One of the “largest jobs announcement in 20 years” will be made Wednesday, according to a press release by the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation (GO-EDC).
Details about the 830 jobs that Alorica is reportedly bringing to Owensboro will be discussed at the press conference to be held at the Owensboro Convention Center (501 W 2nd Steet) at 1:30 pm Wednesday, September 21, 2016.
Alorica is an Irvine, California-based company that provides customer management solutions to over 600 companies, according to their website, which says they are in the “business of creating smiles” by keeping customers happy. Those customer management solutions include offering tech support, direct response, customer care, and revenue generation for clients.
The new location will be the former BB&T building at 230 Frederica Street.
Owensboro Living will bring you up-to-the-minute reports from the press conference tomorrow to bring you details as quickly as we can.
But what’s on our mind this afternoon is the bigger story this announcement could allude to.
Is this a direct result of the first few phases of downtown development? Or could this be the start of an even bigger round of development?
Downtown residents have already been wishing for a 24/7 convenience store or market so they don’t have to travel to one of the corridors for daily necessities. With 800 more people downtown daily, who will be the first to respond to that need?
How might this new workforce impact evening hours at already-established downtown restaurants?
Can downtown Owensboro support such an influx of a 24/7 workforce that Alorica is bringing?
GO-EDC President and CEO, Madison Silvert, thinks so. “The backbone is already there. Our downtown is designed for that. It may take some adjusting, though,” Silvert said. “But the more exciting thing to me is what other opportunities could come from this.” Like a late-night, casual diner that workers could walk to, for example.
“We see these types of large deals on a regular basis in the early stages. But it takes a lot of pieces coming together to make it happen like this.” – Madison Silvert, President & CEO, GO-EDC.
Beyond the jobs, what else could Alorica bring to Owensboro?
We’ll find out more Wednesday, but a quick glance at Almorica’s website shows that the company has a very philanthropic nature which emphasizes giving back to the community. Employees are encouraged to volunteer for local charities and organizations which encapsulate their passions. The company partners with local schools and colleges to provide community education classes. They are committed to the environment and pledge to “leave an impact, not a footprint.”
All of that could be good news for Owensboro citizens as well as non-profits and charities.
