By Sam Elliott
The City of Fishers and Indianapolis-based real estate and development company Citimark have announced a proposal including $32.7 million in investments into a technology corporate campus at the city’s certified tech park.
The proposal includes Citimark purchasing the former Charles Schwab call center building at 12115 Technology Ln. and the nearby Launch Fishers building, plus building additional office space to create an interconnected campus that could also connect to the Nickel Plate District’s trails and the rest of downtown Fishers.
“This is a transformative project for downtown revitalization of the Schwab building,” Fishers Director of Economic Development Brandon Dickinson said. “This will help us continue to attract the talent that we so desperately want and the talent that has reached out to us.”
Citimark plans to invest $4.5 million into the former Schwab building, a 117,000-square-foot call center that will be transformed to 71,000-square-foot tech-ready office space. Citimark Senior Vice President Matt Carlstedt said his company plans to demolish the central core of the building in favor of 20,000 square feet of courtyard green space and upgraded exteriors. The building has been vacant since 2010.
“There is an incredible amount of value there. Not just refurbishing and repurposing the current building, but also creating an ecosystem for growth in and around the Launch Fishers building and the Schwab building all within our certified tech park,” Dickinson said. “We really think this is a very low-risk proposition and we would not be surprised at all if it’s fully leased up before renovations of the Schwab building are wrapped up.”
The proposal also calls for Citimark to purchase the 51,000-square-foot Launch Fishers building for $3.1 million and then lease the space for Launch back to the city. Carlstedt said Citimark would likely build two additional office facilities totaling 80,000 square feet to round out the campus.
While nearly every member of the Fishers City Council voiced support of the proposal at their Aug. 16 meeting, councilors voted 5-4 in favor of tabling a vote on the economic development agreement — including tax abatements valued at approximately $561,000 — until their Sept. 19 meeting in an effort to gain more specifics from Citimark.
Councilor Rich Block reiterated his support of the project before making the motion to continue the issue to September. Citing the city’s investment in Launch Fishers, he asked for Citimark to be able to provide a site plan for the campus to ensure a future building wouldn’t block off or negatively affect Launch.
By the numbers: Proposed tech park
- $32.7 million in proposed investments for tech campus
- Citimark plans to invest $4.5 million into the former Schwab building and turn it into a 71,000-square-foot tech-ready office space
- Citimark plans to purchase Launch Fishers building for $3.1 million
- Proposed tax abatements (tabled for now) valued at $561,000
