Virgin Mobile takes to downtown skyline for HQ, plans to hire 100

About six months after announcing its move to Kansas City, Virgin Mobile has selected the site of its new headquarters.  

Virgin Mobile announced Wednesday that the firm signed a lease at One Kansas City Place at 1200 Main St. in downtown Kansas City. Virgin selected Kansas City as the location for its new headquarters in July as it relaunched its rebrand under Overland Park-based Sprint. Virgin hired 27 full-time employees in 2016, but hopes to hire up to 100 more this year.

“Kansas City is a national hub of entrepreneurial spirit and sophisticated start-ups, which is the perfect backdrop for our new office as we evolve the Virgin Mobile brand and elevate it to new heights,” Virgin CEO Dow Draper said in a release. “Also, this innovation district is a natural setting for a bold brand like Virgin, which does things differently and changes business for good.”

To focus on pre-paid phone sales, Sprint — then Sprint Nextel — purchased Virgin Mobile for $483 million in 2009. English business mogul Sir Richard Branson founded the Virgin Group, of which Virgin Mobile USA was a part. The conglomerate owns more than 400 companies around the world.

If Virgin creates 84 new jobs over the next five years, Missouri agreed to grant up to $1.87 million in incentives through its Missouri Works program.

“We are proud of our role, as well as our Missouri partners’, in attracting the headquarters of Virgin Mobile to Kansas City,” said president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council Tim Cowden in a release. “Virgin Mobile seriously considered several major metro areas for its headquarters, but we made the case through a strong entrepreneurial and tech community along with vibrant livability, proving that Kansas City was the best choice.”

Architecture and design firm GastingerWalker& was tapped for the project. Draper said the design reflects the culture of Virgin, which he hopes will attract the right employees.

“We’re looking for pattern breakers and smart disruptors with restless start-up energy and ideas that will add real value to people’s lives through mobile products and services,” Draper said.

Virgin Mobile now has positions in customer service, mobile technology, digital marketing, branding, operations, logistics, finance, IT and engineering.