A large financial corporation is expanding in size and adding more jobs at the UA Science and Technology Park, a UA official said Friday.

Citigroup, which moved into the technology park in 2004, is expanding its leased office space from 156,000 square feet to more than 270,000 square feet, which will be built by the end of the year, said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for the UA office of economic development.

Citigroup is increasing its workforce by 1,000 employees, said Michael A. Dorer, Citigroup human resources manager. Hiring will begin immediately and continue over the next two years, he said.

The positions are potentially attractive to UA graduates because the new jobs will all be in Citigroup’s four call centers, Dorer said. Plus, benefits begin on the first day of work, Dorer added.

The UA Science and Technology Park, 9000 S. Rita Road, houses more than 30 companies in 2 million square feet of office and research space, according to the Park’s Web site.

The Tech Park was purchased by the university in 1994 and was financially self-sufficient just four years later, according to the park’s Web site.

Some of the other organizations that call the Tech Park home are Raytheon, a tactical missile system manufacturer, Dilas Diode, which makes high-power laser diode components, and Vail High School, according to the Park’s Web site.

The call centers include Citi Cards, Citibank Retail Customer Service, CitiMortgage and, new to the group, CitiFinancial Auto.

Apart from medical and dental insurance, some other benefits included are a career mobility program, which allows employees the freedom to transfer to a variety of locations, paid time off to do volunteer work and a tuition reimbursement program worth $5,000 per year, Dorer said.

An on-site child care center is in the works, but it’s still in the early planning stages, said Molly Gilbert, UA Tech Park’s director of tenant and public relations.

Mayor Bob Walkup said Citigroup is the kind of company that’s good for Tucson. “”(The mayor’s office is) always working to create quality jobs for the people of this region,”” he said.

The Tech Park, named Outstanding Research Park of 2001 by the Association of University Research Parks, contributed $1.8 billion to the local economy in 1999, the last date for which data were collected, said the Park’s Web site.

“”We have an obligation to create 14,000 new jobs every year,”” Walkup said. “”It’s a daunting task, but we’re up to it.””