Economic Development - Expansions and Relocations

[Blue_Devil]

6 minutes ago, RANYC said:

If the premise of a surge of corporate relocations involves escaping density and avoiding things like shared transportation infrastructure, what does that mean for development patterns in Charlotte and in other places over the next 20 years?  Sprawl?  Road widening?  

Obviously, NYC represents an extreme level of densification.  Fast-growing and fast-evolving places like Charlotte, however, have planning initiatives under-way to encourage density, verticality, and shared transit infrastructure.  Does that all change looking beyond COVID-19?

I would have to think the density of Charlotte would seem like Wyoming to a lot of NYC based companies

[KJHburg]

NYC is crowded uptown Charlotte even at peak work day is just not that crowded.  even on the sidewalks though I did see it that way during special events like the NBA Allstar.  All aspects of NYC living is crowded their food  stores are smaller and busier (think Trader Joes on a Saturday 2 months ago)their restaurants are smaller and more packed,   transit is packed most of the time, buses full, elevators full it is just crowded.    Charlotte even uptown is not even dense compared to NYC in any way and won't ever be thank goodness.  

Edited April 16, 2020 by KJHburg

[Guest]

@kermit I nominate you to respond to this in an academic way, you're welcome.

[RANYC]

I lived in Manhattan for 14 years, up until December 2018.  Well aware Charlotte is nothing like NYC.  Just wondering if corporations/firms looking to relocate from NYC in response to COVID-19, have a gander at even Charlotte's version of density. 

If I'm so fed up with "density gone awry," even in the cross-roads of the world (NYC), that my people are packing up and getting the hell out of dodge for greener pastures, perhaps I'm averse to anything even attempting to resemble mid-or-high-rise urbanity.  Maybe the closest I'll get to vertical urbanity is Ballantyne, but Uptown, other parts of Center City are out...maybe.

[Blue_Devil]

18 minutes ago, RANYC said:

I lived in Manhattan for 14 years, up until December 2018.  Well aware Charlotte is nothing like NYC.  Just wondering if corporations/firms looking to relocate from NYC in response to COVID-19, have a gander at even Charlotte's version of density. 

If I'm so fed up with "density gone awry," even in the cross-roads of the world (NYC), that my people are packing up and getting the hell out of dodge for greener pastures, perhaps I'm averse to anything even attempting to resemble mid-or-high-rise urbanity.  Maybe the closest I'll get to vertical urbanity is Ballantyne, but Uptown, other parts of Center City are out...maybe.

Literally a quarter of the NYC population could leave, and it would still feel insanely crowded

[kermit]

1 hour ago, Tyree Ricardo said:

@kermit I nominate you to respond to this in an academic way, you're welcome.

Thanks, but the professor has been drinking since lunch, I probably should pass.

strange times...

[KJHburg]

From the Charlotte Partnership a podcast about the Golden Home of China win for Cabarrus county.  It is 28 minutes and I listened to it all.  If you are interested how things like this come togther listen to it as it really revealing.  

https://cltalliance.buzzsprout.com/940228/3387424-behind-the-scenes-of-an-hq-win

Highlights:

Took 2 years to complete the deal to the annoucement everyone said fairly typical esp. for foreign company

Several site visits and visit to their HQ in China by Partnership and Cabarrus EDC  Eileen Chai a Mandarin speaking Partnership economic recruiter was especially important for cultural and language issues

Execs sometime introduce their selves at Bob, Bob2, Bob3     (not to be confused with Bob the builder over the Intercontinental hotel site) 

Visit to Chinese HQ was very well received for Golden Home

will be 4 buildings one for office space, one for showroom, one for warehouse, one for manufacturing   $87 Million investment 256 jobs, on 60 acres leaves 1000+ acres in the old Phillip Morris site.   ( I have heard no one else report this about the 4 buildings and total site acreage) 

ask general question about the Virus effects:

all believed Charlotte region was well positioned to get some of the reshoring supply chain firms that are likely coming back to USA

some projects on hold temporarily 

most prospects esp. Foreign companies very optimistic of US economy in future.  

