Westlake Village, Calif.-based Guitar Center Inc. is seeking property tax abatements as part of its plan to hire 246 employees to staff a call center on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
Guitar Center said it will open the 30,000-square-foot call center in space that is currently vacant at 6625 Network Way within Intech Park.
The company plans to add the 246 jobs by 2015 as part of a relocation from South Bend.
IBJ reported in late August that The Woodwind & Brasswind, a 33-year-old retailer of musical instruments, was closing its call center in South Bend and moving the operations to Indianapolis by the end of the year.
The 100 employees at the South Bend call center have been given the option to remain with the company and relocate to Indianapolis.
The Woodwind & Brasswind filed for bankruptcy in November 2006. It was acquired the following year by Guitar Center for about $37 million. Guitar Center has since been acquired by Bain Capital LLC in Boston.
Guitar Center plans to invest about $950,000 in new equipment at the call center. An abatement would result in property-tax savings of $43,430 during a 10-year period.
The jobs would pay an average of $16.42 an hour.
Guitar Center has seven retail locations in Indiana, including a store in Castleton, as well as a distribution center in Brownsburg.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission will preliminarily consider the tax-abatement request on Wednesday.
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