With Angie’s List departing, owner of Landmark Center ups ante to snag tenants

The owner of downtown’s Landmark Center has spent more than $1 million upgrading the 12-story office building in hopes of landing new tenants to replace a large one that’s leaving.

New Jersey-based Fairbridge Properties in June 2015 purchased Landmark for $23 million from locally based Ambrose Property Group. Ambrose bought the 305,000-square-foot building at 1099 N. Meridian St. out of receivership in December 2013 and quickly leased it up.

Angie’s List Inc. took four floors of space totaling about 100,000 square feet—or about a third of the building—and Christian Church-Disciples of Christ took another 60,000 square feet by rwloacting its 195-person headquarters from 130 E. Washington St. The additions took the struggling Landmark Center from less than half-full to more than 90-percent occupied.

But now Angie’s List is departing, following its purchase in October by New York-based IAC, the parent company of HomeAdvisor. The acquisition created Golden, Colorado-based ANGI Homeservices.

With 157,000 square feet available, now that Centene Corp. also has left, Fairbridge and leasing agent Colliers International have their work cut out for them. Fairbridge founder and managing partner Dmitry Gordeev is optimistic, however.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said during a Wednesday open house to show off the space to office brokers. “It opens up an opportunity for a large tenant to come in.”

Fairbridge has added a bike-share program with storage space, an onsite Uber/Lyft rideshare service, and a tenant lounge, in addition to renovating the first-floor lobby. Lobbies and restrooms on the above floors are in the process of being remodeled.

The $1 million Fairbridge is spending to improve the property is on top of the $5 million Ambrose invested to add a fitness center and on-site restaurant, in addition to other improvements.

Angie’s List, meanwhile, also is vacating its 17.5-acre headquarters campus on East Washington Street, which the company is in the process of selling, and bringing ANGI Homeservices to the downtown core. Following Indianapolis-area layoffs, the local operations for ANGI Homeservices do not require as much space as the former Angie's List once did.

The plan is to have the entire staff move to its new location at 130 E. Washington St. by August, CEO Chris Terrill told IBJ on Feb. 9.

The address is the former Disciples Center, which Minneapolis-based Onward Investors bought in September 2015. The company spent $4.5 million renovating the building. Other tenants include USA Track & Field and USA Gymnastics.