ProVisions Accepting Proposals for Former FEMA Call Center

September 29, 2009

by ProVisions

Developer Aims to Create Jobs with Unique Gulf Coast Facility

LONG BEACH, MS – September 29, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — The Long Beach Call Center (www.longbeachcallcenter.com) – a 19,044-square-foot “plug-n-play” call center and office complex ProVisions, LLC is offering for sale or lease – presents unusually promising news for a state whose unemployment recently reached 10.5 percent. With state-of-the-art capabilities and strategic location on the Gulf Coast, the Long Beach Call Center has the potential to become a workplace for professionals with a predicted increase in job opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for customer service representatives is projected to increase by 21 percent or more between 2006 and 2016, especially for those working in call centers. “Employment of customer service representatives may grow at a faster rate in call centers than in other areas,” the BLS’s Web site states.

ProVisions, LLC and its affiliates expect the Long Beach Call Center to combine a purposeful focus on one of Mississippi’s most successful industries with standards of quality, technology and efficiency unrivaled by any other Gulf Coast-based call center. Several companies with Mississippi call centers have already benefitted from recent government incentives that encourage a “supportive business climate,” according to the Mississippi Development Authority. BellSouth, SkyTel, Waste Management and Comcast have utilized economically conducive legislation, including the Mississippi Broadband Technology Development Act and the Mississippi Advantage Jobs Incentive Program. Not-for-profit organizations also reinforce the Gulf Coast’s perception as an ideal location for call centers. The National Association of Call Centers, which calls itself “the leading voice for the call center industry,” is based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. And a New Orleans, Louisiana convention titled “Answering the Call” will be hosted by the American Teleservices Association from Oct. 4-7, providing programs, events and speeches of interest to call center professionals.

The Long Beach Call Center occupies about four acres of land and can accommodate both single and multi-tenant uses. The facility includes 150 existing phone lines, auxiliary back-up power with auto-transfer capability, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) designed for high-density occupation. Its parking lot contains more than 200 parking spaces, giving it a ratio of 11 spaces per 1,000 square feet of building area. These attributes allow the Long Beach Call Center to operate 24 hours per day, maximizing its call center potential. Because of its location at 21120 Johnson Road, the facility’s presence within the Long Beach Industrial Park lets it use the region’s well-developed, intermodal transportation system. I-10, U.S. 49 and four accessible ports along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast place the Long Beach Call Center within a day’s drive of three-quarters of the United States’ population. The Long Beach Call Center is a former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) facility. The United States Homeland Security Department agency leased the call center space between September and December 2008. Before ProVisions purchased the Long Beach Call Center in 2007, it was used as a call center under the ownership of Oreck Corporation’s customer service division.

PROVISIONS, LLC – headquartered in Bingham Farms, Michigan, and with offices throughout Mississippi, including Long Beach – is a leading real estate, economic development and advisory firm. For more information, call (601) 939-0065 or visit www.longbeachcallcenter.com. For information on ProVisions, LLC, please visit www.provisions.ws.

Contact:
Matt DeWitt, 248-988-9341, mdewitt (at) provisions (dot) ws
Daniel Sczomak, 248-988-9341, dsczomak (at) provisions (dot) ws