Shared Services Center-Fort Smith, a provider of business office support functions for hospitals and health care facilities, will expand its presence in Fort Smith’s Phoenix Center, the company said Monday.
As part of the expansion, Shared Services will add more than 100 employees, according to Scott Hardin, spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
“Shared Services Center is not only creating new jobs, but high-wage jobs that will improve the quality of life for our fellow Arkansans,” said Mike Preston, executive director of the AEDC. “Fort Smith is a great example of a community that has prioritized economic development and we see the results of that focus in today’s announcement.”
Hardin said the company would not release specific job numbers or a salary range for the positions.
Shared Services received an expanded incentive package from the AEDC. According to Hardin, the “AEDC amended the company’s existing Create Rebate agreement to allow them to add these jobs [announced today] to the existing agreement.”
Through the incentive, the company will receive an annual cash rebate equal to 3.9 percent of payroll based on the new jobs and those it created in 2013 when it opened, Hardin said.
“The economic impact of these new jobs at Shared Services Center will reach beyond Fort Smith to benefit our state’s economy,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a news release. “From 45 new jobs at a software engineering company in North Little Rock to these new jobs that will benefit many families in Fort Smith, it’s been a great few days for job creation in Arkansas.”
AEDC said Shared Services Center-Fort Smith is one of the largest employers in the Fort Smith area.
Shared Services operates inside what used to be the Phoenix Village Mall at 4600 Towson Ave. The property’s owner, FSM Holdings, is now owned in part by an affiliate of Beaty Capital Group, which is adding new space for Shared Services.
Lance Beaty, president of Beaty Capital Group, said two separate locations are being modified in the Phoenix Center, one with 27,000 SF and the other with about 7,500 SF.
“In addition to the expanded space, the parking lot will be reworked and several aesthetic and functional changes will be made as part of the improvement,” Beaty said. “FSM Holdings will be delivering some of the space for occupancy on Sept. 1 and the remaining space on Nov. 1 of this year.”
Health Management Associates of Naples, Florida, set up Shared Services in Fort Smith in 2013. At the time, Health Management was the parent company for Sparks Regional Medical Center and Summit Medical Center. At the time, the center said it would employ 500 people at an annual payroll of $21 million.
Community Health Systems Inc. of Franklin, Tennessee, purchased Health Management Associates in 2014.
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