Golden Home is big name in China's home furnishing markets and Eileen Chai said companies she talks to have now heard of Charlotte region as opposed to 6-7 years when she had to pull out a map!  

worth the time to listen if you are interested in how an economic development deal comes together.  

欢迎来到康科德金家！    (or welcome to Concord Golden Home! ) 

Edited April 17, 2020 by KJHburg

[SydneyCarton]

On 4/15/2020 at 9:12 PM, KJHburg said:

One of those is local and non bank financial but I am sure when things calm down they will announce.

In fact I was going to post this sooner or later but I think we the high concentration of cases in NYC you will see MORE companies looking to move or relocate divisions to places like Charlotte.  Being in a densely populated city where private transportation options are limited (Manhattan) places like Charlotte with lower costs and great labor pool makes this city even more attractive.  Just watch

Deleted.

Edited April 17, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[Madison Parkitect]

23 hours ago, KJHburg said:

One of those is local and non bank financial but I am sure when things calm down they will announce.

In fact I was going to post this sooner or later but I think we the high concentration of cases in NYC you will see MORE companies looking to move or relocate divisions to places like Charlotte.  Being in a densely populated city where private transportation options are limited (Manhattan) places like Charlotte with lower costs and great labor pool makes this city even more attractive.  Just watch.  

"Local, non-bank financial" sounds like the one I know about. We didn't get their interior job for that project, but as far as I know they're still going forward. You're the eternal optimist of this board but I hope you're right about Charlotte being even more attractive.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Madison Parkitect said:

"Local, non-bank financial" sounds like the one I know about. We didn't get their interior job for that project, but as far as I know they're still going forward. You're the eternal optimist of this board but I hope you're right about Charlotte being even more attractive.

That project has been put on hold. 

[SydneyCarton]

5 hours ago, RANYC said:

I lived in Manhattan for 14 years, up until December 2018.  Well aware Charlotte is nothing like NYC.  Just wondering if corporations/firms looking to relocate from NYC in response to COVID-19, have a gander at even Charlotte's version of density. 

If I'm so fed up with "density gone awry," even in the cross-roads of the world (NYC), that my people are packing up and getting the hell out of dodge for greener pastures, perhaps I'm averse to anything even attempting to resemble mid-or-high-rise urbanity.  Maybe the closest I'll get to vertical urbanity is Ballantyne, but Uptown, other parts of Center City are out...maybe.

I’m a New Yorker too, but I’ve lived in NC since 2008.  I love NC and will remain here for at least 15 years more and maybe the rest of my life.

However, other  than London, there’s no place in the world like New York.   It’s the world leader in finance, art, media, etc.  It has unparalleled amenities, which is why it is home to more billionaires than any other city in the world.  

My wife and I aren’t rich, and Charlotte (now Chapel Hill) offers us a much better life.  However, if I won the Mega Millions, I’d split my time between 15 Central Park West and Miami.

Edited April 17, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[KJHburg]

33 minutes ago, Madison Parkitect said:

"Local, non-bank financial" sounds like the one I know about. We didn't get their interior job for that project, but as far as I know they're still going forward. You're the eternal optimist of this board but I hope you're right about Charlotte being even more attractive.

In tough times companies cut costs and best way is to announce a relocation to cheaper city like Charlotte XX% will move and rest replaced or maybe not.    Charlotte has great advantages 2 months ago and still has them today.  Just watch.  Might all come at the end of the year  but it will.  

Projects may pause for a few months until things settle down but if you listen to the courtship of that Chinese company Golden Home it took 2 years. Bandwidth which just announced 1100 new jobs in Raleigh a local expansion was in the works for 2 years.   Economic development and big expansions are a long game. 

and to quote Warren Buffet after 9/11 "Everyone who bets against America in the long run comes up a  loser" 

Edited April 17, 2020 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Project Press in Kannapolis:

""Under the codename Project Press, the project calls for $68 million in total investment and will create 231 jobs at an average annual wage of $65,980, according to Cabarrus County documents. The company plans to fully lease a 300,000-square-foot industrial building at 1858 Kannapolis Parkway along the Interstate 85 corridor.  The unnamed company is described as a new co-packing company, which will build a facility to "fill cans under contracts with brand name companies to service the drink industry," according to county documents. The facility is projected to begin operations in the fourth quarter.""

subscriber article https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/04/17/proposed-project-calls-for-68m-investment-200-plus.html

[KJHburg]

Yet another California based company moving lock stock and barrel out of the Golden State.  Small metalworker equipment company from Southern California moving to north Charlotte. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/04/17/west-coast-metalworking-equipment-supplier-to.html

[SydneyCarton]

That’s good news!

