Vera Bradley expands Indiana campus

Fort Wayne, Ind. – Vera Bradley is expanding its Roanoke, Ind., campus, creating what the vertical specialty retailer estimates will be about 128 new jobs during the next four years. The company will invest approximately $26.6 million to expand both its current 40,000-sq.-ft. design center by 149,000 sq. ft. and its 420,000-sq.-ft. distribution center by 10,000 sq. ft. Both complexes are located just outside Fort Wayne, Ind., near Interstate 69.



We are proud to invest in our hometown," said Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, chief creative officer and co-founder of Vera Bradley. "Our design center expansion will bring the majority of our northeast Indiana employees together on one campus and will strengthen collaboration across the company."



The Indiana Economic Development Corporation is offering Vera Bradley tax credits, and the company is working with the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance on additional incentives. Of the $26.6 million project cost, about $10 million of the investment is projected in fiscal 2014 and raises the company's previously disclosed fiscal 2014 capital expenditure guidance from approximately $20 million to approximately $30 million for the full fiscal year. It is estimated that the project will be completed in late 2014.