Accolades

CIGNA moving to Denison build-to-suit
Dallas Business Journal
by Holli L. Estridge

CIGNA Corp. is consolidating two Sherman-based call centers into a 140,000-square-foot build-to-suit in Denison. The move could result in 400 additional jobs.

The move comes as the health insurance organization's lease expires at its two-story office on Taylor Street and another location along Texoma Parkway in Sherman. Sherman and Denison are situated 63 miles and 74 miles north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex respectively, along U.S. 75.

"We were very pleased with the work force in the Sherman-Denison area," said Jeff Novak, CIGNA's senior vice president of corporate services. "We wanted to make sure we kept a presence in the area, close enough so that it would not negatively impact our employees."

Dallas-based CMC Commercial Realty Group Inc. will break ground on the $17 million call center in June, and the building will be completed a year later. The 15-acre site is at the corner of U.S. 75 and F.M. 691, near the Sherman and Denison city limits boundary.

Novak said the office will serve to bring all of the regional service center's employees under one roof and bring the Texoma area office up to par with the company's other service centers.

CIGNA spokeswoman Gwyn Dilday said the office responds to customer questions, helping them better access their medical care and claims, works with providers and helps service the business. The additional employees, which could range from 50 to 400, would include both part- and full-time positions. The job expansion, Dilday said, will be proportionate to growth in CIGNA's health care plans. The existing offices in Sherman employ about 900.

Dilday said CIGNA evaluated a wide range of locations in North Texas and Southern Oklahoma with the help of CB Richard Ellis Brokerage Services Group and local leaders.

The city of Denison and Grayson County provided a five-year, 100% property tax abatement valued at about $1.25 million, and the Denison Development Alliance -- Denison's economic development corporation, funded by a half-cent sales tax -- has signed a performance agreement for $1.2 million in incentives over a five-year period.

Part of that contract grants $800,000 for infrastructure improvements and $100,000 to offset road construction if the land owner builds an access road to the development meeting city specifications. The company is required to meet quarterly payroll requirements to receive the $3,000 per job incentive.