DUNCANSVILLE — Plans for a St. Louis-based company headed by an Altoona native to move into Blair County are moving forward.

Centene Management Co. LLC has purchased property along Theater Drive in Allegheny Township for $1,244,400 from R&B Properties of Blair County LLC and 764 Business Park LP, according to documents filed at the Blair County Courthouse.

The deed to Centene is signed by Robert T. Curry, managing member of R&B Properties, and by Fred N. Imler II, a partner in 764 Business Park LP.

In April, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Centene Management Co., a health care services provider, would expand into Allegheny Township and create about 300 new jobs.

CMC is headed by Chairman and CEO Michael Neidorff, a 1961 graduate of Altoona High School. Neidorff is also a 1966 graduate of Saint Francis College with a master’s degree in industrial relations.

CMC plans to construct a 53,300-square-foot facility along Theater Drive to serve as a national health care inbound customer claims center. The facility will include a cafeteria and a day care center for its employees. The company also plans to invest more than $20 million into the project, which will create nearly 300 new jobs over the next four years.

CMC received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development for a $900,000 Pennsylvania First grant and $592,000 in job creation tax credits to be distributed upon creation of the new jobs.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania, in coordination with the Altoona-Blair County Development Corp.

The $900,000 Pennsylvania First program grant could be used for all eligible costs directly related to the project to include items like equipment purchases and site development, said ABCD Corp. President/CEO Steve McKnight.

The job creation tax credit program is based on the number of full-time jobs the company will create that pay at least 150 percent of the federal minimum wage. The credits would be earned over time based upon when the jobs are actually created, McKnight said.

“We have not yet been informed of a formal time table for the groundbreaking and operation start-up dates. Now that the sale of the land is final, ABCD looks forward to working with Centene officials in the coming months as this significant project advances,” McKnight said.

Centene officials did not respond to voice mail and email messages seeking comment on the project.

CMC is a subsidiary of Centene Corp., a Fortune 500 health care services company. The company has a full range of health care solutions for uninsured Americans by contracting with their health plans and other health care and commercial organizations to provide specialty services such as behavioral health, life and health management, managed vision, telehealth, pharmacy benefits management and medication adherence.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.