A change of venue has been granted for the Division of State Court Administration and the Judicial Technology and Automation Committee, Board of Law Examiners, Disciplinary Commission, Judicial Center, and the Commission for Continuing Legal Education. More than 150 court employees and contractors in these five Supreme Court agencies will soon have a new home in the historic Kite Building at 30 South Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis.
The move, scheduled for late December, will consolidate staff now working at two locations—the National City Center and One North Capitol—into one building.
Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard and Justice Theodore Boehm—with input from agency directors—led the Supreme Court’s efforts to identify location options beginning in 2006. They were facing the impending end of the Court’s lease on each property at the end of 2007. Ultimately, two options were on the table: rent additional space at the National City Center or move the offices to 30 South Meridian.
“We looked for a location that would accommodate the growing Court staff, would be convenient and secure, and would be available at a competitive price. 30 South Meridian met or exceeded all of our expectations,” said Justice Boehm.
The 10-year lease on the new offices will not only result in substantial cost savings over the life of the contract, it will also provide staff and visitors with additional amenities, facilities, and even a little bit of history.
30 South Meridian is actually the historic L.S. Ayres building, well-known in Indiana for the large clock perched on the corner of the building’s second floor at Washington and Meridian streets, one block south of Monument Circle. The building’s architecture is attributed to Vonnegut, Bohn & Mueller, also known for designing other historic buildings in Indianapolis, including the Athenaeum and the William H. Block building. The firm was co-founded by Bernard Vonnegut, grandfather of famed Indianapolis-born author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The 8-story north section of the building was constructed in 1904 and, in addition to displaying the store’s “dry and fancy goods,” housed the famous L.S. Ayres Tea Room. The 12-story south section was constructed in 1929 as an annex to the department store, allowing Ayres to expand to include men’s clothing and additional home goods.
The original grandeur of the Tea Room is still intact on the building’s eighth floor, which houses the conference center available to all tenants of the building. In addition to an ornate boardroom, the conference center includes a large auditorium and a video conferencing facility.
Another attractive feature of the building is its strict security policy. Security personnel are always present in the lobby of the building, and elevators require a security pass to be operated. As a result, visitors to the building will need to check in with the security desk and wait to be escorted to Court offices by an employee.
Because the office will be a bit farther from the State House and Government Center, a shuttle will run on a continuous loop between the buildings throughout each weekday. All Supreme Court staff, including those housed in the State House, will have access to a free fitness facility on the building’s third floor.
In addition to the eighth-floor conference center, Court agencies will have several meeting spaces outfitted with the necessary technology to accommodate increasingly modern court and committee needs. Most meeting spaces will include easily accessible Ethernet ports and wireless access for laptop Internet connections, as well as mounted projectors and electric screens.
“A great amount of work went into this process, including looking at multiple locations and considering several proposals, contract negotiations, designing and organizing the space, and even the placement of wiring and heating vents. We are very appreciative of all the research and pavement-pounding that went into this project,” said Lilia G. Judson, Executive Director, Division of State Court Administration.
Justice Boehm led the Court’s efforts to negotiate a fair contract for the new space. Linda Loepker, Executive Director of the Board of Law Examiners and former Employment Law Services Director for State Court Administration, assisted Boehm with negotiations and has spent nearly a year coordinating the complex logistics involved in the move.
Technical staff is already working on transferring phone and computer systems and logistics of the move have also been finalized, including when files, furniture, computers and other items will be moved to 30 South Meridian.
Email addresses and phone numbers will remain the same after the move.