Spectrum Health relocating 500 employees downtown

[organsnyder]

Article in the Michigan Business Journal: Spectrum Health to move 500 employees to downtown Grand Rapids office building

Not sure of the exact numbers, but over half of these employees are currently not downtown (many of them probably aren't even hired yet, I'm guessing). I'm one of the employees that will be moving, and am very excited—that building looks really cool.

[john_denver]

I might be moving too Oragansnyder...

[Dj Augustine]

Another win for downtown GR!  Franklin has been killing it with new job creation downtown.  Cool buildings atract cool tenants!

[joeDowntown]

Great News. Now let's wait for the Restaurant. I think it'll be a cool addition.

Interesting, when they say relocating employees from two locations (60th and Broadmoor) and Leonard and the Beltline, isn't that Priority Health? 

Joe

[john_denver]

Great News. Now let's wait for the Restaurant. I think it'll be a cool addition.

Interesting, when they say relocating employees from two locations (60th and Broadmoor) and Leonard and the Beltline, isn't that Priority Health? 

Joe

Yes, Priority is on the Beltline.  Priority is staying out there and any IT people that working directly with PH.  The rest of IT from the Priority campus, including Project Managers will move downtown...so I have been told.

[GRDadof3]

Great News. Now let's wait for the Restaurant. I think it'll be a cool addition.

Interesting, when they say relocating employees from two locations (60th and Broadmoor) and Leonard and the Beltline, isn't that Priority Health? 

Joe

It's primarily IT people. I know the 60th and Broadmoor is the old WorkSpace building (with the curved roofs). I know several people who work there for SH. 

[john_denver]

 

It's primarily IT people. I know the 60th and Broadmoor is the old WorkSpace building (with the curved roofs). I know several people who work there for SH. 

Yes, all IT people...mostly the developer and application types.

[organsnyder]

A few of the teams (under 100 people of the total) are already downtown, spread among a few rented office spaces. I also wouldn't be surprised if a large portion—perhaps up to a third—of that 500 people will actually be new hires over the next few years. Spectrum IS (can't call it "Spectrum Health IT" for acronym reasons) is growing like crazy.

I might be moving too Oragansnyder...

Have I met you IRL? :-)

[GRDadof3]

Yes, all IT people...mostly the developer and application types.

500 - 1000 people is your typical downtown corporate HQ's. For those people who've been begging for it, there ya go. 

[john_denver]

A few of the teams (under 100 people of the total) are already downtown, spread among a few rented office spaces. I also wouldn't be surprised if a large portion—perhaps up to a third—of that 500 people will actually be new hires over the next few years. Spectrum IS (can't call it "Spectrum Health IT" for acronym reasons) is growing like crazy.

Have I met you IRL? :-)

I work at 60th street Organsnyder

[Dj Augustine]

Why do you think they chose to move downtown and to this location?

[joeDowntown]

Why do you think they chose to move downtown and to this location?

I don't know why, but I hope it is the start of a trend!

Joe

[organsnyder]

Why do you think they chose to move downtown and to this location?

One of the main reasons is to attract talent. Spectrum's IS department has grown extremely rapidly—I don't know have exact numbers, but the department is approaching (or perhaps has surpassed) 1000 people. With the increasingly important role that IT is playing in reducing cost and improving outcomes, this trend shows no signs of slowing down. It's a seller's market right now for IT professionals, and Spectrum—like everyone else—is struggling to fill open positions. They see this location as a key recruiting tool, especially as they work to recruit candidates from outside the region.

As to this location specifically: I'm guessing that there weren't many (any?) other available locations that could fit this many people. One of the goals of this move is to consolidate teams that are currently spread out among multiple downtown locations, the PH campus on the Beltline, and 60th Street. Many employees—especially project managers and senior people that have frequent inter-team meetings—are commuting between locations multiple times per week. Having so many people together will be a huge boon.

