Artistry: Future headquarters for The Indianapolis Star?

February 28, 2013
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Artistry IndianapolisMilhaus Development is building its $30 million Artistry project with a surprisingly large first-floor commercial space. It's rare for a developer to build that big a space without a tenant on the hook. Though Milhaus has not announced its plans for the 68,000-square-foot space, it would seem to be a good fit for The Indianapolis Star. It sits within a few blocks of the newspaper's current campus, is roughly the right size (if a little small), and would offer high-profile, first-floor access and convenient parking. Gannett, the Star's owner, announced last year that it wants to sell the series of buildings at New York and Pennsylvania streets the newspaper has occupied since 1907. Gannett, which is represented by CBRE, has been looking for about 80,000 square feet with a first-floor presence in downtown. There aren't many office spaces that fit the bill: One of them is the Artistry at 451 E. Market St., the mixed-use replacement for the former Bank One Operations Center. Other possibilities the Star may be considering include 500 N. Meridian St. (Safeco Building) and Regions Tower, both of which have large blocks of space available and could accommodate a first-floor profile. Star Media Publisher Karen Crotchfelt said in an email that the company still hopes to move by the end of 2013: "We are in negotiations with multiple possible locations right now and have not made any final decisions," she wrote. Milhaus principal David Leazenby would not say whether the Star has looked at the Artistry space. "It's been shown to numerous potential tenants," Leazenby wrote in an email. "Until we have signed leases, we don't discuss specifics."

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  • Ugh...
    MarshallFebruary 28, 2013 10:32 AM
    ... have to say I'd be rather disappointed if all that potential retail space was lost to a single office tenant. And what a way to "bore down" a project with so much potential for sparking additional (and much anticipated) development of that area.... I hope this doesn't end up being the case.
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  • Please no....
    BenFebruary 28, 2013 10:47 AM
    I agree with Marshall that this space/building has a lot of potential and should not be used for 1 tenant, especially the Star with all due respect to them. The Star has plenty of other options that would be more fitting and probably closer to its current location.
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  • Groan
    Dont make me L-A-F-F laffFebruary 28, 2013 10:57 AM
    I moved to Indy from a larger, more significant metro area, and all this stuff cracks me up. Amateur hour. What a horrible waste of space. P.S. Every new project downtown looks exactly the same. It's like the Brady Bunch Movie.
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    • Yawn!
      BalthazarFebruary 28, 2013 11:51 AM
      Sounds like Laff is living a rather retrograde life, or is not the master of his (her?) own domain. Usually, you want to move to a MORE "significant" area, not to a LESSER one! I konw, I know, your job or spouse was the reason for the move, right? Dude, who wears the pants in your life?!
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    • No thanks
      GMFebruary 28, 2013 12:44 PM
      How about a Trader Joe's or something worthwhile to the community instead of a Gannett-owned propaganda rag?
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      • Oxymoron?
        SteveFebruary 28, 2013 12:47 PM
        Can you really say "Artistry" and "Indianapolis Star" in the same sentence?
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      • Groan
        SteveFebruary 28, 2013 12:49 PM
        So maybe you should go back to your "larger, more significant metro area"
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      • Security issues?
        SassafrasFebruary 28, 2013 12:54 PM
        Aside from the unappealing prospect of yet another office tenant in retail space, I find it hard to believe the region's largest newspaper would WANT such a visible operation. Considering they're currently in an impenetrable fortress. You know, terrorist fears and all... And GM, if you think Gannett is a propaganda rag, why on earth aren't you equally suspicious of Trader Joe's? After all, they're pretty crunchy-granola and generally have a left-leaning mission and workplace culture.
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      • Unecessary
        BLOGojevich 2.0February 28, 2013 1:02 PM
        Seems like the current crop of Star editors could pull wire copy from home. And Tully surely doesn't need a fancy street-level office to his thrice-weekly "Here's my obvious take on something that has been rehashed in the media 15,000 times already" columns.
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      • Trader Joe's YES!!
        dbFebruary 28, 2013 1:13 PM
        I think it would take a committee like the Super Bowl committee to get another Trader Joe's south of the north side or even another store here in Indianapolis. However, how wonderful it would be as an anchor in that space downtown!!!
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      • story?
        flaviusFebruary 28, 2013 1:17 PM
        I am a fan of this column, but I don't think I understand the reasoning behind this posting. If I am reading it right, no one has said the Star is looking at the Artistry, or even suggested the idea, other than the author.
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      • Oh yeah?
        scottFebruary 28, 2013 1:30 PM
        well I've lived here since the 1980s and you... are right. Damn.
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      • to groan
        scottFebruary 28, 2013 1:33 PM
        (L-A-F-F person) (even our comment reply threadding in bush league ;-) )
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      • Stop
        MeFebruary 28, 2013 1:37 PM
        Steve, we need to stop greeting every criticism of Indiana with "well, just leave." Our rapidly aging, overweight, undereducated population desperately needs a new influx of ideas. Until we're really honest about our shortfalls, we can't fix them. This building, not a great start...
