Lowe's Bringing 1,000 Jobs To Northwest Indy

There was a celebratory mood outside what will soon become Lowe’s newest customer support center on the city’s northwestside.

The 140,000-square-foot facility is expected to start operating in February with 200 new employees and may have a total of 1,000 people working there by 2016. It will support stores and Internet sales, delivery services and repairs.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says the project is good for both the state and its capital city.

"It's not only great news for Hoosiers and Hoosier families who are going to enjoy good paying jobs here, but, also it's unquestionably going to be a conversation starter for a lot of companies that may be looking at Indiana already or may look at a Fortune 100 company like Lowe's and say 'Well, they chose Indiana, maybe we need to take an even harder look,'" he said.

The $20.5 million project includes purchasing, renovating and equipping the facility.

Lowe’s is getting $5.5 million in conditional tax credits from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and $100,000 for training grants. The tax incentives are phased in as Lowe’s begins to hire.

Pence says it’s a fair deal.

"The best way to create incentives for companies is to tie those incentives to the jobs when they actually appear," he said.  " I think it's a sound investment that we believe will pay dividends for generations to come."

Indianapolis will also consider tax abatement and funding for infrastructure for the project.

The city spent almost two years recruiting Lowes. 

Indianapolis is one of two locations where the company is locating new customer support centers. Lowe’s Vice President Don Easterling says the company looked at 900 sites, but Indianapolis’ location made it a nice fit.

"The location compliments our other two sites because we've got one on the east coast in North Carolina.  We've got one out in Albuquerque that is Mountain Time," said Easterling.  "This puts a site right up in the northeastern corridor where the bulk of our customers are and then they will complement our other sites."

Easterling anticipates that about 95 percent of the people hired to work at the center will come from Indianapolis, although he says that is not a guarantee.

He adds that pay is competitive, but would not elaborate on the salaries for the new employees only that they are not minimum wage jobs.

He says those who are hired will need at least a high school diploma with some customer service experience.

Pence thinks if Indiana wants to continue to bring in larger companies like Lowe’s, it needs resources and programs to get Hoosiers the skills needed to fill the jobs.

"I really do believe that focusing in the years ahead on making sure we have the best educated and best skilled work force in the country is going to be key in unlocking an unlimited future in the Indiana economy."