[rancenc]

Not directly linked to Charlotte, but the state awarded grants to various locations throughout the state in job creation and economic development,

https://www.nccommerce.com/news/press-releases/state-awards-infrastructure-grants-rural-communities-attract-377-new-jobs-and

[SydneyCarton]

34 minutes ago, rancenc said:

Not directly linked to Charlotte, but the state awarded grants to various locations throughout the state in job creation and economic development,

https://www.nccommerce.com/news/press-releases/state-awards-infrastructure-grants-rural-communities-attract-377-new-jobs-and

That's good news.  What's good for the state, as a whole, is good for NC's metros.  Having lived in the state's two main metros, Charlotte and the Triangle, I'm impressed by how diverse and complementary they are.  I always liken Charlotte's economy to NY's, and the Triangle's to Boston's.  The amount of diverse business in a pretty small geographic area is impressive.

Edited April 18, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[Desert Power]

On 2/29/2020 at 8:11 PM, KJHburg said:

This is just a great way to think how Truist Bank feels about incentives.  Too bad most companies don't feel this way.  Charlotte gained #6 bank HQ without a penny of incentives and 2000 high paying jobs last year.  Truly amazing.  From the subscriber article in the CBJ  I for one will open an account once the new name arrives in Charlotte to support a company like this even though I bank at  100 N Tryon and at 301 S College among other banks.   Kudos to BB&T and the new Truist CEO Mr King.

BB&T has always had a big libertarian streak in its leadership. 

[KJHburg]

The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has been sending out an email every day with updates on what they are doing, what businesses are doing etc. I am very impressed.

Here is a video again about 30 minutes about what their economic development team is doing right now in this age of the virus.  Glad to see they are on top of it, how they are pivoting, looking for new opportunities. 

 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has been sending out an email every day with updates on what they are doing, what businesses are doing etc. I am very impressed.

Here is a video again about 30 minutes about what their economic development team is doing right now in this age of the virus.  Glad to see they are on top of it, how they are pivoting, looking for new opportunities. 

 

They even took the time to talk to me last week over Zoom Coffee!

[KJHburg]

One thing everyone agrees on foreign direct investment FDI is expected to increase in the coming years.   Also talk of consolidation of offices to lower costs areas which again benefits Charlotte.  From the above referenced youtube from the Charlotte Business Alliance. 

[KJHburg]

Subscriber story in the Biz Journal about economic development in the post pandemic age. I said some of this a while back.  all very interesting and the idea of more 2nd HQ is very appealing and Charlotte stands to benefit.  For example PolicyGenius has opened its 2nd HQ in downtown Durham to supplement their Manhattan location.  I am sure they are glad they did that now for sure.

 

""Site selectors say the pandemic may just speed up trends and changes that had been taking place over the past decade or more — relocation out of dense, expensive cities like New York and San Francisco as well as more remote work, for example.  "Many companies have tremendous incentive now to reduce operating costs," said John Boyd of The Boyd Co., a site selection company based in Princeton, New Jersey. "This really put a spotlight on how uniquely vulnerable major cities like New York and Chicago and San Francisco are for pandemics."  Cities like Charlotte could be beneficiaries for all the reasons the Queen City was attractive before the economic effects of Covid-19 were felt, including the area's quality of life and a competitive cost of living and doing business.""

""Density of a workspace as well as a headquarters city may be more seriously looked at in the wake of the pandemic. Already, some office users are challenging architects and office designers to map out workspaces to include social distancing and extra health and sanitation measures.  Seth Martindale, senior managing director of the location incentives group at CBRE, said during the CoreNet panel that companies with large, high-dense office operations concentrated in one city may look to either add a second headquarters elsewhere or have a more significant percentage of its employees move to remote work.""

