In a former parking lot of the Indianapolis International Airport nestled between Interstate 465, Sam Jones Expressway and South High School Road, Infosys will begin construction on a U.S. education and training center. Eventually, the India-based company will build a $245 million campus to be the hub of its North American operations.
At Friday’s groundbreaking, state and city leaders commended the company and tried to put the scope of the investment into perspective.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett called it the “largest commitment to job creation in the history of our state.” He and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb focused on what this will mean to the west side of Indianapolis, Central Indiana and the Midwest.
“Today is the very definition of a renaissance,” Holcomb said. “As a leader in manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, sports development and conventions, the list goes on and on. And now that we find ourselves in this new digital economy and information technology woven into every business model … Indiana now, indeed, is known as a leading voice out there on this new frontier.”
Holcomb called this the “Infosys shot heard ‘round the world.”
Infosys was started in 1981 and offers technology services and consulting in 45 countries for enterprises and organizations going through digital transformation. Locally, the company works with Eli Lilly and Allison Transmission, as well as 40 other clients in the Midwest through its temporary Indianapolis offices. As the economy continues to improve, it is getting harder to find tech-skilled employees, Infosys president Ravi Kumar said. He called it an acute shortage of talent.
“This endeavor here will be the largest tech, publicly-traded, university in the United States,” Kumar said. “We are a company with roots in education and learning. We do believe that if talent doesn’t exist, we need to create it.”
The first phase will see an investment of $35 million to construct a 125,000 sq. ft. training center and 250 person dorm to train U.S. employees and clients who want to re-skill their own employees.
This is just the beginning. Infosys will continue to take over the old airport terminal and build a 786,000 sq. ft. campus over 141 acres. The company has committed to creating 3,000 new jobs by 2023.
The City of Indianapolis has purchased the land from the Indianapolis Airport Authority and will sell it to Infosys for $1. In all, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. will provide up to $56.5 million in tax credits and another $6 million in conditional tax credits through the Hoosier Business Investment program based on the investment.