Could Chase Tower change name for incoming tenant Salesforce?

The tallest building in Indiana could be in for a name change.

The 48-story Chase Tower might instead become Salesforce Tower, once the San Francisco-based cloud-computing software giant moves into the downtown Indianapolis skyscraper.

IBJ has reported that Salesforce is poised to take at least 200,000 square feet in the 905,000-square-foot tower. But a real estate source told IBJ on Thursday that the amount was closer to 400,000 square feet, which would make the company the largest tenant in the building by far.

Chase Tower’s occupancy has been declining lately and stood at just 68 percent at the end of September, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest Skyline Report. Overall, 14 floors are vacant, including four formerly occupied by the building’s signature tenant, JP Morgan Chase & Co., that are available for sublease.

Regarding a name change, Salesforce’s moniker would either adorn the top of the building on all four sides, or just occupy two of the sides while the Chase name remains on the other two, the source said. The signage deal still is under negotiation.

Neither Chase nor Salesforce immediately responded to requests for comment.

Salesforce likely will take some space on the first and second floors. Paradise Bakery & Cafe's 10-year lease expires at the end of the year, and the restaurant, owned by St. Louis-based Panera Bread, is unlikely to renew, sources said. The space vacated in December by The Market on the second floor remains empty.

Combined, the spaces would give Salesforce a high-visibility, street-level presence.

The skyscraper, developed by Columbus, Ohio-based Galbreath Co., was built in 1989. It originally was known as the Bank One Tower, but took the Chase moniker after the New York-based financial giant acquired Chicago-based Bank One Corp. in 2004.

Salesforce, which bought Indianapolis-based  ExactTarget Inc. in 2013 for $2.5 billion, employs 1,400 people downtown. The company’s local headcount is expected to grow past 2,000 in the next few years, Scott McCorkle, CEO of the locally based Salesforce Marketing Cloud division, told IBJ in October.

Salesforce currently occupies space in the Guaranty Building on Monument Circle, the Century Building at Pennsylvania and Maryland streets, and the Gibson Building at Michigan Street and Capitol Avenue.

IBJ reported in October that Salesforce appears to have scrapped plans to build its own downtown headquarters and instead is seeking a huge block of space in an office tower to satisfy its aggressive growth plans.