Indianapolis, IN
More than 25% of downtown offices sit empty as north side booms
Hear why Indiana Members Credit Union chose Bottleworks District for headquarters
John Newett, president and CEO of Indiana Members Credit Union, talks about why the company chose the Bottleworks District for its new headquarters.
Companies are increasingly looking north for space, a sign that employers still want in-person offices just not in the downtown high-rises that once drew business. The trend means downtown office space remains in high-supply and low-demand — unless, that is, the office space comes flush with amenities, the market shows.
The overall Indianapolis office market sat at 21.2% vacant at the end of 2025, a slight dip from earlier in the year but an improvement over the year before, according to research published in January by Colliers.
The downtown office market vacancy rate, however, did not budge, remaining at 26%, signaling the challenges landlords face in drawing companies to move to or resign leases in the city’s urban core. Leasing on the north side of the city and Hamilton County largely buoyed the overall health of the Indianapolis metro office market, said Nick Svarczkopf, CBRE senior vice president of office and medical properties.
The reason is relatively simple, tenant representatives say: Companies downsized as employees work more hybrid hours and those who still want office space lean toward shared, untraditional layouts. Most downtown office space, especially in the largest office buildings, tends to be older, more old-fashioned workspaces dotted with cubicles and individual office walls.
The rare exception is Bottleworks, a development off the main strip of Mass Ave. The Hendricks Commercial Properties space is completely filled, with a fully pre-leased building in the pipeline.
In June, law firm Ice Miller signed an 85,000-square-foot lease in the Bottleworks Phase III under development off Mass Ave set to open in 2028. The contract became the largest downtown lease since 2019 and made the firm the largest tenant at the state-of-the-art Bottleworks campus.
Bottleworks offers many of the features workplace real estate experts say employees in 2026 value most: fitness centers, walkable areas and close dining spots to grab lunch. Employers have taken note, paying premium rent to move into office space that has access to these more experiential options, said Rich Forslund, executive vice president at Colliers’ Indianapolis office.
“Downtown has some but the suburbs have quite a bit,” Forslund said. “So people are moving to those spots in order to try to draw folks back to the office.”
Companies put employee experience first
A stroll through the Indiana Members Credit Union’s new headquarters at 835 N. College Ave., part of Bottleworks, reveals all of those aforementioned amenities — plus an employee-only outdoor patio, a custom soda and sparkling water machine and a state-of-the-art golf simulator, saving the company time-consuming and costly bonding outings to Top Golf.
For IMCU employees, the new office represents a drastic change from their old headquarters on the south side that cobbled together several strip mall-like buildings and a surface parking lot into a corporate campus. Roughly 120 of the company’s 467 employees work at the Bottleworks office, where they are required to come at least four days a week. The remaining employees work at customer branches around the city.
President and CEO John Newett said the credit union ran out of space at its south-side location, prompting the need for the company’s move at the start of the new year. To ensure that doesn’t happen again soon, IMCU built in space for additional workers in the new office and hopes the spot just off Mass. Ave. will attract younger employees looking for an up-and-coming place to work as well as draw new employees from other suburbs to the north and west.
Part of that strategy included finding as many “wow factors” in the new space as possible, Newett said.
“It’s a little more fun than the traditional office,” Newett said.
Indy lags behind other major downtowns
Across the country, office vacancy is hovering around 20.5% as the U.S. market shows signs of stabilizing after years of growing vacancies following the pandemic. Yet statistics from cities across the nation show that Indianapolis is relatively unique with suburban areas outpacing dense downtown neighborhoods.
While Indianapolis’ downtown real estate market still struggles, other cities are leaning on downtown office space for new leases. Nationwide, downtown districts accounted for 42% of leasing activity in the final three months of the year, despite comprising just 35% of overall supply, CBRE reported. Leasing rose 8% year-over-year in 2025, while suburban activity fell 7% over the same period.
In Indianapolis, those numbers are much lower: Just 17% of leases during the same timeframe were located downtown.
