Jefferson Parish’s GEOCENT Expands Headquarters
August 06, 2010
This week, Jefferson Parish issued the first incentive payment of $216,000 to GEOCENT, retaining 90 jobs and creating an additional nine new jobs. These retained positions have an average salary of $73,000, while the new positions have an average salary of $65,000.
The parish's economic incentive fund was critical in retaining GEOCENT which outgrew its Elmwood headquarters in 2008. The company considered relocating to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after receiving an attractive proposal from the Mississippi Development Authority. The Jefferson Parish Council and Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) developed an incentive package that maintained GEOCENT in Jefferson Parish, committing them to retain all existing positions and create 75 new jobs over three years. If all obligations are met over the three year contract, GEOCENT will receive $645,000.
"GEOCENT, as a technology leader and economic driver for this region, is a company that any community would be proud to claim as its own," said Dottie Stephenson, JEDCO's deputy director. "As GEOCENT grows, it is attracting new talent from across the country."
Jefferson Parish's economic incentive fund is designed to help the parish compete for new jobs and investments. Projects are negotiated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the number of new jobs, payroll to be generated, location and deal structure. While the fund is usually earmarked to attract companies from outside the region, in this case it was used to retain jobs and investment that potentially could have relocated outside Louisiana.
Jefferson Parish officials, working with JEDCO, convinced GEOCENT to keep its headquarters and lucrative jobs in Metairie when they signed a three year incentive agreement last year. "We're proud to have such a fast-growing company based in Metairie," said Jefferson Parish Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng. "Our aggressive outreach efforts are assisting GEOCENT with their current expansion and allowing the company to compete nationally."
Geocent was founded in 2008 by combining the information technology expertise of Diamond Data Systems with the aerospace, defense and nuclear capabilities of Prescient Technologies. The company is a leading provider of information technologies, engineering and technical support to customers including the federal government, state and local governments and many commercial clients.
In May, Geocent was recognized as the second fastest growing company in the New Orleans area by CityBusiness Magazine, increasing its revenue from $8.5 million in 2007 to $15.5 million in 2009.
