Angie's List wants Indianapolis taxpayer money for expansion

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The consumer review service Angie's List wants taxpayers to spend up to $18.3 million to help boost its plans to expand in a once-rundown area on the outskirts of downtown Indianapolis.

Angie's list promises to spend $40 million on the expansion, which includes adding 1,000 new jobs and shifting 800 more workers to its Indianapolis headquarters over the next few years, boosting its city workforce to 2,800.

In return, Indianapolis would spend $2 million on streets and infrastructure projects, and up to $16.3 million in tax-increment financing funds to build a parking garage and move a school warehouse from an old Ford assembly plant that's part of the company's expansion plans.

A City-County Council committee was scheduled to consider the request Monday evening.

Among the questions that panel must consider is whether it should invest taxpayer money in a company that has turned only one quarterly profit in 20 years and has seen its stock price recently plummet, The Indianapolis Star reported (http://indy.st/1CrEuYx ).

Investors had mostly been willing to overlook the company's lack of profits thanks to its steady growth. But Angie's List's stock price has fallen over the past 16 months to less than a third of the $15.80 one share fetched at its 2011 initial public offering.

Angie's List's chief operating officer, Mark Howell, insists executives remain confident about the company's continued growth. Howell said the company continues to add workers and as of Friday, 105 job openings were posted on its website, something he said points "to the credibility of what we expect to be growth in employees."

City-County Council members are aware of the financial concerns but also note that the company's move in 1999 to the Holy Cross neighborhood just east of downtown Indianapolis has sparked a revival of an area once marked by blight.

"They have long been a stabilizing force in that quadrant along Washington Street, which is, by and large, just riddled with abandoned, boarded-up buildings," said Councilman Zach Adamson.

Democratic Vice President John Barth and Republican Leader Michael McQuillen both have said they're encouraged by the company's proposal so far, but caution that the details must be vetted by the Metropolitan and Economic Development.

In addition to the city's proposed $18.3 million contribution, Angie's List is also asking the state to provide $6.5 million in tax credits and $500,000 in training grants.

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com