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Baldwin to move HQ to Carmel, add 133 jobs

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Trucking and auto fleet insurer Baldwin & Lyons Inc. plans to move its headquarters from downtown Indianapolis to Carmel by the end of the year and hopes to add 133 jobs over the next five years, the company announced Monday afternoon.

Baldwin, which employs about 350 in Indiana, intends to spend $20 million to $30 million to purchase and improve a 184,000-square-foot office building at 111 Congressional Blvd. in Carmel, according to a news release issued by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

That building was on the market in 2011, offering more than 125,000 square feet for lease. It is currently listed as an office site for several businesses, including Lauth Property Group and Farmers Insurance.

It is not clear if Baldwin will entirely vacate its current headquarters at 1099 N. Meridian St., where it leases 81,000 square feet. That lease was set to expire in August, although Baldwin had an option to renew it for another five years.

A message left for a company spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Baldwin & Lyons up to $3.5 million in tax credits, if it hires all the people it has promised to. Also, Baldwin will get $200,000 in training grants from the state. The city of Carmel is considering additional tax incentives.

"We are very excited to welcome Baldwin & Lyons to the Carmel community," Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said in a prepared statement. "This is exactly the type of investment the city is looking for in its economic development partners.”

Baldwin & Lyons posted $253 million in revenue and strong profit in 2012 after suffering losses due to global disasters in 2011.

The company’s operations produced profit of $26.1 million last year, compared to losses in 2011 of $16.6 million.

Including investment gains and losses, overall profit last year totaled $31.9 million, or $2.15 per share, compared with a loss the previous year of $28.2 million, or $1.90 per share.
 

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  • Responsible??????
    Why does the IEDC offer incentives at all?? Thanks for adding 25 jobs a year; that means your business is thriving in our "business-friendly" environment, and you're soaking up the benefits of Daylight Savings Time. Will Red's in Bargersville be getting some tax credits if they buy a pool table and hire a couple new waitresses??
  • bad news for Indy
    It's nice to hear that an IN company is expanding and hiring, but it's a sad day for downtown. Where are groups like the IDI, Develop Indy and the Dept. of Metropolitan Development? When are community leaders going to address this issue of jobs leaving downtown and Marion county? What makes it even worse, the IEDC offered Baldwin & Lyons up to $3.5 million in conditional tax credits and $200,000 in training grants. Why couldn't those credits and grants been offered on the condition that they stayed downtown? What a shame.
  • Shorter Commute?
    Wondering if maybe the incentive is as simple as reducing the commute time for the CEO or whoever runs this organization. I've read, but can't find a citation, that corporate moves usually bring the company closer to the CEO's home. I don't say this to be critical. I live in Carmel and the daily commute to downtown is a drag. I'd move my organization if I could...
  • Good for Carmel
    This article doesn't give all the details...This building is currently owned by Lauth and they have already done some major improvements. Also, Lauth and Shepherd Insurance are the current major tenants.
  • Questions
    All great questons Steve. IBJ, please provide more in depth reporting instead of reprinting press releases.
  • Why Did Indy Loss this HQ?
    What did Indy do to keep this long-time company? Tell me this was a choice between losing them to another state or going to Carmel and not a canabalizing of the Region. This isn't Chicago, and Carmel is not quite the hypenated regional title holder that Brainerd would love for them to be. The core of this region has to be supported. If we can't maintain a strong Indianapolis, the entire region will eventually suffer. If this was solely B&L's decision, then that's their prerogative, like it or not. But please tell me this wasn't Carmel hawking for trophies.

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  1. So the Mayor adds another non value added layer to having a vehicle towed? Whereby the City Government RECIEVES AN ILLEGAL KICKBACK FROM A LGOISTICS COMPANY THAT SUBS THE WORK TO LOCAL TOW COMPANIES? What is the service the City performs for receiving the "tribute"? This is RICO!!!!! What a corrupt and unnecessary layer. What a dirtbag Mayor and his cronies.

  2. Owner occupied housing. Clear enough?

  3. So people think I am paranoid. It's from experience in dealing with puds requested by developers who make major donations themselves to representatives, have nice fund raisers for those running for office and hide through pac's. then there are the public relation firms. You will note some pr comments below. You there Clyde Lee? My opinion. Commercial along 421, great. Multifamily housing, terrible idea that will change the town. Senior condos or zero lot line homes west, great. I suggest keeping all entries to commercial areas at 421. All entries to owner occupied on sycamore. Will keep the traffic on sycamore down some. Two other things. You can't trust what will be there in 10 years. Steve builds quality stuff, but areas change over time. Look at the changes at the wall mart center at 86th and 421 over the last 10 years. Look at the apartments and neighborhoods behind St Vincent's. Raintree properties WILL decrease in value if commercial and multifamily goes in near. It has already been happening around the bridges area. The houses that have been sold recently are way below market. Several deals not closed due to the Illinois construction and the whole unsurety of the bridges. It's pretty simple, Zionsville will approve the whole thing because the city council has been groomed over a LONG period of time for this. I might even suggest some are in their position as a result of this.

  4. Esta, do you have a dog in this fight? You seem to really want to knock anyone against this project. No, I didn't move to Indiana for the architecture. I moved here for that red barn in the field. The horses and fields of corn. A place that is NOT overdeveloped. There are plenty of nearby places in Indianapolis that could be REDEVELOPED instead.

  5. RKW - OK, we get it, you're paranoid. The question is, are you paranoid enough? Greg - Yes, Pittman(s) is (are) at it again. They are developers, they build things. It's what they do. So when you go to work tomorrow, Greg, you're at it again too. Cliff - Really? You moved to Indiana for its progressive architecture? That's like moving to England for the cuisine. Zionsvillain - The house you moved to was once a field or woods. I'm willing to bet folks were upset when that ground was plowed under and a house was built. But I guess now that you are in, everything should stop? "My house was OK, but the next one is sprawl." SE Guy - Please don't paint us with such a wide brush. Most reasonable Zionsville residents welcome planned, measured development.

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