Richmond: Economy/Business/Real Estate

[TBurban]

I keep forgetting that Northrop Grumman is going to be a very large presence in Metro Richmond. The city got Mead Westvaco and Chesterfield, as Jason pointed out when we discussed the ugly building at 7th and Cary, will soon be home to hundreds of employees of N/G.

As Andrew Little says, Northrop Grumman very possibly will attract other hi-tech companies to the area.

NG, M/WV and Brac's addition of 7000 military personnel to Ft. Lee will lead to a considersble population surge.

Interesting, a couple of my family members work for N.G. on Long Island, near....Hempstead. Maybe they could transfer

[CommRE]

POSSIBLE CORRECTION: I may have been wrong in assuming Richmond is headquarters for the William Mullin law firm. News reports have not identified a headquarters city for the firm pre nor post merger. All I can say for sure is that William Mullin P.A. does maintain an office in Richmond and will continue to do so after the merger.

Maybe one of you can offer clarification.

Williams Mullen is based in Richmond.

[CommRE]

Yeah, James Center occupancy is over 95%

James Center is currently 93.8% occupied. Not quite 95 - but still very good!

[wrldcoupe4]

Ahh fair enough... I guess CB needs to update their James Center stats.

[urbanvb]

Looks like Gateway, a NC bank, is going to acquire the Bank of Richmond.

story

[eandslee]

Looks like Gateway, a NC bank, is going to acquire the Bank of Richmond.

story

Damn it! When will the NC stop buying out our frickin' banks!! This pisses me off!! Eventhough it's a small community bank being bought it still sends a message that NC rules Virginia as far as banks go! This crap has got to stop!

Edited January 11, 2007 by eandslee

[wrldcoupe4]

I'd be more concerned if it was a larger local bank such as First Market that was being gobbled up.

[burt]

I'd be more concerned if it was a larger local bank such as First Market that was being gobbled up.

Me, too. Gateway/Richmond Bank does not have a downtown presence, does it? And it doesn't look as if any of the branches in the suburbs will close.

North Carolina certainly does covet Richmond banks -- that's a fact.

[Downtowner]

I hate NC with a passion.... It takes everything away from me you see I had lots of friends growing up with that have moved to NC cause of all the banks moving down there plus one of my best friends moved to Charlotte cause her dad had to transfer from the BofA in Richmond to the New BofA Corporate Center in Charlotte. It makes me so mad to see NC gobble everything up from us. I wish we could put an end to it.

[Downtowner]

This Article has to do with my Aunts Company she owns its mainly about the nimbys against her expansion. But please read it its interesting.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satel...s=1045855934842

[Cadeho]

Hopewell would be better, they're used to toxins and stuff, they have a yellow sky!

[burt]

I'm trying to cut and paste an important article about a new account aquisition by Martin Agency. Let's see if it works.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satel...d=1149192633388

Hahaha. It worked.

Read this one friends, cause it announces that the Martin Agency just landed the Wall*Mart Account worth a total of $570 million in billings to be shared with a New York communications company.

Edited January 13, 2007 by burt

[wrldcoupe4]

Fantastic article Burt. I'd call it a coup, but Martin has already proven it can beat out the best in its industry.

I've noticed tons of marketing and ad firms while working downtown... I wonder if it's common or if something draws them there... VCU Ad Center or Martin Agency?

[burt]

Fantastic article Burt. I'd call it a coup, but Martin has already proven it can beat out the best in its industry.

I've noticed tons of marketing and ad firms while working downtown... I wonder if it's common or if something draws them there... VCU Ad Center or Martin Agency?

I like Martin's cave man ads for GEICO.

[wrldcoupe4]

Yeah they are great... and a Geico commercial with a van covered with Gecko stuff was filmed around Richmond... you can see multiple downtown shots in it. I'm not sure if it was just a local Geico commercial or national though, but it was well done.

[eandslee]

Yeah they are great... and a Geico commercial with a van covered with Gecko stuff was filmed around Richmond... you can see multiple downtown shots in it. I'm not sure if it was just a local Geico commercial or national though, but it was well done.

That's a national commercial because I've seen many times out here in Montana! I also love the Geico cavman commericals! My favorite is when the Geico rep takes the two cavmen out for dinner to apologize for their mistake. The Wal-Mart announcement is super news for Richmond and the Martin Agency. This is very, very good for Richmond.

[burt]

That's a national commercial because I've seen many times out here in Montana! I also love the Geico cavman commericals! My favorite is when the Geico rep takes the two cavmen out for dinner to apologize for their mistake. The Wal-Mart announcement is super news for Richmond and the Martin Agency. This is very, very good for Richmond.

Is that the ad with people dressed up like Geckos? A friend of mine is in one of these segments, and it did not get a lot of air time up here. Besides, the segment I'm talking about was shot in Yonkers. I think a number of Geigo ads ARE shot in Richmond -- including some of those one on one spots like Peter Graves and the other one with the dwarf interpreting for the "man on the street" types.

The cave man being counseled by the physchiatrist is very funny. His mother calls while he's there and he says he'll put her on speaker phone.

[krazeeboi]

Damn it! When will the NC stop buying out our frickin' banks!! This pisses me off!! Eventhough it's a small community bank being bought it still sends a message that NC rules Virginia as far as banks go! This crap has got to stop!

This happens to SC banks to an extent as well....I guess as neighboring states, we're easy targets. But hey, NC's leaders were smart enough to loosen the banking laws so as to build a strong banking economy; I'm not mad at them. The most we can do as individuals is to make sure we support state-based banks.

[Downtowner]

Found a great story about the decline in office Vacancies

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satel...ss%21realestate

[burt]

Found a great story about the decline in office Vacancies

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satel...ss%21realestate

This is good news for Western Henrico, but not so hot for Downtown, Chesterfield and Eastern Henrico. Downtown Class A space is doing well, says the report. It also says Western Henrico is stealing businesses from Chesterfield (something it has been doing to Richmond for decades). Maybe it is time for downtown to continue the raid on Innsbrook, Reynolds Crossings and Cam's beloved Short Pump . PM Research and promised M/WV headquarters are a good beginning.

[wrldcoupe4]

Downtown is doing fine and its Class A vacancy is the lowest in the region... it's the Class B space that isn't performing well.

Edited January 14, 2007 by wrldcoupe4

[burt]

Downtown is doing fine and its Class A vacancy is the lowest in the region... it's the Class B space that isn't performing well.

Coupe, do you think more of the Class B space should be converted to residential?

[wrldcoupe4]

I'm no expert, but I think we'll see that in some instances. In others, property owners could upgrade/renovate their properties and offer better amenities to office users.

[Cadeho]

This happens to SC banks to an extent as well....I guess as neighboring states, we're easy targets. But hey, NC's leaders were smart enough to loosen the banking laws so as to build a strong banking economy; I'm not mad at them. The most we can do as individuals is to make sure we support state-based banks.

All Va needs now is for Capital One to buy every bank in Charlotte, then relocate its HQ to downtown Richmond... dream...

Explain to me the difference bewteeen the classes.

[wrldcoupe4]

Simply put: typically Class A is nicer and newer and Class B is not as nice and older. Much of the space along Main St is Class B, while places like James Center and Riverfront Plaza are Class A