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Richmond: Economy/Business/Real Estate


wrldcoupe4

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On 4/13/2017 at 9:50 AM, blopp1234 said:

AvePoint has been terrifically enthusiastic about Richmond so far. They are already exceeding ALL of the benchmarks they proclaimed from their initial announcement in Feb 2016: http://richmondbizsense.com/2016/02/01/tech-firm-plugs-in-at-riverfront-plaza/ 

I love that Levar was at their office opening courting all of the Microsoft executives about Richmond's potential as a livable tech industry base. Our city really screams tech, it's probably only a matter of time before VCU expands its programs to widen the pipeline for more local tech companies (sounds like they were impressed with local talent already). Not to mention tech companies typically have an insatiable need for artists which is Richmond's main commodity. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://richmondbizsense.com/2017/05/03/moving-to-richmond-anatomy-of-the-corporate-relocation/

Just any awesome article about the momentum Richmond has had in the last couple of months. It's awesome to here that these companies are seeing such enthusiasm for Richmond. Also makes me want to buy a house even more cause I feel like prices will just keep rising in the city!

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I do like the fact that new corporations to Richmond are collaborating to help Richmond become more well known and are promoting the region to other corporations who might be interested in also moving to the area. Great article!  Gave me lots of hope for Richmond!

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3 hours ago, tparkerzut said:

http://richmondbizsense.com/2017/05/03/moving-to-richmond-anatomy-of-the-corporate-relocation/

Just any awesome article about the momentum Richmond has had in the last couple of months. It's awesome to here that these companies are seeing such enthusiasm for Richmond. Also makes me want to buy a house even more cause I feel like prices will just keep rising in the city!

I especially like that the new arrivals are choosing to live downtown and that they are embracing an urban lifestyle.  Richmond really needs people like them.

Edited by Wahoo 07
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  • 4 weeks later...

It would be amazing if RVA some how landed this. Could lead to a huge downtown tower if they went downtown. Would be great for the region to gain this so hopefully the region really lobbies for this.

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/is-aetna-insurance-looking-to-virginia-to-relocate-its-corporate/article_026fe263-b480-5e6e-9988-417abc28bc58.html

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1 hour ago, blopp1234 said:

It would be amazing if RVA some how landed this. Could lead to a huge downtown tower if they went downtown. Would be great for the region to gain this so hopefully the region really lobbies for this.

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/is-aetna-insurance-looking-to-virginia-to-relocate-its-corporate/article_026fe263-b480-5e6e-9988-417abc28bc58.html

What's ironic about this is that wasn't it Aetna that just pulled out of Virginia because it couldn't make money here?

On a side note, there have been indications lately that something huge is afoot for Richmond. Perhaps it is this, but perhaps it is something else.  However, I remember reading an article lately (I think it was posted here in this site somewhere) that one of Richmond's problems is that it hasn't landed the "big one" yet to be noticed nationally. There was a gentleman in town (forgot his name) that spoke to some folks here about Richmond's growth outlook and that was his message.  He also mentioned that he was in town to work on a deal that could change everything for Richmond.  No other details were given, but could it be this he was referring to?  Who knows, but it would be cool if Richmond could land Aetna. If it's not Richmond, it most assuredly will be Northern Virginia. 

Edited by eandslee
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1 hour ago, eandslee said:

What's ironic about this is that wasn't it Aetna that just pulled out of Virginia because it couldn't make money here?

On a side note, there have been indications lately that something huge is afoot for Richmond. Perhaps it is this, but perhaps it is something else.  However, I remember reading an article lately (I think it was posted here in this site somewhere) that one of Richmond's problems is that it hasn't landed the "big one" yet to be noticed nationally. There was a gentleman in town (forgot his name) that spoke to some folks here about Richmond's growth outlook and that was his message.  He also mentioned that he was in town to work on a deal that could change everything for Richmond.  No other details were given, but could it be this he was referring to?  Who knows, but it would be cool if Richmond could land Aetna. If it's not Richmond, it most assuredly will be Northern Virginia. 

Just imagine the impact of 6,000 employees averaging about $80,000 each is almost half a billion worth of spending power into the Richmond market. 

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I would love to see a big company and a big tower but I would be worried about a health insurance company. I think a Single Payer "Medicare for all" system is on the horizon and that will surely spell the end of the kind of outrageous, inefficient monopoly these companies now enjoy. 56% of the country (including something like 42% of Republicans) now support Single Payer and in time I think the demands of the public will be overwhelming. If they do land here, I will enjoy watching a major headquarters tower go up as much as the next person on this forum. 

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6 hours ago, changingskyline said:

I would love to see a big company and a big tower but I would be worried about a health insurance company. I think a Single Payer "Medicare for all" system is on the horizon and that will surely spell the end of the kind of outrageous, inefficient monopoly these companies now enjoy. 56% of the country (including something like 42% of Republicans) now support Single Payer and in time I think the demands of the public will be overwhelming. If they do land here, I will enjoy watching a major headquarters tower go up as much as the next person on this forum. 

If there's one thing we can learn about having big companies like Circuit City, it's that it's very presence leads to spin-offs (see, e.g., CarMax) and attracts other businesses.  Furthermore, can you imagine the impact on the airport???

