Indiana government looks for savings by moving offices

Indianapolis - State government is consolidating offices and moving some workers back to the Indiana Government Center to reduce the amount of office space it leases in the Indianapolis area.

More than 1,000 state workers will relocate over the next two years as the state carries out its office consolidation plan.

Officials told The Indianapolis Star that they hope to save a few million dollars from the $18 million currently spent to lease 1.1 million square feet of office space around Indianapolis.

"We're reviewing all leased space," said Mark Everson, commissioner of the state Department of Administration. "That's the responsible thing to do in this environment."

Some agencies are already moving. Others will move as leases expire over the next two years.

The Arts Commission vacated its private office in the ISTA Center in downtown Indianapolis and moved nine employees to the government center.

The commission cut down on needed space by using cubicles instead of enclosed offices for some workers and giving up a large conference room, said Executive Director Lewis Ricci. The most difficult part of the move, he said, was having to hand-carry glass art objects to the new office.

The state will squeeze in new workers to the Government Center complex in part by putting work places closer together, Everson said.

Two other offices are in the process of moving: the State Budget Agency and a 150-person office of the Department of Environmental Management.

The downtown office market in Indianapolis will be hit by the state pullback. The state currently leases about 6 percent of the 10.6 million square feet of multi-tenant office space downtown.

Leases will expire on about 210,000 square feet of state-rented downtown office space will expire by the end of 2011, according to a state leasing report.

Some buildings could be especially hard hit if the state pulls out. The state rents more than 90 percent of the space in two buildings managed by Marks Cos.

"We're going to bleed a little bit," management company president Paul Ayers said.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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