I work at 60th street Organsnyder

Perhaps we've run into each other (I've only been out there a few times, though). Feel free to ping me on InSite—I'm guessing that your screen-name here isn't your real name. :-)

[GRDadof3]

I don't know why, but I hope it is the start of a trend!

Joe

Keeler's big enough for a large corporate consolidation. 

[x99]

Keeler's big enough for a large corporate consolidation. 

Indeed it is--but there is an issue there:  Parking.  Stuff like this is great to see, but I am curious what Spectrum is doing for the parking situation to bring in 500 people.  Are they using their existing parking and running their employee shuttles?  That area is extremely tight on parking as it stands.  If they aren't shuttling most of these people, they would nearly fill the Ottawa/Fulton ramp and make the parking situation there even more acute.  

[organsnyder]

Another article from the GR Press (cue the trolls)

 

Indeed it is--but there is an issue there:  Parking.  Stuff like this is great to see, but I am curious what Spectrum is doing for the parking situation to bring in 500 people.  Are they using their existing parking and running their employee shuttles?  That area is extremely tight on parking as it stands.  If they aren't shuttling most of these people, they would nearly fill the Ottawa/Fulton ramp and make the parking situation there even more acute.  

I'm not sure exactly what ramps Spectrum intends to use (these articles caught them off-guard, I think—they're still hammering out details), but they're no strangers to dealing with parking crunches. The cash-out plan will help them to incentivize alternative transportation—something they're doing a lot of already. I already get a free bus pass from Spectrum, but they also provide me with a monthly 24/7 parking pass (which I use a few times per month; I'll need it even less once we're at 25 Ottawa). The cash-out plan will free up the reserved spot I currently have, while rewarding me for choosing a less expensive mode of transportation.

The building also has indoor bike storage and showers, and a lot of people have shown an interest in that.

[arcturus]

25 Ottawa is what, a 2 - 3 city block walk from the Rapid terminal?  Assume their Dash shuttle could be utilized also.  

[organsnyder]

25 Ottawa is what, a 2 - 3 city block walk from the Rapid terminal?  Assume their Dash shuttle could be utilized also.  

And the Silver Line station at Monroe/Louis is directly next to the Comerica building, which is on the skywalk system. The skywalk isn't the most direct route, but I'm looking forward to it being an option during inclement weather.

[x99]

I'm not sure exactly what ramps Spectrum intends to use (these articles caught them off-guard, I think—they're still hammering out details), but they're no strangers to dealing with parking crunches. The cash-out plan will help them to incentivize alternative transportation—something they're doing a lot of already.

Found it.  They are not shuttling.  They are requesting three hundred ramp spaces, which is nearly 10% of all of the ramp space downtown.  http://www.wzzm13.com/story/money/business/grbj/2015/10/06/grbj-health-system-plans-to-move-up-to-500-workers-downtown/73484750/.  To accommodate this and (reading between the lines) avoid total mayhem, Parking Services has to stuff them all over the place from Government Center, to Pearl Ionia, Campau, and Ottawa Fulton. (Understand how this works, too:  Per the January 6, 2014 Parking Status Report, Ottawa Fulton had 588 cards allocated for card holders.  They issued 382, but still had 375 cards available.  They issue more cards than they have spaces available, assuming some people won't show.  If it rains and everyone drives to work, chaos potentially ensues).  In any event, Ottawa Fulton currently has 125.  Pearl Ionia 86, Campau 126, and GC 208.  I don't know whether the current figures include Spectrum's ask or not.  Assuming they do not, Ottawa Fulton will have 5, Pearl Ionia 50, Campau 50, GC about 130.  Each ramp will have more cards issued than there are actual spaces in the ramp.  

More or less, we just ran out of parking.  With one major new user.  We cannot accommodate more of this "no parking" residential, or a redevelopment at Keeler.  We can't even bring in another major office tenant.  It's virtually impossible.  Hopefully Rockford thought to lock up enough space for Morton for any unleased units.  What Gilmore does with Venue Tower, I don't know.  I doubt he locked up space already, and how the heck do you rent those residential units with no parking?  They need to build a ramp, or they have a white elephant.  The only hope out there is that parking services updated those "available ramp" numbers with the Spectrum ask.  Then we're just tight, and not putting projects at risk yet. 