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3 hours ago, jbjust said:

If there's one thing we can learn about having big companies like Circuit City, it's that it's very presence leads to spin-offs (see, e.g., CarMax) and attracts other businesses.  Furthermore, can you imagine the impact on the airport???

Love your airport comment...and it's true! The impacts would be HUGE!  Spin offs happen too, like you said.  I really hope we don't go to a single-payer health care system. Folks, trust me on this - single-payer systems SUCK!  I know because I'm a part of one...military healthcare. Can't make an appointment within 30 days unless it is an emergency, you are a patient on an "assembly line" and many diagnoses are missed, etc., etc.  Normal Americans won't stand for it, even those begging for single-payer now. It will all come back to haunt them if we convert over and I will just sit back, watch, and say "I told you so!"

Edited by eandslee
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Landing a Fortune 100 (or in Aetna's case Fortune 50) company would be huge.  Its impact would be felt throughout the region.  An influx of thousands of highly educated workers with significant disposable income would benefit everything from real estate prices to restaurants to the local school systems.  It would change Richmond and certainly give it a more "big city" feel (which obviously has many positives but a few downsides too).  I believe that Richmond's destiny is to be a city on parallel with Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, etc. -- big enough to enjoy a national reputation but not on the same level as Boston, Seattle, and Philadelphia.  Hosting Aetna's headquarters would be a step in that direction.

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41 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Do we have the intangibles that a Fortune 100 companies with no attachment to our area would want? I'm thinking pro sports, airport service, etc. This feels like a northern VA deal to me given the references to "major urban center" ? Are we one?

NOVA was my thought too.  Although, Hartford (their home city) is a city the size of Richmond.  All other articles I've read had them looking for a place to settle in Boston, MA.  We'll see where the chips fall on this one.  Hopefully, there is a follow-up article that will explain a little more soon.  It was kind of rude to publish a "cliff hanger" article like this one.  Thanks RTD.

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Every metric indicates that a single payer healthcare system is superior to what we have here.  

I'd like for Richmond to land a huge employer.  Aetna doesn't seem like a very sexy one though and its impact wouldn't be that significant (organizations would have a new corporate sponser which would be nice).  It's a huge company (50k employees) but only a few thousand work in its current home city. I imagine that a HQ move would result in a pretty significant downsizing too.

Edited by Brent114
Corrected spelling error
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13 hours ago, changingskyline said:

I would love to see a big company and a big tower but I would be worried about a health insurance company. I think a Single Payer "Medicare for all" system is on the horizon and that will surely spell the end of the kind of outrageous, inefficient monopoly these companies now enjoy. 56% of the country (including something like 42% of Republicans) now support Single Payer and in time I think the demands of the public will be overwhelming. If they do land here, I will enjoy watching a major headquarters tower go up as much as the next person on this forum. 

Single payer systems are still supplemented by private insurance companies so Aetna would still have a huge market.  Given that everyone would have the basic insurance it may also lead to a lot of deregulation for the private companies so overall they may do well.

I will also disagree on single-payer being inherently ineffective after experiencing Australia's.  In a small town, we were able to get walk-in service and meds within an hour for less than $40 USD.  They pay less for their basic insurance than we effectively pay for others to have Medicare/caid (AU 2% vs our effective 2.9%), not only without benefit to us but the lower negotiations cause out bills to be higher to compensate).  Sadly, I still agree with eandslee to a point as we have a terrible reputation with Federally ran programs (partially due to political motivations) but this is even more reason why supplemental private insurance, such as Aetna, would do well.  Now, if we were to try universal at state level (where it is more likely to get such a system passed in some states), then the results may be different.

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Any large company coming to RVA would still be very good for the city.

I'm curious what their employee base is made up of.  I know MCV has degrees in medical administration and the such.  I wonder if having MCV blocks away could be something that helps entice them to move to RVA.

Also, it looks like RRHA will finally start auctioning off some of its properties.  This is great news for a few Richmond neighborhoods that have been plagued for years with empty houses sat on by the RRHA.  Filling up these houses will help add to the economic integrity of the neighborhoods (more people to spend money at localized shops) and help grow RVA's tax base.

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Jeeze I got on a research trip for a couple weeks and I come home to pretty interesting stuff!

Aetna, that's huge, Hartford (and Connecticut as a whole) have been going through a really rough time these last 10 or so years. I remember living up in NY we'd never go up there for this reason. That being said, Hartford is comparable to RVA (be it a smaller version), except that RVA, to me, seems to have much more pride/identity/culture and is a healthier city in a healthier state. I think if Aetna wants something similar to the relationship/history they have had with Hartford then RVA is pretty good candidate.

We'll just have to wait and see on this one, keep your fingers crossed.

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1 hour ago, Wahoo 07 said:

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/eight-companies-based-in-richmond-region-make-the-fortune-list/article_75a70f40-3356-54b8-ba4b-4b51c4efccb6.html

Eight local companies on the Fortune 500 list.  This is more evidence that Richmond punches way above its weight class.

Seems like we used to have 12 back in the early 2000's.  Circuit City and CSX are a couple that come to mind that are no longer around...

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54 minutes ago, jbjust said:

Seems like we used to have 12 back in the early 2000's.  Circuit City and CSX are a couple that come to mind that are no longer around...

CSX use to have their HQ in Richmond?  I always thought they were in Jacksonville, FL?

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