Qualtrics' 190,000-sq.-ft. expansion includes huge daycare facility

New details have been announced by Qualtrics about the doubling of the size of its co-headquarters in Provo, including an on-site, tech-focused daycare for more than 250 children.

The company will add over 150,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet for the daycare facility, bringing the total campus size to 355,000. The expansion, set to open in the spring of 2021, will include a three story, outdoor terrace equipped with conference areas, meeting spaces, and views of the six-acre gardens, as well as two new parking structures.

Connected with that expansion, on Nov. 14 the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board approved a tax credit incentive of up to $32.8 million over the next decade, tied to the creation of 2,245 jobs during that time. In its expansion announcement released on its corporate website a full week after the GOED board meeting, Qualtrics was more conservative, saying that the $45 million Provo project would add more than 1,000 jobs over the next five years.

With co-headquarters in Seattle, Qualtrics is an experience management company that specializes in software that enables companies to collect and analyze data on customers, brand, employees and products to increase insight into business operations and the effectiveness of product offerings. Founded in 2002 in Provo, Qualtrics was acquired by Germany-based SAP for $8 billion in a transaction completed in January.

The company has about 3,000 employees worldwide, including 11 offices and more than 700 employees overseas. It has a total of 25 offices and serves more than 11,000 organizations in more than 100 countries.

The daycare, to be called Cloud Village, will feature a technology-focused, age-appropriate curriculum to enhance, engage and accelerate the development of each child in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), the company said.

“We are passionate about Utah and are excited to more than double the size of our current tech campus here,” Ryan Smith, co-founder and CEO, said in announcing the expansion. “Qualtrics continues to be a hyper-growth company as we add both customers and employees at an incredible rate.

“We couldn’t be more excited about introducing a new kind of on-site daycare as a central piece of our expansion. Part of our mission at Qualtrics is to rid the world of bad experiences, and the launch of the on-site daycare is an important step in providing needed support to working parents.”

Cloud Village will be across the street from the expanded co-headquarters, allowing parents to spend time with their children, at their convenience, throughout the day. It will include three floors of technology-infused learning centers for children ages 3 months to 5 years. Technological features include coding camps for the 5-year-olds, interactive smart boards where teachers can help children learn basic computing skills with hands-on participation, digital creation tools that unlock creative and critical thinking skills, and virtual storytelling to teach kids about cultures from around the world, the company said.

“At Cloud Village, we will be focused on developing both the minds and character of children attending the daycare,” said Ann Whittaker, who will manage the daycare. “Our goal is for the children to look forward to coming to our facility every day to foster their love of learning and exploration. With the help of innovative technology, teachers will be able to deliver superior care and children will be able to enjoy the learning process.”

Qualtrics in 2012 had only about 200 employees. That year, it was approved for a GOED incentive totaling about $10.8 million over seven years and tied to the creation of about 1,080 jobs.

For the latest state incentive, for the 2,245 jobs over 10 years, GOED documents indicate the new jobs are expected to pay an average of $87,000 a year. New total wages over five years are expected to reach nearly $1.5 billion, and the project is projected to generate new state tax revenue of $131.1 million during that time.

The Provo expansion is just part of Qualtrics’ growth plan for the next few years. The company has said it plans to add more than 8,000 employees by 2023. Already this year, it has announced new offices and expansions, including a Qualtrics Tower in Seattle, which will accommodate more than 2,000 employees; a new office building in Dublin, Ireland, for 350 new employees; and a 25,000-square-foot office in Chicago for 200 employees.