East-side biz incubator’s new owner is old owner

The Indianapolis Enterprise Center on the near-east side has been acquired by a local investor group led by the former owner of the troubled business incubator.

Alcatraz Investments LLC said Tuesday that it purchased the building at 55 S. State St. for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition comes nearly a year after Wells Fargo Bank attempted to foreclose on the building by suing Indianapolis Enterprise Center LLC to recoup a $3.1 million loan balance.

Scott Meyers, president of Alcatraz Investments, sold the 188,000-square-foot incubator to the group known as Indianapolis Enterprise Center LLC in 2007.

At that time, the center had 72 tenants and was 96-percent occupied. Occupancy since has fallen to 64 percent, said Meyers, who previously owned the center for a couple of years before selling it to devote more attention to his self-storage business.

“We’re genuinely excited about the opportunity to add this property back into our portfolio, having sold it back in 2007,” Meyers said in a prepared statement. "The timing was perfect, as demand for storage and Industrial space is growing in this market, and the need for small, affordable office space has never been greater than during the recession.”

The property will receive several upgrades and renovations to compensate for the previous owner’s lack of upkeep, he said.

“It just had bare-bones maintenance done, if you can call it that,” Meyers said.

Improvements planned by Meyers during the next six months include renovating the common areas, lobby, break rooms and conference rooms, in addition to the parking lot. Landscaping also will be improved, and the heating and air conditioning system upgraded, he said.

The 78-year-old building once served as a grocery warehouse for A&P.

National Library Bindery Co. of Indiana Inc. is one of the center’s larger tenants. Half Price Books, Bosma Industries and HealthNet Inc. are former tenants.