Add Blue Cross and Blue Shield to the list of companies thriving in our capital city.

The mega insurer recently completed remodeling of its offices in downtown Topeka to the tune of $25 million. A formal ribbon-cutting took place earlier this week.

The project involved construction of a four-story building that houses a new cafeteria and a fitness center plus the demolition and reconstruction of its building at 1133 S.W. Topeka Blvd., considered the front door to BCBS.

The buildings were designed around a central campus area with park benches and trees and a circle drive.

A new entry and reception area has also been constructed in Building A. A 20-foot atrium area is included.

The new entry moves from the east side of the building to the north side.

"We really designed this building to be around another 50 years," said Bob Young, human resources manager and building project manager.

Those words may be as much reason for celebration as the actual remodeling.

Blue Cross, long a pillar in the Topeka business community, looks like it's here to stay, and in quite a big way.

Work on the $25 million project actually began in August 2004 and was funded largely by $21 million in industrial revenue bonds issued through Shawnee County.

A good investment, indeed.

BCBS currently has 1,699 employees in Topeka - 1,427 on the main campus and 242 at other facilities.

And this story may get even better.

BCBS is competing for a federal Medicare contract that would retain 370 jobs and add another 250 jobs. The company will know whether it will win that contract by July.

If BCBS gets the contract, it will be a huge win for our community. If it doesn't, we can't fault the efforts of BCBS and our local political and economic development leaders.

The Joint Economic Development Organization, a seven-member city- county body that administers proceeds from a countywide sales tax, voted 7-0 last May to approve a five-year contract with BCBS to provide the company $1 million in incentives to help it land the Medicare deals.