By Navar Watson
BlueSky Technology Partners, Inc. officially plans to move near downtown Noblesville with the help of some city funding, thanks to an approval of agreements at the May 12 Common Council meeting.
The eCommerce consulting company will invest $6 million to build a 40,000-square-foot headquarters between Logan Street and State Road 38/32, across from Riverview Hospital.
Within the project, the council passed development and taxpayer agreements, which call for the city to acquire the real estate for the property. This includes the southern parcel, a field that’s been barren for at least 25 years, according to City Attorney Michael Howard.
On this property, the city will fund the construction of a building pad and parking lot with approximately 200 parking spaces. The parking lot will be open to the public outside of business hours.
In all, the council approved the city to spend $3.7 million on their part of the project, covered by a redevelopment bond.
Councilman Brian Ayer admitted he was initially “in limbo” about the BlueSky project up until the night of the decision. He said he thought the project was “awful expensive” and could take away from other potential projects.
He recognized, however, the need for “good, high-quality employment” in downtown Noblesville.
“Even though this is an expensive project, I feel it’s a solid project for our community,” Ayer said. “Hopefully it will lead to bigger and better things.”
The company, which has 55 employees working in Noblesville, hopes to have 75 employees within five years of occupying the new space. The average salary will be $95,000.
BlueSky President and COO Eric Warne said the new setting, which is just west of the proposed Federal Hill Park, will appeal to the company’s “young, energetic employee base.”
“We love downtown Noblesville. We used to have all our employee Christmas parties at Matteo’s and head over to Sid’s,” Warne said. “A lot of people have gravitated and loved the downtown area.”
BlueSky also plans to reserve 6,000 square feet of the building’s first floor for retail purposes, possibly including a restaurant. Approximately 9,000-10,000 square feet of the second floor will be leased out for office space, depending on how much of the building BlueSky occupies, Warne said.
“We hope that we’re going to spur some additional economic development there in that area,” Warne said. “There’s no doubt.”
According to the agreements, site work for the southern parcel should be completed by October. The rest of the city project should be finished a year later, with BlueSky moving in by the end of 2016.
The following items were also approved at the meeting:
— A confirmatory resolution for partial tax abatement for Poets Walk of Noblesville, a senior facility devoted specifically to memory care.
— A preliminary resolution for tax abatement for Industrial Dielectrics, Inc. The company plans to purchase $1 million worth of research and development equipment.
— A sublease agreement between the Noblesville Parks and Recreation Department and Ivy Tech Community College, allowing Parks Department to utilize the campus’s gym, wellness room and classrooms for various programs. It will also acquire some office space.