The stats are not too worrisome to experts, as Indianapolis typically lags behind the bigger coastal markets, Forslund said. But Indianapolis will need to decide where it wants to go in the future, whether that means upgrading older buildings or converting more empty space to apartments and hotels.
“I refer to it as we are still in our teenage years, trying to figure out what we want to be,” Forslund said.
Indy employers will have to get more creative, or less picky, in the near future as supply dries up on the booming north side market. For instance, Midtown Carmel sits virtually full. And just one commercial office building for rent is under construction in Hamilton County, the Union at Fishers District, a mixed-use development with luxury office space set to open in early 2027 next to IKEA.
Elsewhere around the area, companies are constructing build-to-own properties but those won’t be available to other companies looking for open space and workstations for their employees. Those projects include Republic Airways’ corporate headquarters expansion in Carmel, a Merchants Bank project in Carmel and Elanco’s new headquarters, which opened in October on the west side of Indianapolis.
As building new office space has become more and more expensive, more landlords are choosing to reinvest in and upgrade their existing offices in a bid to make them more attractive, Svarczkopf said.
“Based on the way the market is right now, they have to upgrade in order to compete,” Svarczkopf said. “The ones that have been successful have gone through the process of reinvesting in the property.”
Even with upgrades, the competition will be hot. At Indiana Members Credit Union, employees have responded well to the new office, executives said. Many amenities, like indoor parking that is patrolled, are not available elsewhere downtown.
“It just answered a lot of the questions we had and the amenities we wanted to provide for our team,” Newett said.
Alysa Guffey writes business and development stories for IndyStar. Have a story tip? Contact her at amguffey@usatodayco.com.
IndyCar race results from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
IndyCar Series drivers are on the grid in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is set to host a day of open wheel racing.
View Indianapolis race results for the IndyCar Series below.
Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward set the front row. 85 laps laps of stock car racing are up next…
Race Report
Green flag, Alex Palou is clear out of turn one. Pato O’Ward is turned! Scott Dixon and others are collected. The caution is out.
Penalty: Felix Rosenqvist will serve a drive thru penalty for contact in turn one.
Green, Palou leads Malukas and Kirkwood into turn one.
Lap 7, Kirkwood dives inside of Malukas into turn one. Kirkwood takes 2nd away.
Lap 21, Alexander Rossi is stalled and the caution is out. Multiple pit strategies are now in play.
Palou heads for the pit lane. Power is handed the lead as Palou restarts 19th.
Green, Power leads Malukas and Lundgaard. Felix Rosenqvist jumps over the top of Kyffin Simpson, caution.
Power pits from the lead with others. Malukas is handed the lead.
Green, Malukas leads Lunagaard into turn one.
Lap 48, Malukas and others head for the pit lane. Lundgaard pits the following lap. Malukas cycles out ahead. Malukas is saving fuel.
Lap 52, Power leads Malukas by 8 seconds.
Lap 63, Alex Palou pits for the final time from 5th.
20 to go, Lundgaard and many of the leaders dive for the pit lane. A lap later, Malukas heads for the pit lane.
Malukas cycles out ahead of Lundgaard. Lundgaard trails by 1.3 seconds.
18 to go, Lundgaard is all over the gearbox of the leader! Malukas blocks the inside into turn one. He misses a shift and Lundgaard pulls on the outside. They fight for space into turn four, Lundgaard to the lead!
8 to go, Lundgaard leads Malukas by 3 seconds. He’s driving away.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race Results
May 9, 2026
IndyCar Series
Pos | Driver
1. Christian Lundgaard
2. David Malukas
3. Graham Rahal
4. Josef Newgarden
5. Alex Palou
6. Scott Dixon
7. Louis Foster
8. Dennis Hauger
9. Kyle Kirkwood
10. Nolan Siegel
11. Marcus Armstrong
12. Kyffin Simpson
13. Will Power
14. Santino Ferrucci
15. Rinus VeeKay
16. Scott McLaughlin
17. Sting Ray Robb
18. Pato O’Ward
19. Caio Collet
20. Mick Schumacher
21. Romain Grosjean
22. Marcus Ericsson
23. Felix Rosenqvist
24. Christian Rasmussen
25. Alexander Rossi
IndyCar Series
Point Standings
Pending
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Video Highlights
Pending
Links
Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Indycar
TODAY
Early clouds give way to gradual clearing, and the afternoon turns much nicer than the damp start might suggest. Highs reach the mid 70s, with a west-southwest breeze around 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. Once we get past the morning gray, this looks like a very usable day for outdoor plans, just a bit breezy at times.
