The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-06-19
NEW COMPANY is TO
HANDLE CONSTRUCTION
Chamber of Commerce Has
Option for Purchase
Bowman Elder in Charge
of DeaI--Work to Start in
Two Months.


merce within a year will have a new
home in ten-story $4,000. 900 Cham
ber Of Commerce Bldg. to be erected
at 316-320 N. Meridian St., officials
announced today.
The tenth floor and part of the
ninth floor of the new building. on
the present site Of the Inter.South-
ern Life Insurance Company, will
be occupied by the Chamber of Com
merce, according to terms of
twenty-five-year lease, signed by
Frank s. Fishback, president. and
John B. Reynolds general secretary
of the Chamber. The remainder of
the building will be devoted to Of
flee space, with storerooms on the
first floor and garage in the base
ment
BY terms Of the lease, the Cham
Der of Commerce can purchase the
entire building within fifteen years.
Company Formed
! The new structure is TO be erected
by the Chamber of Commerce Build
ing Company, just formed, with
these officers: George c. Forty, Jr.,
president; George B. Elliott, vice
president; C. Milton Kelly. treasurer.
and Bowman Elder, secretary and
assistant treasurer. The company
is incorporated for $1,000. 900 capital,
Of which $1,200,00O is preferred
stock and 100000 common.
Details of the transaction were
handled by Elder, realtor. The price
for the site was $4,000, while the
cost of the building will be about
81, 900, 900, 1t is said. Detailed plans
are incomplete. Work on the build
ing is expected to start within two
months.
The ground upon which the struc-
ture will be erected has an eighty
five foot Meridian st. frontage, and
depth of 1876 feet. 1t includes the
Inter-Southern site, and the ground
occupied by an apartment building
to the north Of the Insurance Com
pany.
The Chamber has sought a new
location since selling its present
home, 2S S. Meridian St., to L. S.
Ayres and Company in 1923. In It's
new offices $4,000 square feet of
space will be available, in compari-
son with its present space of 49,
900 square feet The layout of the
building will be influenced by the
| top floor plan.
According to Fishback, on the
tenth floor will be general offices
of the Chamber of Commerce, COM
mittee rooms, the cafe, kitchens and
lounge. Additional Offices will oc-
cury part of the ninth Aoor.
Space Spoken For
Elder, who will manage the build.
ing, has announced that one half
of the remaining available office
space has been spoken for. The
Inter-Suuthe-n home, which over
looks University Park, was erected
about 1880 by Harold Hibben,
founder of the Hibben- Hollweg Com
pany. 1t was occupied for many
years as a residence.
After the Chamber Of Commerce
sold its present building, commit
tee, headed by Charles F. Coffin, a
former president, was named to
secure a new home. Many sites
were viewed, but all rejected, and
the committee was ally dissolved.
The board Of directors made itself
committee to select a site.
Transfer Of the site from the
Inter-Southern Company was OBJ
tanned this week by Elder.
The present Chamber of Com
merce was organized in 1912. when
the Indianapolis Commercial Club,
the Trade Association. Freight
bureau, Manufacturers Association,
and the Adscript Club consolidated.
The new building will face the
southernmost end Of the Indiana
War Memorial Plaza. 1t will be just
south of the Indianapolis Athletic
Club.