Permanent Call Center to open by mid December

By XAVIER ZARAGOZA
The Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, August 28, 2008 1:44 PM MDT


By mid December the call center on 10th Street is anticipated to be in full production, with about 300 employees processing calls from around the country.


By Xavier Zaragoza/The Douglas Dispatch Construction crews have torn down a portion of the former Bayless building, which by mid December will be transformed into a call center.

Formerly known as the Bayless supermarket, the building has undergone renovations that will accommodate the call center employees, said Curtis Shook, City Manager for Douglas.

Up to now, about 18,000 to 20,000 square feet have been removed from the east side of the building.

That portion of the building will be used to expand the parking lot of the center to about 500 parking slots, Shook said.

The remaining 40,000 square feet will be used for staff and employees of the call center.

Construction crews have worked about 10 hours a day in the building, removing old freezers, the ceiling and other material from the interior.

What remains now is an empty shell that is being upgraded with cooling and heating ducts, electrical wiring and plumbing.

Shook said he was pleased with the City’s deal on the call center. The construction bid came under the proposed budget by $600,000. The loan package received a bonus when the original proposal of 7 percent interest came back at 5 _ percent interest, which will save the City about $1.3 million over a 20 year period, he said.

The City also received $275,000 from the State of Arizona’s Economic Strength grant. This money will go to improved 9th and 10th Street around the call center.

“There will be a lot of traffic in this area and so we want to widen and resurface the streets,” he said.

Even though the center is not yet in production, the area around the center has witnessed some economic development.

 The Italiano Restaurant and the Burger Shack have opened as well as the General Dollar variety store. And as the call center on 10th Street goes into full production, more growth is expected for the area.

 

Copyright © 2012 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    J. T. Borgman wrote on Aug 30, 2008 10:46 AM:

    " It is nice to see new jobs come to Douglas. However, I feel it is not "true" economic growth for the Douglas area. The city government had to purchase and revovate the building for private business. This is called socialism. The economy of private enterprise is not strong enough to do it on it's own. Citizens will now expect government to do the things that private industry should be doing. You have to ask yourself the question, Should tax dollars be used to subsidise private business? Will they give my business money also? "

    Ramon wrote on Aug 29, 2008 1:25 PM:

    " It's great that the city is revamping the surrounding vicinity around the call center. What about the rest of the city? This only validates my opinion. Improvement and modernization to our city, only happens when outsiders come in! What about the development of the much highly and anticipated government plaza? Was this another hotel hoax? What's happening to the old PD bldg.? Another storage area for the city! Still pondering on the actual cost of the water fountain at 10th street park. Is the cost going to exceed $100,00.00!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

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