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WSJ is reporting that:

 

 

I suspect that Charlotte is merely a stalking horse, in large part due to flight availability. (although we do have the Freightliner plant just up the road....).

 

The question on my mind is did everyone who heard "German auto maker" rumors a month ago wrongly assume BMW, or are both big German manufacturers sniffing around?

 

 

Possibly people wrongly assumed, but there are several dynamics at work, that in my opinion, I would be beyond shocked if BMW didn't relocate within the next 10 year to Atlanta or Charlotte.  Mercedes makes sense in Atlanta, because it is closer to their Tuscaloosa, AL assemly plant, and one of their main ports of entries which is Jacksonville, FL.  Also, Delta already flies Atlanta-Stuttgart direct.

 

BMW makes sense for those same reasons to be in Charlotte.  It's closer to Greer, SC, their main port is Charleston, and has non-stop flights to Munich on Lufthansa, which would be the preferred air carrier for BMW execs (Atlanta-Munich is on Delta). 

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Charlotte Chamber tweeted the CEO of Mercedes-Benz;

" @SteveCannonCEO - Steve, we would love to talk to you about Charlotte as a potential location @cltecondev"

Seems to me like it's a huge stretch we land Mercedes if we're tweeting the CEO to kick our tires?

Edit: Eric Frazier now has a satirical open letter editorial to the CEO

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/19/5396069/hey-mercedes-pick-charlotte.html#.VJTHmEAV8

Edited by AirNostrumMAD
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  • 3 weeks later...

WSJ is reporting that:

 

 

I suspect that Charlotte is merely a stalking horse, in large part due to flight availability. (although we do have the Freightliner plant just up the road....).

 

The question on my mind is did everyone who heard "German auto maker" rumors a month ago wrongly assume BMW, or are both big German manufacturers sniffing around?

 

So...Mercedes made the move to Atlanta official today.  Already the whispers of BMW next have started.  A NJ based site-selection consultant speculated BMW would begin (if they haven't already) seriously considering relocating, and a town commisioner from Woodcliff Lake, NJ actually posted in the comments section of a local news site that they have proactively reached out to BMW to determine how to keep them from relocating.  In my opinion, the clock is ticking, and this is Charlotte's to lose...

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So...Mercedes made the move to Atlanta official today.  Already the whispers of BMW next have started.  A NJ based site-selection consultant speculated BMW would begin (if they haven't already) seriously considering relocating, and a town commisioner from Woodcliff Lake, NJ actually posted in the comments section of a local news site that they have proactively reached out to BMW to determine how to keep them from relocating.  In my opinion, the clock is ticking, and this is Charlotte's to lose...

Hope it happens and I hope they anchor Tryon Place with a huge BMW logo on the building and a small showroom in the base.

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Being that these auto HQs have a penchant for the 'burbs and BMW's largest plant and U.S. manufacturing HQ is in the Upstate, I wouldn't be surprised if they set their sights on Fort Mill/Indian Land within the next few years. And SC, as it always does, would pull out all the stops to make it happen.

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I don't disagree that it is unlikely that they go Uptown, but I thought the Mercedes CEO said something interesting in his interview following today's announcement, which is they prefer the Central Perimeter submarket as opposed to Alpharetta, because even though they acknowledge that many workers with families will chose to live in suburban Alpharetta, they are aware that the highly talented millenial workers will live in town, and be reisistant to driving to the suburbs.

 

Ironically, access to MARTA was also named as a consideration.

 

And in that spirit, my wife resigned today from a corporate job she liked in the Lake Norman area to take a job in Uptown because of the better commute and more stimulating environment (can walk to lunch instead of stuck on a corporate campus).

 

I think major employers clearly can see this trend (though apparantly not LPL or Lash Group).

 

If BMW were to come to Charlotte, I would think the Airport area or SouthPark would be near the top of their lists

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boo show room. yay Tryon Place BMW Logo.

Just something the size of a Tesla showroom or something with a couple M Series cars.  :fun:  

 

I don't want a dealership. Hell, stick it in the lobby. I just want BMW to be in your face. It would be the most recognizable brand in the world to call Charlotte home (even if it is just a NA HQ)

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So...Mercedes made the move to Atlanta official today.  Already the whispers of BMW next have started.  A NJ based site-selection consultant speculated BMW would begin (if they haven't already) seriously considering relocating, and a town commisioner from Woodcliff Lake, NJ actually posted in the comments section of a local news site that they have proactively reached out to BMW to determine how to keep them from relocating.  In my opinion, the clock is ticking, and this is Charlotte's to lose...

