BRAC, work force key to Verizon's decision

City faced 'very stiff competition' for the 1,300-job project. Last November, Huntsville officials were contacted by a business consultant who was evaluating the city for a leading wireless company.

It was later learned that the company was Verizon Wireless, which was looking for a home for a new call center. City economic and elected leaders began work on landing the center. The Alabama Development Office and Gov. Bob Riley soon would get involved.
The result of that work was announced Thursday, 10 months later - a Verizon Wireless headquarters and service center will be built in Huntsville; it will create 1,300 jobs with a starting salary of $26,000. The company will become one of the community's top private-sector employers.

"There's no better sense of satisfaction than when a world-class company that has the ability to go virtually anywhere puts its stamp of approval on us," said Brian Hilson, president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. "This is something that is going to have a big impact."

The announcement of the deal followed months of negotiations on everything from incentives to site selection to quality of life, from infrastructure to work-force availability.
Verizon would not identify the other areas interested in the center. But competition for the project was fierce, officials said.

Said Hilson, "They didn't tell us, but we knew from the start that it was very, very stiff competition. They looked at other states. They're very precise about their evaluation, but we feel pretty good about our community and state."

Another economic development in Huntsville had an impact on Verizon's decision - the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's decision last year to move thousands of defense jobs here. Hilson said that was a key point.

"We immediately told (Verizon), 'You're ideal for us, and we're ideal for you because we've got 4,700 BRAC jobs coming here, and the availability of your jobs to what we call "trailing spouses" is outstanding,' " Hilson said following Thursday's announcement.
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Sunday, September 24, 2006:
Posted online by the Administrator at Huntsville Alabama Real Estate News


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