The locally based division of Germany-based Siemens AG plans to build a 225,000-sf, $40 million call center next year in the Quadrangle Office Park adjacent its two existing 225,000-sf buildings.

Siemens also leases 80,000 sf at the nearby Central Florida Research Park next to the University of Central Florida campus. The company's telecom-switch factor in suburban Lake Mary, Fl. takes up 100,000 sf. That would give Siemens a total of 855,000 sf of leased office in metro Orlando.

The estimated total hard construction cost of the five structures is $170 million or about $200 per sf, construction industry estimators familiar with comparable projects tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

Orange County commissioners are expected to approve a $367,000 economic incentive package this week to make sure Siemens goes through with plans to build the call center. The $367,000 would be paid to Siemens over six years.

The state also will contribute $1.5 million on promises the company will create a stipulated number of high-paying jobs.

Siemens plans to create 615 new positions. Nineteen managers will be paid about $98,000 each. About 236 other professionals will receive salaries averaging $54,000 each. The remaining 360 administrative support staffers will be paid salaries averaging $34,000. The current average wage in Orange County is $30,000, according to the county's economic development division.

The incentive package issue comes as Siemens nationwide is laying off 17,000 employees, 23 at its Lake Mary telecommunications office.

The staff reductions followed the company's reported third-quarter loss of $427 million versus a profit of $385 million in the same period last year.

The operating loss excluded a one-time gain of $2.8 billion from the sale of its interest in Infineon, a microchip maker. Total third-quarter revenue was up 20% to $18.8 billion.

Instant Insights /

Siemens' Planned Call Center in Line for $1.5 Mil in County-State Tax Credits

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