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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

CSC Plans Bossier City, Louisiana, Technology Center At National Cyber Research Park

02/18/2014
CSC selected National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City, Louisiana, to establish its 116,000-square-foot, next-generation technology center, creating 800 jobs during the next four years. The firm will become an anchor tenant at the 3,000-acre research park being developed by the Cyber Innovation Center, a not-for-profit research corporation.

According to Louisiana Economic Development, “CSC’s technology center is the result of an innovative, public-private partnership that will include expanded higher education programs and build a next-generation workforce in cloud computing, cybersecurity, big data and application modernization.”

CSC will occupy the park immediately in a 40,000-square-foot temporary space within the Cyber Innovation Center, with construction beginning on the new facility later this year. The permanent technology center housing CSC employees and a data center will accelerate the development of the National Cyber Research Park.

Ultimately, CSC will lease space for its center in a new 116,000-square-foot building to be constructed in the National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City near the existing CIC building. The building will be funded by $29 million from the State of Louisiana, while related data-center infrastructure will be funded by Bossier City and Bossier Parish governments both each granting $5 million. The building and data-center infrastructure will be owned by the city and parish and managed by the not-for-profit CIC. CSC will make a substantial investment in data-center equipment and other computer technology that will ramp up with employment.

In addition to providing 40,000 square feet of temporary operating space for CSC, the Cyber Innovation Center will support the development of the new technology center and manage the facility after its construction at the National Cyber Research Park. CSC anticipates completing the construction of the 116,000-square-foot technology center in the second quarter of 2015. The research park’s proximity to Bossier Parish Community College, adjacent to the park on U.S. Highway 80, and Barksdale Air Force Base and its Global Strike Command, also nearby, will provide CSC with partners for the development of a next-generation workforce.

In addition, CSC will establish a relationship with Fort Polk in Central Louisiana as it continues a longstanding commitment to hiring veterans, wounded warriors and military spouses.

“The size and scale of this opportunity will be a catalytic event that will accelerate the growth of a cyber economy in our community,” said President Craig Spohn of the Cyber Innovation Center. “This opportunity will further diversify our economy and serve as a foundation for growth well into the future.”

Governor Bobby Jindal said, “This is one of the most significant economic development announcements in the history of Bossier and Northwest Louisiana. Not just because it will result in the creation of 800 new jobs in Louisiana, but also because this announcement means that Northwest Louisiana is truly becoming a national player in the technology sector, including software development, cyber security and cloud computing.

“As we transform our company into a next-generation IT services provider, we are committed to developing a next-generation workforce skilled in cloud computing, cybersecurity and big data technologies,” said Dave Zolet, CSC executive vice president and general manager. “The special public-private partnership with the State of Louisiana, Louisiana Tech and Bossier Parish Community College provides a strong platform for building a recruiting pool for our company and anchoring the development of a new technology corridor.”

The State will provide $14 million in funding over 10 years for expanded higher education programs designed primarily to increase the number of annual graduates in computer science and related fields. At least 65 percent of these funds will be provided for the expansion of such programs at Louisiana Tech University, which plans to quadruple its total undergraduate degrees awarded annually in computer science, computer information systems and cyber engineering over the next five to six years, not including advanced degrees.

To secure the project, LED offered CSC a customized incentive package that includes a $9.6 million performance-based grant to reimburse relocation and recruitment expenses related to the project. CSC will receive the services of LED FastStart, the state’s workforce training program for four years in a row. CSC also is expected to utilize Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media and Software Development Incentive, as well as the Quality Jobs Program for positions that do not qualify for the software incentive.

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