The year started with a sense that slowly—not fast enough for anyone’s liking—but steadily, Indiana’s economy was coming back. But then a spike in gas prices and the never-ending sovereign debt crisis in Europe created a summer of setbacks.
Eli Lilly and Co. lost patent protection on its $5-billion-a-year best-seller Zyprexa in October, plunging the company into the long-awaited zone of uncertainty that it calls “Years YZ.”
IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard racked up a number of accomplishments early in 2011 but was buffeted by challenges late in the year—most notably a crash at a Las Vegas race in October that left one driver dead and the future of the series mired in uncertainty.
The aircraft-engine maker will occupy Eli Lilly and Co.’s former Faris Campus on South Meridian Street, which is being renamed the Rolls-Royce Meridian Center.
The highest-profile Hoosier initial public offering was staged by Angie’s List Inc., the online provider of consumer reviews. The Indianapolis-based company raised $76 million by selling new shares, and existing stockholders raked in another $31 million by selling some of their holdings.
Downtown will be the focal point of Super Bowl XLVI, but communities from Zionsville to Columbus are aggressively pursuing some of the money visitors are expected to shower on the region.
It was another rough year for the real estate sector in 2011, as the homebuilder Estridge filed for bankruptcy, strip-center specialist Broadbent struggled to hold onto its headquarters, and Centre Properties faced a $43 million foreclosure suit.
There’s a pitched battle under way in K-12 education as reform advocates and charter schools challenge traditional institutions such as teachers’ unions and education schools.
Advancement of right-to-work legislation during this year’s legislative session caused Indiana House Democrats to flee to Urbana, Ill., where they remained for 36 days in what became the longest walkout in Indiana history.
Nordstrom, which opened with the mall in 1995, left a gaping 210,000-square-foot hole in Circle Centre mall. It is a particularly tough space to fill since department stores have seen their market share decline more than half in 20 years and need less space.
The administration of Mayor Greg Ballard found its stride in the final year of its first four-year term, at least when it comes to major publicly supported real estate projects.
