has a local branch in Trade Centre South, is a not-for-profit quality improvement organization with 35 years of medical management experience. It currently performs independent/external peer review in 31 states. This involves providing objective, unbiased opinions regarding the quality of medical services as part of medical facilities' internal performance management activities. These services are particularly important when physician referral relationships, single specialty practices, or other circumstances create potential conflict of interest concerns. Services include the full range of sentinel/adverse events, mortality reviews, medical imaging/radiology/sleep study overreads, antibiogram reviews, new technology/procedure or experimental/investigational reviews, and fair hearing expertise. Additionally, CIMRO's quality improvement activities include provider education, peer review training, and Critical Access Hospital oversight assessment. www.cimro.com
Farnsworth Group
Architectural projects completed
The Piatt County Supportive Living Facility (Monticello, IL) is a one-story, 22,700-square-foot building that will be connected to the existing Piatt County Nursing Home in Monticello, IL. The building includes 18 private one-bedroom apartments, 12 private studio apartments, dining services, and multiple activity spaces. It will be home to individuals who require flexible personal care services, 24-hour supervision and assistance, activities, and health-related services. It is designed to maximize residents' dignity, autonomy, privacy and independence, while encouraging family and community involvement. The Downs New Fire Station (Downs, IL) is a two-story, 17,100-square-foot, seven-bay structure that will be located in downtown Downs, IL and will replace the existing fire station. Included in the building will be sleeping quarters, offices, lounges, conference rooms, two kitchens, a weight training room, seven apparatus bays, and equipment storage for both the fire department and the ambulance service. Sometime in the future the building will help the Downs Community Fire Protection District transition from a volunteer to a full-time fire department due to the needs of the growing community.
Land development and survey projects of note
For the University of Illinois South Campus Chilled Water Project, Farnsworth Group is about to wrap up a $3.5 million project with the university to extend chilled water lines to Memorial Stadium to assist with the new stadium expansion, to Assembly Hall for future expansion, and to the new hotel and convention center at the corner of St. Mary's Road and First Street. As part of the project, a sanitary sewer force main and a raw water line were extended for future development by the university. The south half of the Lake Falls Subdivision in Savoy IL, the site of the 2007 Showcase of Homes, has just been completed. The site features over 40 lots for upscale single-family residential homes. Farnsworth Group provided the developer with engineering and surveying services and project management on this beautiful new development in Savoy. The Legends Subdivision in west Champaign is nearly complete and features an upscale 9-hole golf course, a mix of residential and commercial lots, and a golf clubhouse and restaurant. Farnsworth Group provided the developer with planning and site development, engineering, and surveying services on this exciting new project. Farnsworth Group also did the engineering and survey work for the newly opened Atlanta Bread Company. www.f-w.com
Merrill Lynch
Local success leads to expansion
Expanding their efforts in the Champaign-Urbana market, Merrill Lynch has committed over $650,000 in leasehold improvements to their existing facility. "This market has been very good to us and we continue to experience well above average growth in revenues," said Dean Crandall, vice president of global wealth management for Merrill Lynch. "Our latest expansion only serves to bolster our long-term commitment to this community." www.ml.com
Mettler Athletic
Nutrition services offered
Members of the new Mettler Athletic, which opened at Illini Plaza in March, can work one-on-one with the dietitian to discuss their specific nutrition concerns or have their diet analyzed, or attend group nutrition workshops. In September, the Ramshaw Real Estate group took advantage of a lunch-time nutrition workshop learning how to better manage their weight and eat for optimal health. This was followed by the Sports Nutrition Workshop, "Fueling Tactics," in October in which athletes learned how to fuel well for competitions and recovery. The November workshop focuses on eating during the holidays and will be a lunch-and-learn session. Call Mettler Athletic to sign up for the workshop and order your lunch from their training table. Training table lunches are ordered from Great Harvest Bread Company in advance and are ready when you arrive.
