There’s great news for Hamilton. In the history of not just the city but the county as a whole, this is a massive development. For the first time, as many as 682 new jobs are up for grab. A giant call centre will occupy part of the once abandoned Elder Beerman building in downtown Hamilton, city officials announced Monday. Colorado-based Startek USA Inc. is about to open the proposed call-centre, generating full-time jobs, which would sum up to $15.7m in annual payroll, Ohio Gov. John Kasich's announced.
This development is no less than historic as the number of new jobs easily exceeds the numbers in years gone by, and this is expected to usher in the county’s economic revival. “When you are talking that many jobs, you are not only talking about the residents of Hamilton, but also people who live in our surrounding Butler County. Communities in the region will benefit as well," Jody Gunderson, director of economic development for Hamilton, said. The building, which has been largely abandoned since 2009, stands three stories high and has 120,000 square feet at the corner of High and Market streets. Startek provides management outsourcing, offering expertise in services such as customer care, technical support, e-commerce, fulfilment and management, according to the governor's announcement.
A timetable for hiring and the opening of the call centre, which will initially occupy the building's top floor, will be released by the company later, Gunderson said. But he predicted all the jobs will be in place before the end of this year, if not much earlier. With much at stake, Hamilton, and the Butler County can expect heydays and prosperity that they have been craving so long.
