The Justus Cos. planning to relocate HQ from Indianapolis to Noblesville

The Justus Cos. plans to build a 20,000 square foot headquarters building in Noblesville. (Rendering courtesy city of Noblesville)

The Justus Cos., a real estate development firm that has been based in Indianapolis for 114 years, plans to relocate its headquarters to Noblesville, the city announced Tuesday.

The firm plans to construct a $7.3 million, 20,000-square-foot building that will house executives, IT professionals, accountants and employees in regional operations, marketing and communications, human resources, construction and administrative support.

The Justus Cos., 1398 N. Shadeland Ave., will relocate its 23 employees to the two-story office building. It will also hire five new full-time employees by 2035 with an average salary of $72,000, according to an economic development agreement.

The building will be located on an 11-acre property at the firm’s Promenade of Noblesville development at the northeast corner of Little Chicago Road and State Road 32. The Justus Cos. will invest $5 million in the building.

Economic Development Director Andrew Murray told members of the Noblesville City Council on Monday night that The Justus Cos. will occupy about 17,000 square feet of the building. A future tenant will fill the remaining 3,000 square feet, Murray said.

A construction schedule for the office building has not yet been determined. Designs for the building will go through the city’s approval process.

The Noblesville City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve an economic development agreement and designate an economic revitalization area for The Justus Cos.

The economic development agreement includes a tax abatement plan that will reduce real property taxes on the headquarters by 80% over the next 10 years. The city will also provide the lesser of $25,000 or 50% of road impact fees assessed against the project.

“We are grateful to [CEO] Walt Justus and his team at The Justus Companies, for putting their trust and investment in the City of Noblesville as the future home of their headquarters,” Mayor Chris Jensen said in written remarks. “They parallel our commitment in making long-term investments in our residents and placing importance on being a community where everyone can work, live, and play.”

The Justus Cos. has been planning Promenade at Noblesville since it acquired the property in 2013 from Equicor Development Inc.

Promenade Apartments, which opened in 2020, has 15 apartment buildings with 300 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units at the northeast corner of State Road 32 and Little Chicago Road.

The developer in 2022 also announced Midwestern retail giant Meijer Inc. will build a 90,000-square-foot grocery store at the Promenade at Noblesville. The store is expected to open this summer.

Construction on Promenade Trails, a 55-and-older active-adult community, is also nearing completion at the northwest corner of State Road 32 and Little Chicago Road in Noblesville.

Guy Justus founded the firm now known as The Justus Cos. as Justus Contracting Co. in 1910 on the east side of Indianapolis, according to the company’s website.

During the 1940s, the company installed sidewalks and streets and constructed nearly every house from 10th Street to 16th Street and from Emerson Avenue to Ritter Avenue on the city’s east side.

The firm also built the first Marriott Hotel in Indiana on the east side of Indianapolis in 1973 and later focused on constructing apartments, condominiums and senior communities in the city.

Walt Justus became the fourth-generation president of the company in 1987.

The firm expanded into Carmel when it built the Westwood Estates in 2005, Liberty Row Townhomes in 2008 and The Bridgewater Apartments in 2015.