Richmond: Economy/Business/Real Estate

[wrldcoupe4]

As burt likes to say, I'll bet you a quarter that there will be a rooftop sign on the westernmost Riverfront Plaza tower that says Wachovia Securities soon....

[burt]

As burt likes to say, I'll bet you a quarter that there will be a rooftop sign on the westernmost Riverfront Plaza tower that says Wachovia Securities soon....

Does that mean Wachovia Securities will not consolidate in Charlotte in the giant new building it is planning there? I'd gladly lose a quarter if that is true.

PS. Is this rooftop sign a little item you picked up this morning?

[wrldcoupe4]

haha they better not put a roof sign on for nothing!

I noticed it being approved by the planning commission in their briefs....

Funny how they just don't name the damn building :

".....The property to the north is located in the B-4 district and is improved with a parking deck. The property to the east is located in the M-1 Light Manufacturing district and is improved with a metal manufacturing plant. The property to the west, across South 9th Street, is the Federal Reserve building. The canal and the Riverside on the James development are to the south. The Downtown Plan recommends

[wrldcoupe4]

A couple updates from the world of Richmond Business....

Fortune List shows toll of time...

This article is mainly about how the face and number of Virginia's Fortune 500 companies has changed over time, particularly how the once powerful Richmond banks were gobbled up in the merger mania of the 80's and 90's.

Thought his was worth mentioning though to show how we compare:

Northern Virginia is home to nine of these companies; the Richmond area, six; and Norfolk, Roanoke, and Smithfield each claim one

It also doesn't include the recent MeadWestvaco relocation and Genworth's soon to be addition to the list this year (it's the second largest company in revenue in Richmond behind Dominion)..... which puts Richmond at 8 Fortune 500 companies. And if LandAmerica does better than last year, we could have 9, as they were something like 508th.

--------------------------------------

And on the same note, another article about MeadWestvaco's relocation to Richmond....

MeadWestvaco to relocate headquarters to the Richmond area

And just a nice excerpt:

Richmond burnished its reputation as a home for Fortune 500 companies with the announcement that MeadWestvaco Corp. is moving to town. The company plans to relocate its headquarters from Stamford, Conn., to the Richmond area by this summer, creating 400 new jobs. The company initially will have temporary quarters while it looks for a permanent site to occupy by summer 2008.

MeadWestvaco is ranked 267th on the Fortune 500 list. It will be the seventh company from the current list to have headquarters in the area. Richmond-based Genworth Financial Corp., which was spun off by General Electric Co. two years ago, is also expected to join the Fortune list when it is next published in April.......

[wrldcoupe4]

Want some more?

Subsidiary of Richmond engineering firm opens office in Romania

I like hearing news about Richmond companies expanding internationally....

Richmond-based engineering firm Froehling & Robertson Inc. has formed a new international subsidiary, opening its first office in Bucharest...

Ultimately F&R officials expect the Romania-based business to excel and earn enough revenue to enable the company to fund additional expansion, first in Eastern Europe and then in other emerging markets. "We think we

[wrldcoupe4]

Interesting...... from an article about Watkins Centre being approved....

Chesterfield Observer has learned MeadWestvaco, the Fortune 500 paper and packaging company which is conducting a corporate search for new headquarters in the Richmond area and has 400 new jobs, met to discuss opportunities in Chesterfield last Thursday. County officials refused comment.

County Observer article...

[ric75]

Interesting...... from an article about Watkins Centre being approved....

County Observer article...

When i think about another big company ignoring downtown and moving into the burbs my first instinct is to

Sorry wrldcoupe, I know Chesterfield is your hometown but there just something about suburbia that doesn't sit right with me. Well, I won't take to much from that blurb yet. If they haven't already, I would hope MeadWestvaco is planning to meet with many other property owners as well before making a decision. Where is their temporary setup going to be btw?

[wrldcoupe4]

My hometown is Richmond... I just happened to be from and live in the county of Chesterfield. I still see myself as a Richmonder.....

Anyways, MWV is still in the early stages of evaluating certain sites... that blurb is exactly that, a blurb. But it shows that they are already actively looking for a site, which is good. I hope it goes downtown.

[burt]

My hometown is Richmond... I just happened to be from and live in the county of Chesterfield. I still see myself as a Richmonder.....

Anyways, MWV is still in the early stages of evaluating certain sites... that blurb is exactly that, a blurb. But it shows that they are already actively looking for a site, which is good. I hope it goes downtown.

I wonder if Mr. Wilder is doing his civic duty by lobbying M/WV. His National prominence should grab the attention of potential businesses contemplating moves to the area.

[ric75]

I wonder if Mr. Wilder is doing his civic duty by lobbying M/WV. His National prominence should grab the attention of potential businesses contemplating moves to the area.

Knowing Mayor Wilder he most definitely is. I think wheelin' and dealin' with the big guys is what he does best.