TONIGHT
Clouds increase again overnight, and scattered showers with a few thunderstorms may arrive late, mainly after 3 a.m. Lows settle in the mid 50s, with a light breeze becoming northerly late. Most of the evening stays quiet, but by early Sunday morning a few neighborhoods could hear some rain on the roof.
MOTHER’S DAY
Cooler than Saturday, with a mix of clouds and some breaks of sun along with the chance for an isolated shower. Highs top out in the mid 60s, and a north breeze around 5 to 10 mph adds a slightly cooler feel. It is not a washout, but it is also not as nice as Saturday afternoon, especially south of Indianapolis where a stray shower may hang on longer.
TOMORROW NIGHT
Partly cloudy and cooler, with lows in the mid 40s and a north northeast breeze around 5 to 10 mph. The air dries out nicely, and this looks like a quiet, comfortable night across central Indiana.
MONDAY
Bright and seasonably cool with sunshine taking over. Highs reach the mid 60s, with a light north wind around 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. This looks like one of the cleaner forecast days of the stretch, great for errands, practices, or getting outside without weather trouble.
MONDAY NIGHT
Mostly clear and chilly again, with lows in the low to mid 40s and light wind fading late. Quiet weather continues, and there are no meaningful travel concerns overnight.
TUESDAY
Another decent start, then clouds begin to increase later with a chance for showers and thunderstorms after mid afternoon. Highs reach the mid 60s, with a light south southwest breeze around 5 to 10 mph. Most of the day still looks usable, but the late afternoon and evening carry the next better rain signal.
TUESDAY NIGHT
Showers and thunderstorms become more likely for part of the night before activity starts to ease later on. Lows hold in the low to mid 50s, with a south-southwest wind around 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. It does not look like a high-end severe setup right now, but it is enough of a signal to keep an eye on late evening plans.
WEDNESDAY
A leftover shower is possible early, then the trend turns drier with more sun returning through the day. Highs recover into the upper 60s, and a northwest breeze around 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph will make it feel a little brisker at times. The day improves as it goes, and by afternoon it should look much better than the early morning may suggest.
7 DAY FORECAST
After a milder Saturday and a small late Saturday night into Sunday shower window, the broader pattern settles down for Sunday night and Monday with quieter, cooler weather in place. The next more meaningful chance for rain arrives Tuesday into Tuesday night as another system approaches, then drier conditions return Wednesday as that system pulls away. Temperatures run in the 70s Saturday, slip back into the 60s Sunday through Tuesday, then edge a little milder again by midweek. Confidence is best in the quiet Sunday night through Monday stretch, while the exact timing of Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night rain could still wobble a bit.
Editor’s note: This interview is part of our ‘Meet the Candidates’ show. Watch past episodes here.
After working in education for about 15 years, Andrea Hunley won her first bid for political office four years ago in an Indiana Senate district covering the core of Indianapolis.
On May 8, Hunley, 42, officially launched her campaign for an office that she says feels closer to home: Indianapolis mayor.
About a year ahead of the May 2027 mayoral primary, Hunley sat down with IndyStar on May 5 to discuss what she hopes to accomplish as mayor, why her candidacy differs from her challengers, and how she thinks about hot-button issues like education, public safety and data centers.
At this point, Hunley will face longtime Indianapolis City-County Councilor Vop Osili and Department of Public Works administrator David Bride. Both candidates will also be invited for sit-down interviews with IndyStar in the coming weeks.
Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@indystar.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
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