James Briggs

james.briggs@indystar.com

Salesforce is planning to add hundreds of high-paying technology jobs in Downtown Indianapolis, and change the name on the state's tallest building.

The San Francisco cloud computing giant has leased about 250,000 square feet at Chase Tower on Monument Circle as part of a massive expansion. The deal includes naming rights, meaning it will soon be called Salesforce Tower.

Salesforce.com Inc. plans to hire more than 800 people Downtown by 2021 and invest $40 million over 10 years as part of its expansion, the company announced Friday. That's on top of an Indianapolis workforce that already includes nearly 1,400 employees. Salesforce plans to begin moving into Chase Tower in early 2017.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO Scott McCorkle described the jobs as "high-paying tech jobs," but declined to provide an average salary.

"The hiring is all disciplines," he said. "Engineering, finance, customer success team, IT — every part of the company."

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The move into one of the city's most prominent buildings is yet another splash for Salesforce in Indianapolis. Salesforce in June 2013 reached a deal to acquire ExactTarget for $2.5 billion. Since then, Salesforce has steadily added workers and made a name for itself by opposing the the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act and advocating for LGBT rights in Indiana.

The company is investing in Indianapolis because of the business environment in the city and state, McCorkle said. He called Gov. Mike Pence a "leader who truly understands the potential for the business community here in Indiana."

Yet, McCorkle also suggested Salesforce's expansion wouldn't have happened if the General Assembly and Pence hadn't scaled back RFRA to ensure the law didn't override local ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Our investment in Indiana is possible because of the positive business climate created by current and past leaders, access to amazing talent created by our leading universities, and a vibrant, innovative culture," McCorkle said. "This investment is also possible because of the RFRA fix a year ago and because of the longstanding human rights ordinance in Indianapolis. As a company, we are committed to protecting our employees and customers from discrimination because equality is a core value at Salesforce."

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Pence, who stood next to McCorkle during his remarks, said Salesforce's announcement is about the future.

"The reason Indiana's economy has the momentum that we have is because we set aside all of our differences when it comes to jobs for Hoosiers," Pence said.

Pence touted tech growth in Indiana, noting that last year 59 companies announced they would add 4,622 jobs in the coming years. Tech jobs in Indiana have an average salary of $72,000 a year, Pence said.

"Tech is on the move in Central Indiana," Pence said. "Today’s announcement is such a capstone to that and I couldn’t be more excited."

Salesforce could receive up to $17.2 million in tax credits and $750,000 in training grants from the state if it meets its hiring goals, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The city is considering additional incentives.

Salesforce already leases space at three buildings in Indianapolis: the Guaranty building at 20 N. Meridian St., the Gibson building at 433 N. Capitol Ave. and the Century building at 36 S. Pennsylvania St. The company plans to maintain its operations in each of those buildings.

Rumors persisted for months that Salesforce wanted to lease space in Chase Tower. The company had considered building its own tower or leasing space elsewhere before settling on the landmark building at 111 Monument Circle.

"We need space," McCorkle said. "It’s just fortunate the space was there in the tower."

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The 48-story, 1 million-square-foot Chase Tower offers the best views in the city at one of the most desirable locations. Yet, the building's occupancy rate last year slumped to around 70 percent, second-worst among the city's 13 tallest buildings, according to real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Salesforce's lease is expected to accelerate improvements to Downtown Indianapolis' office market, which for years has had a vacancy rate of around 20 percent. The vacancy rate dropped to 18.2 percent during the first quarter, a six-year low according to real estate firm Colliers International, and will dip lower once the Salesforce lease is factored in. Salesforce will become the largest tenant at Chase Tower.

"Salesforce will spur the continued growth of our city’s vibrant downtown, tech-forward business community and talented workforce," said Adam Broderick, managing director for real estate firm JLL. Broderick and John Robinson of JLL represented Chase Tower owner CommonWealth REIT in the deal. Jenna Barnett, president of Newmark Knight Frank Halakar, represented Salesforce.

Chase Tower, built in 1989, was known as the Bank One building until 2005. JPMorgan Chase acquired Chicago-based Bank One in 2004.

Chase occupied about 425,000 square feet at its peak, but has been shedding space for about eight years. The New York bank still occupies about 200,000 square feet in the building.

The Chase Tower lease follows Salesforce's pattern of putting its name atop skyscrapers. The company is building a 61-story skyscraper in San Francisco, also dubbed Salesforce Tower, that will become the tallest building west of the Mississippi River when it's completed. Salesforce in March announced that it leased space in a prominent 41-story New York City building that likewise will be renamed Salesforce Tower New York. Salesforce also renamed a tower in London after initially being met with resistance.

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In addition to announcing the Chase Tower lease and hiring plans, McCorkle said Salesforce's staff has committed to providing 100,000 volunteer hours to Indianapolis-area nonprofits.

"The Salesforce team," Pence said, "has been making a difference in Indiana like few other companies."

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.

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