INDIANAPOLIS — Officials with the office of Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced that more than 300 city employees will be moving to the City-County Building.
According to a news release from Hogsett’s office, Hogsett announced Monday that government services are expected to be consolidated within the City-County Building, located at 200 E. Washington Street in Indianapolis.
Officials estimate it will save taxpayers around $450,000 on an annual basis, starting in 2024, improve access to services and provide an economic boost to the city’s central business district.
This comes as City-County employees work from satellite locations across Marion County, the release said. Around 300 positions will come downtown as part of phase one, including the engineering division of the city’s Department of Public Works, the planning division of Indy Parks and the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services.
“Three hundred people is fantastic,” said Patrick Tamm, President and CEO of the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association. “But those 300 people might also attract others to utilize the City-County Building as well, and the surrounding businesses will have some benefit of that.”
Phase two is expected to bring an additional 150 employees downtown, including the relocation of the Marion County Community Corrections department. According to the release, a third phase is expected to bring the IMPD Downtown District to the building, joining the IMPD administration staff.
“This announcement matches our commitment to saving taxpayer dollars with our commitment to a vibrant downtown,” Hogsett said in the release. “We’re proud to lead by example in maintaining a robust downtown workforce. And in the process, we’re making local government as accessible as ever.”
Tamm said the move could help businesses in the area substantially, especially as that portion of downtown continues to recover from the pandemic.
“Anytime you can get more people downtown on a regular basis is a good thing for a lot of coffee shops, dry cleaners as well as restaurants and the city market,” Tamm said.
