ServiceMaster moving headquarters to Downtown Memphis

News broke yesterday that, after months of speculation, ServiceMaster will keep its headquarters in Memphis and move all employees to a central downtown location. 

Approximately 1,200 employees will soon be housed in Peabody Place -- all the local employees save 800 who work in the call center. The renovations of the space are expected to conclude by the end of 2017. All three ServiceMaster businesses will now work in the same space, including the Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Restore, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec brands.

The project will transform the vacant 328,000-square-foot mall into Class A office space and the four story building will be named One ServiceMaster Center. The development will also strive for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

This has been celebrated as exciting news for downtown and for those looking to attract talent to Memphis. In remarks made today, ServiceMaster CEO Rob Gillette said the decision was made so the headquarters would "reflect our winning culture and will help us attract and retain great talent in Memphis.''

"We're thrilled to be joining the Downtown business community and being a part of the city's ongoing Downtown revitalization efforts,'' Gillette said.

Today's announcement also included information about a new technology and innovation center that will be housed in 20,000 square feet on the ground floor in the former Tower Records space. It will be a "collaborative workspace to showcase its businesses and transform the residential and commercial services industry through digital-mobile technology."

The space also will also be open to non-ServiceMaster employees to serve as an incubator for entrepreneurs and tech developers. The release noted that the space is intended "to create an innovation engine that can attract high-tech talent and investment to Memphis."