Providing corporate wellness programs
As the holiday months approach, Mettler Athletic has a number of programs, clinics, and workshops to help individuals and groups reach the wellness state of mind. Being part of a whole wellness program is proven to help reduce stress, decrease absenteeism in the workplace, stay energized, and promote healthy family and employee communication. Mettler Athletic offers promotions and packages for employer and team groups as well, and their staff is happy to show you around their facility and answer any questions you may have. www.mettlerathletic.com
Ramshaw Real Estate
Scooter selected as this year's prize
After awarding one semester's free tuition as the grand prize for renters at its on-campus properties during the 2006-07 school year, Ramshaw has announced the 2007-08 prize will be a KYMCO scooter. Valued at $2,500, the scooter is on display in the Ramshaw lobby and has proven to be a fun item of interest to everyone visiting Ramshaw's offices this fall.
Putting an emphasis on employee health
Ramshaw has implemented a robust new wellness program. It consists of a discounted membership to Mettler Athletic, a new wellness environment in the office (including a vending machine stocked with Gatorade and green tea), a wellness incentive program that tracks participating employees' fitness progress, and a personal fitness challenge that involves participating employees either walking or running 500 miles, or biking 3,000 miles, over the course of a year.
TIMES Center Golf Outing
Ramshaw was the title sponsor of the Mental Health Center's 11th Annual Golf Outing for the TIMES Center, held at Stone Creek Golf Club on September 14th. Organized by Christie Ramshaw and Melissa Williams, the event raised approximately $30,000. Located in Champaign, the TIMES Center is a comprehensive transitional living program for homeless men that provides critical programming for our community. It strives to meet the needs of homeless men who are seeking to return to independent living. www.ramshaw.com
Scanics
Helping businesses and individuals move to paperless
Located in Illini Plaza, Scanics offers large-scale scanning services that would be too complex or time-consuming for companies to take on themselves. Scanics' clients include many businesses looking to reduce their paper document storage or to make their mission-critical documents more accessible. The company also sells Xerox copier/printers, scanners, and software solutions to make the transition to a paperless office an easy one. Scanics is the Xerox Authorized Dealer for central Illinois. Offering document and media services to make it easier to share, communicate, and archive both personal and office items, Scanics also helps individuals wanting to make better use of those photos stored away in boxes in the attic or garage, helping preserve and share those precious memories. And after photos are scanned in, Scanics can create slideshows to be played on computers or DVD players, or be uploaded to family websites to share around the world. www.scanics.com
Wolfram Research
Company's math expertise employed by CBS
With the start of the new TV season this fall, so began the fourth
season of the crime drama NUMB3RS, which is "the math version of CSI,"
according to Wolfram Research public relations manager Marcus Wynne. Wolfram
serves as "the official math brain trust behind NUMB3RS". The world's
leading producer of software for mathematical and scientific
computation, Wolfram is dedicated to spreading its passion for
mathematics and computation throughout the globe. "We're helping to
promote math and education," Wynne said. Members of Wolfram's R&D
staff provide NUMB3RS with real math to support each episode of the
show. Just as it is used in so many of today's real-world scientific
and technological innovations, Wolfram's flagship product,
Mathematica, is also used to create the math behind NUMB3RS.
Wolfram created graphics for CBS News earlier this fall, when there was the threat of a tsunami in Indonesia. The state-of-the-art graphics depicted how a tsunami comes together from a technical viewpoint.
Wolfram also received recent coverage on local CBS affiliate WCIA for hosting the annual Wolfram Technology Conference, which brings top developers, users, and researchers from all over the world to Champaign. The conference was held at Trade Centre, the Hilton Garden Inn, and Hawthorne Suites.
Health fair in early November
On November 7th, Wolfram Research, Inc. will hold its annual Health Fair for
its employees and their families. This is an opportunity to learn what Wolfram
Research, Inc., its insurance companies, and local businesses have to offer.
In addition to obtaining information from these groups, participants can
also get flu shots, free screenings, samples, and the ever-popular giveaways.
The Health Fair offers a wide variety of vendors and chances to win great
prizes. www.wolfram.com