 

I can assure you that Greenville, Spartanburg, and pretty much the entire state of South Carolina will literally do anything to keep BMW headquartered in the Upstate - Specifically at its current location in Greer, but Greenville or Spartanburg would be logical moves too. That one company has been so transformative to the economy of South Carolina that losing it - even if its just the "headquarters" status and the upper management - would be considered a huge blow.

 

I'm not convinced this would happen anyway. Why would they want to move when they keep investing millions into that facility?

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I can assure you that Greenville, Spartanburg, and pretty much the entire state of South Carolina will literally do anything to keep BMW headquartered in the Upstate - Specifically at its current location in Greer, but Greenville or Spartanburg would be logical moves too. That one company has been so transformative to the economy of South Carolina that losing it - even if its just the "headquarters" status and the upper management - would be considered a huge blow.

I'm not convinced this would happen anyway. Why would they want to move when they keep investing millions into that facility?

He's talking about the North American corporate HQ in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, not the manufacturing HQ in Greer.
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I can assure you that Greenville, Spartanburg, and pretty much the entire state of South Carolina will literally do anything to keep BMW headquartered in the Upstate - Specifically at its current location in Greer, but Greenville or Spartanburg would be logical moves too. That one company has been so transformative to the economy of South Carolina that losing it - even if its just the "headquarters" status and the upper management - would be considered a huge blow.

 

I'm not convinced this would happen anyway. Why would they want to move when they keep investing millions into that facility?

BMW's NA HQ is in New Jersey, not SC.

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I can assure you that Greenville, Spartanburg, and pretty much the entire state of South Carolina will literally do anything to keep BMW headquartered in the Upstate - Specifically at its current location in Greer, but Greenville or Spartanburg would be logical moves too. That one company has been so transformative to the economy of South Carolina that losing it - even if its just the "headquarters" status and the upper management - would be considered a huge blow.

I'm not convinced this would happen anyway. Why would they want to move when they keep investing millions into that facility?

He is talking about the North American HQ which is in NJ not SC. The manufacturing plant is in SC. The theory here is that BMW would move their HQ to Charlotte to be relatively to their manufacturing plant but still be able to get all the "big city" amenities of Charlotte such as direct flights to Munich via Lufthansa.

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Central

 

I don't disagree that it is unlikely that they go Uptown, but I thought the Mercedes CEO said something interesting in his interview following today's announcement, which is they prefer the Central Perimeter submarket as opposed to Alpharetta, because even though they acknowledge that many workers with families will chose to live in suburban Alpharetta, they are aware that the highly talented millenial workers will live in town, and be reisistant to driving to the suburbs.

 

Ironically, access to MARTA was also named as a consideration.

 

And in that spirit, my wife resigned today from a corporate job she liked in the Lake Norman area to take a job in Uptown because of the better commute and more stimulating environment (can walk to lunch instead of stuck on a corporate campus).

 

I think major employers clearly can see this trend (though apparantly not LPL or Lash Group).

 

If BMW were to come to Charlotte, I would think the Airport area or SouthPark would be near the top of their lists

Central Perimeter. Central Perimeter.

Nope. Still cannot make geometry stretch that far.

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Central

 

Central Perimeter. Central Perimeter.

Nope. Still cannot make geometry stretch that far.

 

 

I don't disagree that it is unlikely that they go Uptown, but I thought the Mercedes CEO said something interesting in his interview following today's announcement, which is they prefer the Central Perimeter submarket as opposed to Alpharetta, because even though they acknowledge that many workers with families will chose to live in suburban Alpharetta, they are aware that the highly talented millenial workers will live in town, and be reisistant to driving to the suburbs.

 

Ironically, access to MARTA was also named as a consideration.

 

And in that spirit, my wife resigned today from a corporate job she liked in the Lake Norman area to take a job in Uptown because of the better commute and more stimulating environment (can walk to lunch instead of stuck on a corporate campus).

 

I think major employers clearly can see this trend (though apparantly not LPL or Lash Group).