[wrldcoupe4]

Kevlar, manufactured in Chesterfield, has shielded 3000+ from injuries

I never knew that Dupont's Kevlar was manufactured in Richmond... Honeywell's competing Spectra is also manufactured in our area.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police said yesterday that it inducted Atlanta police officer Corey B. Grogan as the 3,000th member of the DuPont Kevlar Survivors' Club, a group of police and correctional officers who were saved from potentially fatal or disabling injuries by wearing the body armor manufactured at DuPont Co.'s plant in Chesterfield County..........DuPont makes Kevlar fibers at its Spruance plant on Jefferson Davis Highway.

A competing body-armor material -- Spectra -- is manufactured by Honeywell International Inc. in Chesterfield.

Since 2000, both companies have announced production expansions to meet what they describe as growing worldwide demand for bullet- and blast-resistant materials.

[wrldcoupe4]

Local Job Outlook Improves for 2nd Quarter...

According to a survey of employers in the Richmond area, 33% plan to add employees to their payrolls in the 2nd quarter. 57% say they plan to maintain current employment levels and only 3% say they plan to reduce payrolls....

......"It is a nice job market all around," said Kevin Blake, Manpower's regional director for Richmond and southern Virginia. "The job market is growing, and that should spell strong economic growth for the region."

The local outlook reflects the national market. Of the 16,000 U.S. employers surveyed by Manpower, 30 percent forecast an increase in hiring for the second quarter, while 6 percent expected a reduction in payrolls. Fifty-eight percent reported no change in hiring plans, and 6 percent said they haven't determined their staffing needs.........

[wrldcoupe4]

Woah... this year, Richmond could have as many as 9 Fortune 500 companies...

Check it out:

1. Circuit City

2. Dominion Resources

3. CarMax

4. Performance Food Group

5. Brinks

6. Owens & Minor

7. Genworth Financial

8. newcomer MeadWestvaco

annnnd... possibly LandAmerica financial coming in at #9... revenue was up from last year, when it was just a few slots away from being included in the 500.

Not many cities can claim that many fortune 500's, so it's something Richmond should be proud of

[urbanvb]

Yes, that is great news!

[wrldcoupe4]

McGuireWoods Plans New Merger

Virginia's largest law-firm, Richmond-based McGuireWoods, is merging with an Los Angeles based law-firm...

an excerpt:

The merger gives McGuireWoods a platform from which to expand its business in California and the Pacific Rim, said William J. Strickland, McGuireWoods' managing partner.

Edited March 15, 2006 by wrldcoupe4

[burt]

McGuireWoods Plans New Merger

Virginia's largest law-firm, Richmond-based McGuireWoods, is merging with an Los Angeles based law-firm...

an excerpt:

Everytime I hear "merger" I fear that a Richmond company is abandoning its home town headquarters, but I'm pleased to see that McGuire Woods will remain in Riverfromt Towers.

Coupe, I still think that Hunton Williams is Nationally larger than Mcguire. And they are headquartered in the same complex aren't they? One in the west tower and the other in the east tower?

Edited March 15, 2006 by burt

[BGW]

Everytime I hear "merger" I fear that a Richmond company is abandoning its home town headquarters, but I'm pleased to see that McGuire Woods will remain in Riverfromt Towers.

Coupe, I still think that Hunton Williams is Nationally larger than Mcguire. And they are headquartered in the same complex aren't they? One in the west tower and the other in the east tower?

McGuire Woods is actually in One James Center.

[TBurban]

Philip Morris Update

Theres a great aerial view of the project

[burt]

Thanks for correcting me on McGuire Woods location, BGW. Don't know why I got it into my head they were in Riverfront.

But isn't Hunton Williams the bigger law firm?

Seems to me M/W at one time had the name Battle in its title.

Philip Morris Update

Theres a great aerial view of the project

Yea, Tommy. That is a nifty shot of PM.

[burt]

A move into downtown for an existing suburban company:

Performance Fibers is moving its headquarters from Colonial Heights to The Merrill Lynch Building at 707 E. Main Street (8th and Main Streets).

50 executive, commercial, finance, technical and administrative employees will make the move.

In addition to Merrill Lynch, another important tenant in the building is Advantis/GVA.

[Cadeho]

That's good news... however, do the Tri-Cities count as suburbs? I don't count them as such.

[Downtowner]

NOOOOOOOO I Freakin hate this!!!!! This is really going to suck.

http://www.nbc12.com/servlet/Satellite?pag...d=1137834769244

[TBurban]

I hope this doesnt affect the building of Centennial. Those should hopefully break ground soon enough.

[ric75]

I hope this doesnt affect the building of Centennial. Those should hopefully break ground soon enough.

How come we don't hear about downtown developers trying to court MWV? Is Richmond just that bad at PR or is no one trying? I won't be surprised if MWV goes out there but I won't be happy about it. This is where cooperation needs to happen though I know it won't. Richmond needs this business to help continue the DT renaissance. Henrico and Chesterfield don't NEED this but damned if they want anyone else to have it. It's really a miser mentality. They'll never have enough offices, 8 lane roads, or strip malls to ever make themselves happy.

[TBurban]

It sucks how that works. WBV isnt even built yet and they want to attract Mead Westavco