The Telvista Company (TelvistaSM), a Dallas-based provider of outsourced technical support, customer service and help desk solutions, will join Texas governor Rick Perry and city officials from Odessa, Texas at 1:30 pm CST on Thursday, December 11 to break ground on the company's newest contact center. Upon completion in the second quarter of 2004, the 50,000 square foot facility will have 500 workstations and employ 500-600 agents and management personnel. The center will facilitate corporate growth and provide inbound support for Telvista's current and future customers.
This project is the result of an agreement between Telvista and the Odessa Development Corporation (ODC), a governmental entity created in 1997 to help stimulate the city's economic growth. As part of a $3.8 million incentive package approved by the Odessa City Council, Telvista will receive a $2,839,806 grant from the ODC to help offset the cost of bringing its new facility online. The grant will be paid in two parts, with Telvista receiving the first installment immediately; the second installment will be paid upon the facility being certified for occupancy.
Telvista will also receive a $1-million loan to be repaid at 2.5 percent interest over a five-year period. The city of Odessa is also expected to approve certain tax abatements for a period of 10 years. In exchange, Telvista will purchase a 6.25-acre parcel of land from the Odessa Industrial Development Corporation, a separate government group that owns the business park in which the facility will be located. Telvista will also hire local subcontractors to construct the facility and plans to form partnerships with the University of Texas Permian Basin and Odessa College to implement job-training programs for agents and management personnel employed by the facility. As part of this process, Odessa College has applied for a job skills development and training grant from the Texas Workforce Commission.
Telvista chose Odessa based on the city's central Texas location and proximity to its corporate headquarters. A 45-minute flight from Dallas, Odessa also satisfied a number of traditional site selection criteria, including superior quality of life, suitable population demographics, the presence of educational facilities and a technology grid capable of supporting the new facility and any future growth. City leaders also worked aggressively to bring Telvista to Odessa. As with all the communities in which it operates, Telvista will make a commitment to environmental stewardship and economic sustainability through community outreach programs.
"I am extremely pleased to announce this agreement with the city of Odessa," said Suzy Weaver, Vice President and COO of Telvista. "It is a partnership that will not only enable Telvista to continue meeting the needs of our customers, but will also dramatically benefit Odessa and its surrounding communities through the creation of 500 new jobs and the ongoing diversification of its economy."
"We are thrilled to have Telvista as our newest corporate citizen and look forward to a long relationship," said Odessa Mayor Larry Melton.
"The ODC board has consistently taken a very aggressive role in recruiting new business and job opportunities to Odessa," said Neil McDonald, Director of Economic Development for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce. "We all look forward to this new venture together."
About The ODC/OIDC
The Odessa Development Corporation was created to expand and diversify the industrial base in Odessa. The Odessa Industrial Development Corporation is a private corporation whose stockholders are individuals and businesses dedicated to economic development in Ector County.