State Farm remodels Illinois headquarters

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) - State Farm has spent more than $33 million since 2015 on updating its corporate campuses in Illinois.

The insurer wants to design a contemporary workplace that would attract and retain employees, The Pantagraph reported . The Bloomington campuses' remodeling is intended to mirror the company's regional hubs in Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix.

"The concept that we're going to have in these hub locations we call a live-work-play environment," said Mary Schmidt, State Farm executive vice president and chief administrative officer.

State Farm took out $31 million in building permits over the past three years for its Corporate North building and $2.5 million in permits over two years for its Corporate South building.

"We want to be able to get the best talent into the future, so having spaces like this certainly adds to that," said David Gwarda, assistant vice president of administrative services.

Improvements to the buildings include upgrading the lighting, cafeteria, restrooms, wiring and heating.

The renovations come as State Farm pursues a companywide restructuring that includes consolidating its information technology departments.

"In today's competitive landscape State Farm is making significant changes to better serve our customers and to ensure our future for another 100 years," said Schmidt.

The company has a combined 23,000 people employed at its hubs in Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix. That number is expected to grow to around 30,000 when construction of the Park Center hub in Atlanta is completed in 2021 or 2022. The company said it will maintain its current Bloomington-Normal workforce of about 15,000.

State Farm has nearly 70,000 employees nationwide.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com