Home-improvement retailer Lowe's plans Indianapolis call center with up to 1,000 workers

Home-improvement retailer Lowe's says it will open a new call center in Indianapolis that could have up to 1,000 employees in the next couple years.

The North Carolina-based retailer announced Tuesday that it would spend about $20 million to buy and equip an office building in a business park on the city's northwest side. The company expects to open the center early next year.

Lowe's vice president Don Easterling says the Indianapolis site was picked to add a Midwestern location to its current call centers in North Carolina and New Mexico.

The Indianapolis center will occupy a building that housed information technology operations for drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. until its lease expired last year.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Lowe's up to $5.5 million in tax credits.