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        • Location / Volume
          MikeWFebruary 28, 2013 1:46 PM
          I agree with a majority of the posters that this would be a shame to loose all of that retail space to one tenant, when we are trying to redevelop that area and the East Market Street corridor. There are many otehr places where they could have a first floor prescence, but still locate a lot of their staff on upper floors and be more cohesive than the hodgepodge of buildings they have now. HOWEVER, the amount of staff and foot traffic that would be brought to that area with a large employer like the Star, could help spur further development in and around this place. So it's a toss up, but I'm leaning more towards a diverse retail portfolio with this space instead of one. Although, my bet - is that they would be long-term tenants, which would be good stability for the future success of retail in this area.
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        • STOP!
          GFebruary 28, 2013 1:51 PM
          'Me'- please don't transfer your own inadequacies and self-hate onto the rest of us. I like downtown Indianapolis and its people. It's a great place to live. Now- back to finding a great retail tenant worthy of this space...
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        • Time for you to move back to where you came from...
          Joe SmithFebruary 28, 2013 2:15 PM
          What in the world are you talking about...You have no clue ....You should stick to your Brady Bunch movies...This property is a great fit for The Star...Let me guess, no job?
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        • Leave
          aaronFebruary 28, 2013 2:20 PM
          Then leave...
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        • Trader Joes Secret
          FritzFebruary 28, 2013 2:42 PM
          Don't get me wrong, I like Trader Joe's and would welcome more of them in the area, but it cracks me up when people get all warm and fuzzy over them. They are owned by the multi-billion dollar grocery chain Aldi (much bigger overseas than here in the US). They aren't as "hippie" as you think.
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        • Trader Joe
          GMFebruary 28, 2013 2:49 PM
          Sassafras- Traders Joe is innovative and offers great product at competitive prices. Their stores are clean; their employees are friendly, hardworking and appreciate the customers who make their paychecks possible. In other words, I see nothing left-leaning about them at all.
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        • Star Location
          rwhFebruary 28, 2013 2:51 PM
          I agree this is not the best first floor location for the Star. This should be utilized as retail space not office space. There will need to be convenient retail to support the housing. The other locations are better suited for the Star. It will be nice when the Star moves out of their building. This is one of the ugliest, uninviting buildings downtown. It's such a great location. Hopefully the exterior will be totally redone for its reuse.
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        • Target?
          DutchEastIndieFebruary 28, 2013 3:21 PM
          Hmmm. I see a lot of red inside the first floor area of the rendering. A Super Target there that includes a grocery would blow that cramped, overpriced O'Malia's/Marsh on New Jersey street out of the water. And be a game changer for our underserved downtown.
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          • IndymanFebruary 28, 2013 3:34 PM
            If a Target goes in, lets hope it does not contain a food component. Every grocery/retail Target does poorly with both. Less selection of food and retail items. You put a 65,000 sq ft office space in that location, it creates more density for the MSA project along with others. More demand for housing, retail, mass transit, entertainment etc.... I am not sure a large retailer wants to be that far on the edge of downtown. The new MSA project needs to have stores similar to Target, Best Buy and Kittles.
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          • There is Criticism and Then There Is Just B****ing
            ChrisFebruary 28, 2013 6:32 PM
            To Me: You are correct that a community should always be open to constructive criticism. But, an individual who goes on about how they came from a more "significant area" and who just pooh-poohs the poor yokels in Indianapolis is not offering constructive criticism, they are just trying to boost their own low self-esteem. And yes, people like THAT can and should go back to wherever they came from.
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          • downtown resident
            AnaMarch 2, 2013 5:50 AM
            As a downtown resident, I am happy that Marsh provided the full service grocery we needed at a price point that is acceptable and did not treat it as just a gourmet shop. They should be thanked for staying. I would love a TJ but with two in easy access, don't think our demographics would support one downtown.
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          • Couple Things
            NickMarch 4, 2013 3:21 PM
            First, the news that Baldwin & Lyons is possibly vacating downtown, means 81,000 square feet could be opening up on Meridian street across the street from WTHR. Seems like a perfect fit to me. Second, I am a resident of downtown, and unlike Ana, I do not consider two Trader Joe's on the northside to be "easy" access. While I am not that big of a fan of TJ's, I think one opened downtown would succeed fairly well, and a Super Target with a full grocery store would fill a giant gap in necessities. The goal is for downtown residents to be able to get everything they need without traveling. I will be happy once that happens.
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          • I think I speak for us all
            GobackApril 18, 2013 12:57 PM
            When I say that we wish you would go back to your "significant Metro area" groan." Maybe you just couldn't cut it in the bigger market?
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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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