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Group One Thousand One LLC, an Indianapolis-based insurance holding company, announced plans Tuesday to expand local operations into the former Lids Sports Group headquarters in Zionsville after buying the building for $18.25 million.
The company, which does business as Group1001, closed on the purchase of the 150,000-square-foot building and the 16-acre property Nov. 12, according to the Boone County assessor’s office.
The company said in a written statement that it would maintain its headquarters at 301 Pennsylvania Parkway, near North Meridian Street and Interstate 465, in Indianapolis as it grows to fill the new space in Zionsville’s Creekside Corporate Park sometime in 2020.
“This expansion speaks to the hard work of our employees and our commitment to grow in Indiana,” said CEO Dan Towriss in written comments. “This purchase is an investment in our business and in the community of Zionsville. We’re proud to expand our presence to this great town to establish space for current and future growth.
Group1001 said it has not determined occupancy plans for the site. Whether the company will occupy the total 150,000 square feet will be confirmed next year.
The company declined to comment on the number new jobs it has planned, but documents filed with the town of Zionsville for a requested tax abatement indicate the expansion may bring 200 new jobs to the area.
Group1001 has more than 200 employees at its Indianapolis headquarters, and another 250 in additional offices in Zionsville, Chicago, New York and Waltham, Massachusetts.
Tennessee-based Genesco Corp.—former owner of Lids Sports Group—spent $22 million to build the headquarters at 10555 Lids Way, which opened in 2016. The campus, north of 106th Street and east of Zionsville Road, was built to house more than 750 employees. Features included a cafeteria, gym, banquet room and conference center, basketball court, outdoor patio space and walking trails.
About 400 Lids employees worked at the headquarters when it opened.
Maryland-based investment firm Ames Watson Capital LLC acquired Lids for $101 million in February, and just three years after the headquarters opened, the new ownership announced it would be moving operations to a smaller space in Indianapolis.
Genesco Corp. decided to sell the building through the local offices of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. Wayne DeLong, director of planning and economic development for Zionsville, said the property was available for six months before Group1001 expressed its interest.
Group1001 was formerly known as Delaware Life Holdings. One of its divisions is Gainbridge, which is the presenting sponsor of the Indianapolis 500.
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