Heartland headquarters incentives deal advances

The Oklahoma City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to allow city staff to finalize incentive agreements that would provide $1 million in jobs payments and another $2.3 million in tax increment financing for a seven-story downtown headquarters to be built for Heartland Payment Systems.

The terms of the deal call for the job incentives to be paid from general obligation limited tax bonds passed last year by voters if the company follows through on hiring at least 345 new employees for the headquarters with an average fifth year wage of $55,000.

In addition to the city assistance, the company disclosed Tuesday it also is set to receive $8.5 million in rebates over 10 years from the state’s Quality Jobs program.

Lance Haffner, vice president of human resources at Heartland, told the city council the company was courted by several cities as it outgrew its offices in Edmond and needed a new headquarters. As a result of the deal for downtown, the company also is set to move 160 employees in Edmond and will employ at least 500 at the new headquarters.

“The incentives were instrumental for us selecting Oklahoma City for our headquarters location,” Haffner said, noting the headquarters could have moved to cities where it also has offices, including Cleveland; Atlanta; Jeffersonville, Indiana; and Plano, Texas.

“The idea is not that we would have closed shop in Oklahoma City,” Haffner said. “But the majority of jobs we are adding would have been added in those other locations.”

The $40 million headquarters is being developed and built by brothers Andy and David Burnett and is set to include a restaurant and either a coffee or ice cream shop on the first floor. Plans call for the building along Broadway between NW 5 and NW 6 to be built next year with an opening by August 2020.

“One thing they hit us and hit us and hit us on was the need to reduce their occupancy costs,” Andy Burnett said. “And we were competing against other cities offering incentives to reduce their occupancy costs.”

Burnett added the building is designed to accommodate 600

employees and the ultimate job count may go even higher. That means a plaza planned at NW 6 and Broadway likely would be temporary.

“We designed this block where we can develop that lot at the corner of NW 6 for an expansion if they end up growing as much as we think they will grow,” Burnett said. “They are likely to grow more than what they’re saying today.”

The new jobs are set to include a mix of sales and support staff, developers, IT, human resources and payroll positions in the largest non-energy company to move downtown in decades.

“This is a great investment by the state of Oklahoma and the city of Oklahoma City,” Councilman David Greenwell said.

“We get focused on traditional manufacturing and other types of jobs, but clearly the future is these types of employers.”

We designed this block where we can develop that lot at the corner of NW 6 for an expansion if they end up growing as much as we think they will grow. They are likely to grow more than what they’re saying today.”

David Burnett