Tax incentives entice PreSonus to build new headquarters in B.R.

Baton Rouge-based PreSonus Audio Electronics officially announced today it will begin construction this month on a more than $8 million headquarters facility off Highland Road, across from Healing Place Church. To land the deal and keep PreSonus in Baton Rouge—where it has been since 1995—state officials say they began working with the company early last year to come up with an incentives package. PreSonus is expected to utilize several tax incentives, including the Quality Jobs, Industrial Tax Exemption, and Digital Interactive Media and Software Development incentives. The company also will receive assistance from LED via its FastStart workforce development program. The state did not release an estimate on what that incentive package is worth to PreSonus, but does say the firm’s new headquarters is expected to create 65 new direct jobs with an average salary of $80,000, plus benefits. The project will also retain 80 existing jobs and will result in another 79 indirect jobs in the region. PreSonus is a leading manufacturer of digital and analog hardware and integrated software systems for the professional audio market. The new 44,000-square-foot facility will replace PreSonus’ current location in the Bon Carré Business Center on Florida Boulevard. The facility is expected to open in August 2013.