This is a little bit off topic from the big Spectrum move, but it's an important point.  It's nice to see a big number of people coming in like this, but this is the end of the line until we build another parking ramp.  Now perhaps the city will cut me a check for $150,000 as my consultant fee for my 45 minutes of work?  

EDIT:  My bad.  Forget all of the above.  Everyone's gonna take the bus.  Duh.  

[GRDadof3]

I thought I saw on one of the agendas somewhere that the new ramp behind the arena was still moving through the system. Maybe they'll accelerate it now? Assuming that most arena events happen in the evening and these spaces are needed during the day, the only messy time is people leaving work and arriving early to concerts for a bite to eat. 

That ramp was proposed to have 750 parking spaces. 

 

[arcturus]

They've got to do something, and I mean quickly, with the NB and SB exit ramps off of 131 at Wealthy, especially NB.  What a sorry intersection.

[MJLO]

These are good problems for the city to have.  Perhaps it will help shift the culture for the downtown worker/resident toward more mass transit.

[x99]

Good in a way, that people are coming, but not really.  No shopping mall and no office complex wants a full parking lot.  I don't know a commercial real estate broker around who is so deluded that they think they can lease office space without parking.  

I checked some numbers.  80000 square feet of vacant Class A space in Q1 2015 with 200,000 under construction.  800,000SF of Class B.  That's over a million feet of space.  AFAIK that does not count stuff like Keeler or other stuff that is just "ghost" space.  One worker takes about 300 square feet.  That is space for over 3,300 people.  That does not include residential needs, which we are trying to grow.    Exclude government center and private parking, after the Spectrum gorilla lands, we will have 100 parking spaces left.  Even including GC and assuming 250 private parking spaces, we have parking for 150,000 square feet, at best.  Now put 10% of the workers on transit, and you can still fill only 250,000 square feet.  My numbers might be pessimistic, but the problem is very real once Spectrum gobbles up all that space.

[GRDadof3]

Good in a way, that people are coming, but not really.  No shopping mall and no office complex wants a full parking lot.  I don't know a commercial real estate broker around who is so deluded that they think they can lease office space without parking.  

I checked some numbers.  80000 square feet of vacant Class A space in Q1 2015 with 200,000 under construction.  800,000SF of Class B.  That's over a million feet of space.  AFAIK that does not count stuff like Keeler or other stuff that is just "ghost" space.  One worker takes about 300 square feet.  That is space for over 3,300 people.  That does not include residential needs, which we are trying to grow.    Exclude government center and private parking, after the Spectrum gorilla lands, we will have 100 parking spaces left.  Even including GC and assuming 250 private parking spaces, we have parking for 150,000 square feet, at best.  Now put 10% of the workers on transit, and you can still fill only 250,000 square feet.  My numbers might be pessimistic, but the problem is very real once Spectrum gobbles up all that space.

 

Don't forget people downtown for conventions and meetings, banquets, big fundraiser lunches, etc.. The hotels are all enjoying record occupancy rates as well.

I do think that some of this pressure on the system is making at least a few people at the city nervous, and they're hurriedly trying to come up with solutions. I know the heads of major foundations and businesses downtown are starting to raise major concerns with the city and DGRI. Whether anyone is taking these concerns seriously is a good question...

I'm also picking up on two factions forming: the "Take the bus! Ride a bike!" anti-suburban urban elitist crowd and the people who are being affected by it. Even the company who moved out of downtown because of parking was mocked for it. More fair minded multi-modal mindset people are needed right now. 

 

[MJLO]

So dumb question here:   When referencing parking availability and studies does this accommodate both city owned and private spaces?  When you say that these Spectrum employees will be absorbing so many spaces, are the spaces coming online at Arena Place included?