Indy Beats Out Hundreds For Lowe's Center
by Lori Snyder on 7/25/2014 in indiana, retail
Ballard says competing for investments from major companies requires cities to be “at the top of their game.”
Mayor Greg Ballard says the Indianapolis location for a more than $20 million Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) customer support center beat out more than 900 other possible sites. He says the deal has been in the making for nearly two years and came down to the “very end.” Ballard tells Inside Indiana Business the city matches the company’s culture and offers a work force ready to fill approximately 1,000 positions by 2016.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Governor Mike Pence joined executives from Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) today to announce the company’s plans to locate a Customer Support Center here, creating up to 1,000 new jobs by 2016.
The Mooresville, North Carolina-based company and world’s second largest home improvement retailer plans to invest $20.5 million to purchase, renovate and equip a 140,000 square-foot office facility at Intech Park 12, 6620 Network Way on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The new Customer Support Center will support stores and internet sales, delivery services and repair services for Lowe’s customers across the United States. The facility is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2015 and will complement the company’s existing Customer Support Centers located in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“Indiana provides national companies like Lowe’s with the perfect building blocks for success,” said Pence. “We have taken all the parts required – a central location, low taxes and a skilled workforce – and assembled them perfectly here in Indiana. Indiana is a state that works for business because we have built the business climate companies like Lowe’s need for growth and success.”
Lowe’s, which currently employs nearly 7,900 people in Indiana, plans to begin hiring for positions at the new Customer Support Center immediately. EmployIndy will offer assistance during the hiring process. Available positions, beginning with the site director position, will be posted this week with additional positions to follow. Applications are accepted online at Lowes.com/careers.
“We chose Indianapolis because of the talented and experienced workforce who we believe can provide outstanding service to our customers,” said Don Easterling, Lowe’s vice president, contact center. “Indianapolis adds a strategic Midwest location to our network of Customer Support Centers located in North Carolina and New Mexico. We appreciate the support of both state and local officials that helped make this a win-win project.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC up to $5,500,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of Indianapolis will consider tax abatement and additional funding for the direct infrastructure associated with the facility at the request of Develop Indy, a business unit of the Indy Chamber.
“Internationally recognized companies, like Lowe’s, are choosing Indy as the place to expand because of our welcoming business climate, central location, and talent pool,” said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. “Indy has seen tremendous business growth this year, and as the city’s unemployment rate continues to fall, we look forward to continuing this course.”
With national companies like Lowe’s picking the state for their new operations, Indiana’s workforce growth in June was the largest in the nation. Over the past year, Indiana has added more than 53,000 Hoosiers to its labor force. The state’s unemployment rate has declined 1.7 percent over that period, which is the ninth largest decrease in the nation.
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE 100 home improvement company serving approximately 15 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2013 sales of $53.4 billion, Lowe’s has more than 1,830 home improvement and hardware stores and 260,000 employees. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
About IEDC
Created in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Mike Pence. Victor Smith serves as the Indiana Secretary of Commerce and Eric Doden is the president of the IEDC.
The IEDC oversees programs enacted by the General Assembly including tax credits, workforce training grants and public infrastructure assistance. All tax credits are performance-based. Therefore, companies must first invest in Indiana through job creation or capital investment before incentives are paid. A company who does not meet its full projections only receives a percentage of the incentives proportional to its actual investment. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov
Source: The Indiana Economic Development Corp. Indy Beats Out Hundreds For Lowe’s Center. Inside Indiana Business. N.p., 22 July 2014. Web. 24 July 2014