Lessons for the Chaquita and Sears relocations.......

 

Job creation tax credits falling short in states

December 01, 2011|David A. Lieb, Associated Press

 

For residents in the rural Midwest, the governor’s announcement was golden: A global company with Chinese ownership planned to hire 612 people at a new factory making artificial sweetener.

 

But a little over a year later, the deal has turned sour. The half-built facility sits idle, as quiet as the cemetery across the street. The city plans to default on $39 million of bonds issued on behalf of Mamtek U.S. Inc. And many of the thousands of people who picked up applications for jobs there still are looking for work.

 

“They said they were going to bring in all these jobs, they had all this stuff lined up,’’ said Patrick Thieman, a 40-year-old laid off call-center employee who had applied for an office job at Mamtek. “They didn’t fulfill.’’

 

The failure highlights an uncomfortable reality for candidates in a 2012 campaign season focused on the economy. President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers, along with many contenders for state offices, can promote their plans for creating jobs, but carrying them out is lot easier said than done. Government efforts in a number of states are coming up short this year. And in one state that has been especially ambitious, Ohio, decades worth of data show the deals often fail to produce the jobs promised.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://articles.boston.com/2011-12-01/business/30463770_1_job-creation-tax-credits-business-incentives-state-aid

When I think of Cbus, I think of government and insurance. 

 

We do have other retailers based here -- Limited Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch (which is a separate company) and other spin-offs of Limited, Big Lots and what's left of Value City. Groveport, Rickenbacker and the intermodal facility have brought in distribution facilities for Eddie Bauer, Kmart, Spiegel, The Gap and Amazon.

^The reason that Sears chose Cincinnati first in its Ohio relocation plans was obviously because of the city's powerful marketing presence and retailing infrastructure.  The future fit seemed perfect: Procter & Gamble (the world's largest products consumer company); Kroger (the nation's largest grocery company); Macy's (one of the country's most renowned department store companies); and Sears (another giant national retailer).  So what happened to derail this logical fit?  It's simple: Kasich and his innermost friends live in Columbus.

Not worth speculating over. Internal biases will shade opinions and no one will win the argument. Let's avoid the pointless back-and-forth.

If that's true about John Barret and Western Southern. They maybe the next to seek incentives to stay. Western Southern wanted to buy the louis inn in Downtown Cincinnati. They wanted to develop that part of downtown.  All though they did help build the new tallest it has to be sour grapes with them with the city and state.

Not worth speculating over. Internal biases will shade opinions and no one will win the argument. Let's avoid the pointless back-and-forth.

 

Thing is, I agree with subocincy in that regard. Politicians almost always work to bring home the bacon in their home districts at the expense of others. I was pointing out that there are other retailers here and that infrastructure is available.

^ And I must agree with you, GCrites80s.  As a retail hub and distribution center, Columbus is a contender bringing its own strengths to the table...

So TQL, a home-grown Cincinnati company, which moved from Eden Park to Clermont County a few years ago announced today they are adding 1,000 jobs and Kasich decides to show up.  This company was adding a 1,000 jobs in the region regardless, and it bugs me that he had to jump on the press conference when he really had no impact.  Where is he when companies are thinking about moving or where is his effort on getting new companies here?  Great news, but what an ass - I prefer the Courier article because it makes zero mention of him.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2011/12/15/total-quality-logistics-up-for-4m-in.html

After losing anchor, 580 Building to face sheriff’s sale

Business Courier by Tom Demeropolis, Staff Reporter

 

One of downtown Cincinnati’s largest office buildings will be sold at a sheriff’s sale on March 1.

 

The 580 Building, a 480,000-square-foot office complex in the heart of the central business district, has been in foreclosure since last spring.

 

Owner 580 Investors LLC failed to make the final installment payment on the note due Jan. 1, according to court documents. The owner knew the building’s anchor tenant, Great American Insurance Co., would leave the building for the new Great American Tower in 2011, and its rent payments would burn off by the end of the year. The vacancy rate in ...

 

Cont (Premium Article)

BUSINESS EXCLUSIVE: Paycor moving - but where?

 

QUEENSGATE — Fast-growing payroll firm Paycor is moving out of Queensgate, the latest big company to relocate and spur competition for jobs in the region.

 

Paycor CEO Bob Coughlin said the firm and its 420 workers will stay inside the Interstate 275 loop in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky – either in renovated existing offices or in a new corporate headquarters it will build by 2013.

 

A relocation downtown, however, probably isn’t happening.

 

“I like the urban core downtown, and we looked at every possible option,” says Coughlin, who started the company in the Queensgate building in 1990. “Either parking, convenience or cost became a problem for us.”

 

Cont.

PayCor has announced its leaving Queensgate and moving its 450 employees somewhere else. Looking at the Cities options for new suburban style office space, the best options seem to be Oakley Station, Keystone in Evanston &  the Medpace campus in Madisonville.

 

Any chance they're considering a move to The Banks?  Now that dunnhumby has decided on Fifth & Race, I'd like to see the county and city approach Paycor as an office tenant.