 

If BMW were to come to Charlotte, I would think the Airport area or SouthPark would be near the top of their lists

 

Agreed that it is very interesting to see CEO's of large corporations start to think of the importance of location and workplace amenities. Workplace amenities are being pushed hard by the Silicon Valley and Boston companies and the location is being pushed by their new workforce. It is not just a 'choice' as I know many folks age 20-30 who will refuse to work in the suburbs. Many companies in Tysons and the RB corridor lose out on top talent because they want to work downtown - and willing to be paid 10% less for the privilege. 

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This isn't really "Good News" in the sense of Charlotte specific. But Wells Fargo seems to be kicking butt.

http://m.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/morning-edition/2015/01/wells-fargo-wfc-baird-stock-bank-outlook-stumpf.html

It'd be nice if they expanded office space here in Charlotte and anchored a new building.

They already employ more than BofA does, I don't imagine them expanding here enough to anchor a building, unless they completely relocate their HQ here. Wouldn't that be nice.....

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Wells Fargo already employs about 22,000 people in Charlotte... Though they've added to the employee count since the Wachovia acquisition I doubt they'd add enough to warrant another office tower unless they really wanted to consolidate space down the road. I know they sublease some space from BofA uptown and they have that huge operation in north Charlotte. Their CEO always said they aren't in the business of building office towers. I think until he retires their mantra will stay the same. They are more conservative than Wachovia/First Union was in that regard.

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Lot's of interesting info in the biz journal this morning.

 

Crescent selling MORE land.  14k acres to be exact.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/01/08/crescent-communities-sells-14k-acres-of-s-c.html

 

We also moved up 4 spots to 23rd from last year on the "Best preforming cities" list.  Raleigh was 5th!  Awesome for them.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/morning-edition/2015/01/where-does-charlotte-land-on-bestperforming-cities.html

 

And Run for your Life is opening up a store in Midtown.  Good to see local businesses identifying Midtown as a healthy market for retail growth!

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/01/08/run-for-your-life-plans-spring-move-to-midtown.html

  • Like 2
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Lot's of interesting info in the biz journal this morning.

 

Crescent selling MORE land.  14k acres to be exact.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/01/08/crescent-communities-sells-14k-acres-of-s-c.html

 

We also moved up 4 spots to 23rd from last year on the "Best preforming cities" list.  Raleigh was 5th!  Awesome for them.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/morning-edition/2015/01/where-does-charlotte-land-on-bestperforming-cities.html

 

And Run for your Life is opening up a store in Midtown.  Good to see local businesses identifying Midtown as a healthy market for retail growth!

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/01/08/run-for-your-life-plans-spring-move-to-midtown.html

Crescent has GOT to be moving on Tryon Place, regardless of having an anchor, and their other land on Stonewall, they are stockpiling SO much money.

Edited by Jayvee
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Hopefully they will build Charlottes new tallest! You never know. ha ha!

Nah, I'm perfectly happy with getting 4 or 5 buildings instead. Butttt if they wanna build a tallest... :D I wouldn't complain.

I wanna see renderings or even conceptuals of this Stonewall site.

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I don't disagree that it is unlikely that they go Uptown, but I thought the Mercedes CEO said something interesting in his interview following today's announcement, which is they prefer the Central Perimeter submarket as opposed to Alpharetta, because even though they acknowledge that many workers with families will chose to live in suburban Alpharetta, they are aware that the highly talented millenial workers will live in town, and be reisistant to driving to the suburbs.

 

Ironically, access to MARTA was also named as a consideration.

 

And in that spirit, my wife resigned today from a corporate job she liked in the Lake Norman area to take a job in Uptown because of the better commute and more stimulating environment (can walk to lunch instead of stuck on a corporate campus).

 

I think major employers clearly can see this trend (though apparantly not LPL or Lash Group).

 

If BMW were to come to Charlotte, I would think the Airport area or SouthPark would be near the top of their lists

 

Sandy Springs is so far from ATL, hence I understand the need to be close to the MARTA line as redundancy to get there in case of Snowmageddon II and rush hour bottlenecks.  Atlanta will eventually need a second airport to serve the northern suburbs IMHO.

 

Would be nice to see BMW's headquarters in York or Lancaster county-- SC would roll out the red carpet to get them.  It's close to CLT and a straight shot to Greer, plus close to suppliers like Continental already have their US HQ there.

Edited by ChessieCat
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