Construction is underway and interviews have started for the 500 new jobs available at The Home Depot Technology Center. In late July the world's largest home improvement retailer decided to locate its new technology center here.

Mike Kincaid, who will manage the new facility, told Opportunity Austin investors in late August that the company chose the Austin region because of its strong employment base, its technology background, the company roots here and an excellent existing facility.

But in the end, it was a question of finance, he said, and city, county and state governments were able to close the gap existing between costs in this region and others on the short list.

Kincaid said he expects the Technology Center to become the premier data center for the home improvement giant which has 320,000 employees in 770 stores nationwide. The northeast Austin center will produce approximately 70 percent of the software development and operations support for Home Depot, he said.

The technology center will employ 500 engineers, programmers and software developers. The annual payroll is estimated at $29 million, and the center will become fully operational over the next 18 months. The Chamber, led by Vice Chair for Economic Development Gary Farmer, worked with the Home Depot for more than six months and spearheaded the successful efforts to secure tax abatements and other incentives that were voted unanimously by the Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court .

The new center is part of The Home Depot business transformation and the company's sizeable investment of more than $1 billion in new technology from 2002 through 2004. Home Depot has also announced that its Supply Division will open a new customer service center in New Braunfels that will employ around 350 people to support its double-digit growth. The center will open in early 2005 and will provide support services to facility management customers.