The City of Independence wanted to use its fiber to the home system to help attract business. The City secured an Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) Zone designation through the State and used it to recruit a contact center to an old shopping center previously left vacant by a church. The County provided a grant to fund the fiber connection to the property, and SEDCOR backstopped the City with negotiations and process. FCR opened in 2015 with 80 employees and now has over 200.
Team Effort
- OEDA provided legislative support for the creation and expansion of the State’s E-Commerce Zone.
- SEDCOR provided resources and negotiation assistance.
- Polk County provided a Business Development Grant for $27,000 to fund the fiber connection.
Community Benefit
- More than 200 jobs created with $6 million in annual payroll.
- $1 million capital investment to retrofit the building.
- Demonstrated to the community and other businesses the value of economic development tools such as E-Commerce. In this case, staff had been communicating with FCR for almost a year but when told that the City had secured the E-Commerce designation, FCR’s president indicated, “that was when I got in my car and drove to Independence.”