20110718-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 7/15/2011 3:38 PM Page 1 $2.00/JULY 18 - 24, 2011 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Road to turnpike deal may be rough Crain’s is accepting nominations for our annual Forty Under 40 A tight debt market and a less generous section, honoring some Indiana operator’s trouble, tight debt market make for a hard sell lease deal also will reduce the attrac- of the top tiveness of the Ohio Turnpike. business By JAY MILLER business weekly in 2009. A ANALYSIS hopes for around $3 billion Debtwire, a London newswire and civic [email protected] multinational joint venture for the 241-mile road. affiliated with the Financial Times, leaders in paid $3.8 billion for the 157-mile Those comparative numbers could reported recently that the Indiana Northeast Indiana got lucky when it leased stretch of road between Ohio and make it hard to swing an Ohio deal. road’s operator, the Indiana Toll Road Ohio. the Indiana Toll Road in 2006. Illinois. In part, that’s because the Indiana Concession Co., has been dipping For more details on how to “It was the best deal since Man- But Gov. John Kasich won’t do as operation hasn’t performed as well into an interest reserve account to nominate, see Page 4. hattan was sold for beads,” Indiana well, it appears, if he tries to peddle as promised, chilling investment cover debt service because operating Gov. Mitch Daniels told Barron’s the Ohio Turnpike. As it is, he only interest in U.S. infrastructure deals. See TURNPIKE Page 7 ig demolition projects such as razing the old Dots taking THE GHOSTS OF Cleveland Convention Center and 113 St. Clair office building for the Medical Mart and Convention Center project and the Columbia aggressive BUILDINGS PAST BBuilding on Prospect Avenue for casino-bound visitor parking in downtown Cleveland are attention grabbers. approach to More Northeast Ohio However, wrecking balls also have been swinging sites meet wrecking ball with far less fanfare elsewhere around town, like at the grow brand old Jim’s Steakhouse on Collision Bend in the Flats. as way to save on tax bill See GHOSTS Page 5 Backing of veteran retail STAN BULLARD PHOTOS/ private equity firm helps Story by STAN BULLARD LAUREN RAFFERTY ILLUSTRATION [email protected] The former Jim’s Steakhouse in the By MICHELLE PARK Flats became this empty lot [email protected] after being demolished. With its sights set on planting 1,000 dots on the map and the poten- tial for an eventual public offering of its stock, women’s fashion retailer Dots LLC is working feverishly to take its brand nationwide. Backed by a private equity firm that has helped build retail brands such as New York & Co. and Aero- postale, Dots is doing more renova- tions and opening more stores this year than it has in any single year, said its CEO, Rick Bunka. At present, Glenwillow-based Dots has 407 Bunka stores in 28 states, all east of the Rocky Mountains, Mr. Bunka said. It now is looking beyond that base. “Our vision here is a much grander vision than historically was the case,” said John Howard, CEO of Irving Place Capital, the New York private equity firm that acquired Dots for an undisclosed price last January. “We think there’s something really special that can be exported here,” See DOTS Page 6 SPECIAL SECTION 29 6 NEWSPAPER Entire contents © 2011 74470 01032 Crain’s profiles 15 of Northeast Ohio’s leading by Crain Communications Inc. ■ Vol. 32, No. 29 0 business women Page W-1 20110718-NEWS--2-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 7/15/2011 10:19 AM Page 1 2 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM JULY 18 - 24, 2011 COMING NEXT WEEK SILVER LINING Recent economic news hasn’t been good, but there was an encouraging Research revving up statistical nugget in a new data set from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS noted that from December 2009 to December 2010, employment Institutions across the area are increased in 220 of the 326 largest U.S. counties. In the meantime, the 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, expanding their research spaces while average weekly wage in those counties rose by 3% to $971 in the fourth Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 quarter of 2010. A table in the report looked at the counties where the average Phone: (216) 522-1383 also attempting to significantly increase weekly wage increased the most, and it included Lorain County. Here’s part of Fax: (216) 694-4264 their research dollars brought in. This the list. (What are they doing in Olmsted County, Minn.?) www.crainscleveland.com includes schools that traditionally have Publisher/editorial director: Increase in average weekly wage lagged in this area. County Brian D. 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For subscription information and delivery concerns send correspondence to Audience Development Department, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, 48207-2912, or email to custom- [email protected], or call 877-812-1588 (in the U.S. and Canada) or (313) 446-0450 (all other locations), or fax 313-446-6777. Reprints: Call 1-800-290-5460 Ext. 125 Audit Bureau of Circulation 20110718-NEWS--3-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 7/15/2011 3:40 PM Page 1 JULY 18 - 24, 2011 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 3 Akron online marketing outfit serves notice Knotice CEO Brian Deagan. figure out what drives purchasing the current expansion, Mr. Deagan Software developer Knotice uses profits Another reason behind decisions. That information could said. The Seattle office will help the the current expansion is influence how Knotice designs future company recruit employees from an to drive company’s desired expansion that the company now is versions of its flagship Concentri area known as a hotbed of IT talent, profitable enough to fund software. he said. By CHUCK SODER web, email and mobile mar- it, Mr. Deagan said. Two more employees will form a The company’s growth could [email protected] keting messages for specific “It’s definitely a bit of an business automation division that accelerate over the next few years customers, should employ inflection point,” he said. will analyze the company’s internal should it decide to develop a version Five years ago, Knotice Ltd. had 92 people by the end of Deagan Knotice not only is hiring processes, which Mr. Deagan said of its software that could personalize nine employees. Soon it expects to August, when it finishes people throughout the will prepare it for more growth. display advertisements people see have more than 10 times that number. filling 23 new positions. company, but it also is creating two Knotice also plans to open a while surfing the web, Mr. Deagan The Akron software developer is The growth is driven by new departments. Three employees will Seattle office by early September. said. The company also is thinking in the midst of a growth spurt.