Tampa reportedly was in the running for the company's expanded headquarters, which could have brought 2,000 jobs with it.
By BENITA D. NEWTON
Published June 14, 2003
Virginia Beach, Va., won out on a headquarters competition for a managed health care company that could have brought more than 2,000 jobs to Tampa.
Amerigroup Corp., which is headquartered in Virginia Beach, chose to build its $56-million expansion in the community it already calls home after looking at sites in Tampa, Houston and other parts of Virginia.
Florida officials would not comment on the state's bid for the project, nor would Amerigroup Corp. spokeswoman Amy Sheyer verify a report by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Va., that Tampa was one of the finalists.
"We worked with an outside consulting firm, KPMG, and we considered a number of locations," Sheyer said. "Based on the criteria that was set out, Virginia Beach was selected."
Sheyer would not elaborate on the criteria, but Amerigroup chairman and chief executive Jeffery McWaters named Virginia Beach's workforce, quality of life and site selection as winning points.
Amerigroup currently employs 340 people in its Tampa office, including 100 in its call center. The office helps with the administration of the Florida Healthy Kids Program and Medicaid plans.
"Florida offers a very high quality workforce, many of whom are bilingual," Sheyer said. "That's very important to us, because we serve a very diverse population. We're committed to keeping our second call center there. We like Florida."
City and state officials in Virginia anted up $3.45-million in incentives to entice Amerigroup to stay and expand there. The company will also receive tax credits and workforce training. With average annual wages of $40,000, Amerigroup could have met the requirements for the Florida Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund. The company could have expected up to $3,000 per job created, or $2.57-million in state tax refunds over a minimum of four years.
Amerigroup already employs 1,300 people in the Virginia Beach area and will build two 106,000-square-foot buildings to house an additional 858 employees. Amerigroup's corporate campus will house its information technology staff, as well as many of the company's health-care professionals, including its member provider services staff and nurse help-line staff.
Founded in 1994, Amerigroup provides managed-care services to 800,000 people in Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Washington, D.C., through public sponsored programs such as Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program. About 75 percent of its members are children, with an average age of 7. The company forecasts $1.6-billion in revenue in 2003, McWaters said.
Amerigroup went public in 2001 and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stock closed Friday at $37.15 a share, down 85 cents from a 52-week high on Wednesday.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report. Times staff writer Benita Newton can be reached at bnewton@sptimes.com or 727 893-8318.
