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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA decision on whether to provide more than $18 million in city incentives to consumer review service Angie's List was delayed Monday night by a City-County Council committee.
The council's Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee postponed the vote until its Feb. 23 meeting.
The company wants taxpayers to spend roughly $18.3 million to help boost its plans to expand in a once-rundown area on the outskirts of downtown Indianapolis.
Angie's List promises to spend $40 million on the expansion, which includes adding 1,000 new jobs and shifting 800 more workers to its Indianapolis headquarters over the next few years, boosting its city workforce to 2,800.
In return, Indianapolis would spend $2 million on streets and infrastructure projects, and up to $16.3 million in tax-increment financing funds to build a parking garage and move a school warehouse from an old Ford assembly plant that's part of the company's expansion plans.
Among the questions that panel must consider is whether it should invest taxpayer money in a company that has turned only one quarterly profit in 20 years and has seen its stock price recently plummet.
City-County Council members are aware of the financial concerns but also note that the company's move in 1999 to the Holy Cross neighborhood just east of downtown Indianapolis has sparked a revival of an area once marked by blight.
"They have long been a stabilizing force in that quadrant along Washington Street, which is, by and large, just riddled with abandoned, boarded-up buildings," said Councilman Zach Adamson.
In addition to the city's proposed $18.3 million contribution, Angie's List is also asking the state to provide $6.5 million in tax credits and $500,000 in training grants.
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