""But how does Charlotte stack up compared to its competitors?  LaBar said in her group's survey of site selectors and companies, the Charlotte region ranked No. 4 overall in a list of economic development factors compared to competitors. Dallas ranked No. 1, while Atlanta and Nashville took the next spots. Columbus, Ohio, was ranked No. 5.  Charlotte ranked No. 2 on "strategic value" — factors that go beyond the three food groups of economic development, such as quality of life or cost to do business — but lower on incentives (No. 6), talent (No. 5) and real estate (No. 4). Atlanta took the top spot for strategic value and real estate while Columbus was No. 1 in incentives and Dallas ranked highest for talent.   On a national level, Charlotte tends to fare well, Martindale said. Ten or 15 years ago, companies cited cost of labor as a primary consideration — now, access to labor is paramount. Quality of life has also become increasingly more important. Having both of those traits has helped made Charlotte more competitive, most economic developers agree.   Charlotte also remains more affordable than hot spots like Austin and Nashville, which have undergone arguably more growth in a shorter period of time.  In general, site selection has become more complex and robust than it has been historically. Martindale said CBRE's model typically considers 75 criteria when evaluating a market's potential for economic expansion or relocation.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/04/22/site-selection-corporate-relocations-sure-to.html

 

[CLT2014]

I think the big question: Will the jobs gained from re-locating firms make up for the job losses from firms already in the Charlotte market? Great, we get 500 new jobs from a company re-locating, but I doubt that will make up for a 40% reduction in job openings at BofA, WFC, Lowe's, Belk, Sealed Air, Ingersoll Rand, Electrolux, Coca Cola Consolidated, et... Will Belk even survive? Will the Better.com expansion to 1,000 people happen when the minimum FICO score for a mortgage is floating towards 680 - 700, reducing prospects? With the banks absorbing forbearance, when will they start hiring again and what will bonuses look like this year? Obviously it is better to gain some firms during a recession than gain zero, but I suspect we won't gain enough to make up for the layoffs and organic reduction in hiring throughout 2020.

My company has frozen all hiring through Q3 with C-suite sign off required for any position. We went from 150 job openings in Charlotte to 40. Department managers have been asked to find any and all opportunities to cut 25% of their budget. Since the company will be trying to make up ground all year from two lost quarters, hiring likely won't increase until 2021. Bank of America went from over 600 open positions to 191 now in Charlotte. Many firms are going to try to reduce expenses as much as possible throughout 2020 and hiring sprees are likely to slow down. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by CLT2014

[atlrvr]

*** moderator note *** 

Deleted posts on rising unemployment.  Please use the Bad News thread or the Economy thread in the Coffee House.

[Hushpuppy321]

2 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

I think the big question: Will the jobs gained from re-locating firms make up for the job losses from firms already in the Charlotte market? Great, we get 500 new jobs from a company re-locating, but I doubt that will make up for a 40% reduction in job openings at BofA, WFC, Lowe's, Belk, Sealed Air, Ingersoll Rand, Electrolux, Coca Cola Consolidated, et... Will Belk even survive? Will the Better.com expansion to 1,000 people happen when the minimum FICO score for a mortgage is floating towards 680 - 700, reducing prospects? With the banks absorbing forbearance, when will they start hiring again and what will bonuses look like this year? Obviously it is better to gain some firms during a recession than gain zero, but I suspect we won't gain enough to make up for the layoffs and organic reduction in hiring throughout 2020.

My company has frozen all hiring through Q3 with C-suite sign off required for any position. We went from 150 job openings in Charlotte to 40. Department managers have been asked to find any and all opportunities to cut 25% of their budget. Since the company will be trying to make up ground all year from two lost quarters, hiring likely won't increase until 2021. Bank of America went from over 600 open positions to 191 now in Charlotte. Many firms are going to try to reduce expenses as much as possible throughout 2020 and hiring sprees are likely to slow down. 

I agree with you - What I’ve seen is a massive hiring freeze throughout all sectors including Government (City/County).  I do think that the underlying economic strengths of the region are still in place but may not come back to full strength for several years (2 or 3) following this Pandemic.