Lowe’s $20.5M Call Center to Bring 1,000+ Jobs to Indianapolis

by Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Home-improvement retail giant Lowe’s has officially unveiled its plans to establish a massive call center on the northwest side of Indianapolis that would lead to the creation of up to 1,000 jobs by 2016.

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the company will invest a total of $20.5 million in the acquisition, renovation and equipment of a 140,000-square-foot office building at Intech Park 12, 6620 Network Way. The property hosted Eli Lilly and Co.’s information technology department from 2003 to 2013.

Scheduled to become operational in early 2015, the new customer service center will support stores and Internet sales, delivery services and repair services for the company’s customers across the United States.

Lowe’s, which currently employs nearly 7,900 people in Indiana, plans to begin the hiring process immediately.

Based on its job creation plans, the company has been offered up to $5.5 million in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants. These funds are performance-based, meaning they can only be claimed once workers are hired.

“We chose Indianapolis because of the talented and experienced workforce who we believe can provide outstanding service to our customers,” Don Easterling, Lowe’s vice president, contact center, said in a news release. “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.”

“Indiana provides national companies like Lowe’s with the perfect building blocks for success,” added Governor 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.”

The City of Indianapolis is also considering tax abatement and additional funding for the direct infrastructure associated with the new facility.

Based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s Companies Inc. 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.

Photo credits: loopnet.com