Angie's List Withdraws Expansion Proposal Over RFRA

Indianapolis-based Angie's List is the latest company to demonstrate its concern with Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The comsumer review service and digital publisher announced Saturday it is withdrawing its proposal for a multi-million dollar campus expansion on the near east side from City-County Council consideration.

"We are putting the 'Ford Building Project' on hold until we fully understand the implications of the freedom restoration act on our employees, both current and future," said Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle. The council was expected to vote on the proposal Monday.

"Angie's List is open to all and discriminates against none and we are hugely disappointed in what this bill represents," said Oesterle.

The company says it will begin reviewing alternatives for the expansion of its headquarters immediately.

Earlier this year, Angie's List asked the city to chip in $18.3 million to help pay for the project. The company promised to spend an additional $40 million on the expansion that it said would add 1,000 new jobs and shift 800 more workers to the near east side headquarters.

Indianapolis would in return spend $2 million on streets and infrastructure, and up to $16.3 million in tax-increment financing funds to build a parking garage and move a school warehouse from an old Ford assembly plant in the 1200 block of East Washington Street that's part of the company's expansion plans.