Fishers weighs tax break for Roto-Rooter facility

Fishers Town Council is expected to consider a tax abatement for Roto-Rooter Inc., which is weighing a site along Interstate 69 for an expanded regional operation.

Best known for its plumbing and drain-cleaning expertise, the Cincinnati-based company already owns a facility on Hillsdale Court in Indianapolis. But it’s looking for more space to accommodate new water-restoration services.

Roto-Rooter expects to move 50 existing employees to the new offices and hire 33 more over five years. Its planned capital investment: more than $6 million.

The company is considering a number of potential locations on Indianapolis’ north side, Fishers’ assistant economic development chief Tim Gropp wrote in a memo to  council, and the property at 12034 Exit Five Parkway would be the most expensive.

The town is proposing a five-year property tax phase-in to offset some of the costs. Council is being asked to begin the abatement process Monday by establishing the 5-acre parcel as an economic revitalization area.

Roto-Rooter’s preliminary plans call for erecting and equipping a 33,000-square-foot building, about a third of which would be a two-story office/training facility. Employees would serve customers within a 90-minute drive of the new location.