OXNARD : GTE Service Center Celebrates Opening

Officials from GTE are planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the company’s new customer service center in Oxnard.

The 115,000-square-foot office complex, located at 1800 Solar Drive in northeast Oxnard, opened earlier this year and already houses about 700 employees, GTE spokesman Mike Murray said.

But when the center reaches its capacity, more than 900 workers will staff the office, one of eight regional customer service centers across the country, Murray said.

“It was a partnership between GTE and Oxnard,” he said.

“The local governing bodies really went out of their way to make it attractive for GTE to locate there. They cut through a lot of red tape.”

The $15-million facility was built in 1990 by Chevron USA Inc., but it was never occupied.

It was later purchased by GTE, which handled more than 800,000 telephone calls from its customers last month.

The daylong celebration kicks off at 10 a.m. Wednesday with an invitation-only presentation.

At 2 p.m., local officials will speak about GTE’s importance to Oxnard and company executives will detail the center’s operations.

A number of community groups also have been invited to set up informational booths and displays.