PayCor has announced its leaving Queensgate and moving its 450 employees somewhere else. Looking at the Cities options for new suburban style office space, the best options seem to be Oakley Station, Keystone in Evanston &  the Medpace campus in Madisonville.

 

Any chance they're considering a move to The Banks?  Now that dunnhumby has decided on Fifth & Race, I'd like to see the county and city approach Paycor as an office tenant.

 

I would expect Covington and the State of Kentucky to throw the kitchen sink at PayCor in a no-holds-barred battle royale in order to lure them across the river. They would be a nice company to have at The Banks though.

No chance they will head to the Banks.  According to the Business Courier, they said they want an all surface parking suburban style campus. There aren't even many locations in Covington that fit that bill.

^Too bad.  I have no idea why companies are attracted to that.  My current office is exactly what they're describing and it is horrendous.

They say they surveyed their staff, which is mostly middle age women, and they prefer surface parking to garages.

And yet the still want more "amenities" nearby.  It's just like the people say they want to live in a walkable neighborhood near shopping and restaurants and work, but they still want to live in a single family detached house on a large lot.  It just doesn't work that way. 

Is there any chance for Norwood's "Linden Pointe" (Montgomery & Ross Aves) to be considered for this development?

^Plenty of surface parking there!

They say they surveyed their staff, which is mostly middle age women, and they prefer surface parking to garages.

 

I know I prefer scraping ice and snow off my car in the winter and having my car heat up to literally 200 degrees inside in the summer -- not. Another symptom of TV's "Stranger Danger", whose real goal was to keep people inside watching TV instead of increasing public safety.

I guess that now that the five years of incentives are over they're planning on moving.  I just got an email from a recruiter there looking for IT folks.  As a downtowner I only consider working for businesses within walking distance (quality of life).  Given their suburban direction this is a business I would not even consider working for unless I were desperate for work.

Hope you told the recruiter that!

The recruiter contacted me through a mass email via LinkedIn.  Figured it wasn't worth burning any bridges in case I become unemployed and forced to take a job outside downtown.

Gotcha. Nevermind!

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2012/02/13/kao-usa-to-make-economic-development.html

 

Kao USA to make an economic development announcement w/Kasich. Apparently this was scheduled today at 2. Did it happen? Does anyone know anything about it? The Courier mentions that Kao may be looking for downtown office space...

 

Edit: nvm, it's scheduled for tomorrow, not today. I'm all out of sorts about what date it is.  :drunk:

Somewhere downtown. Enquirer just posted update saying they may be adding 50 jobs

 

Is there any chance for Norwood's "Linden Pointe" (Montgomery & Ross Aves) to be considered for this development?

 

I would bet thats the strongest competition to staying in Cincinnati.  I can't think of anything else 10 min from DT with 700 surface spots & a new construction 100,000-150,000 sqft building.

Keystone is looking at building another office building. It could be there.

According to my sources this decision is still indeed open - Keystone is actually the first place I thought of when they determined they were not going to the CBD.  Hopefully that meets their needs, and I think it is the best location to offer to keep them within the city limits.

According to my sources this decision is still indeed open - Keystone is actually the first place I thought of when they determined they were not going to the CBD.  Hopefully that meets their needs, and I think it is the best location to offer to keep them within the city limits.

 

It could be- BUT everyone needs to remember the company themselves said they want surface parking and lots of close by amenities. Keystone park has no restaurants in walking distance and certainly cannot provide anywhere close to 500-700 surface spaces.  Perhaps they'll compromise, but those were basically their only two demands and keystone does not deliver strongly on either of them.

^You kidding? Plenty at Rookwood. Only a few blocks or exit away. 5 mins max to get there.

There was an article about why Keystone is stalled. The developers said businesses want amenities at that site (hence the new hotel plan). It certainly isn't that far to rookwood- but unless the developers are just making things up, businesses have implied they need more things in walking distance.

Cincinnati is definitely lacking with those kind of developments next to exits on the interstate.

What about the ol' Circuit City location at Center of Cincinnati?

The 2 p.m. announcement was supposed to be today but I see nothing in the news yet. I'm hoping they name the specific building...

"In Cincinnati where Kao is announcing the creation of its North American HQ, bringing new jobs and investment to Ohio from Japan. Proud of the hard work done by our friends at JobsOhio to make it a reality. Together, we've got Ohio on the comeback."

 

There will be no announcement on the building yet, as they have not signed a lease.

Just saw 1000 jobs were lost in the last month in Butler County.

 

Additionally, Cincinnati MSA gained 16,100 jobs in 2011 according to BLS.

^ They have lost/are losing two paper mills. I wonder how many of the 1000 are from the plants and ancillary positions. 

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/mohawk-to-close-beckett-mill-on-dayton-street-1273780.html

 

Never noticed the commonality of the red circles on the Ohio and Japanese flags before.

Did anyone notice that Nielson has its sign up at the top of the soon to be old Chiquita center?

^Intersting. This article from today states there is no update on the plans to add it to the east side of the building.

 

 

Nielsen completes move to downtown Cincinnati

Business Courier

 

Nielsen  has completed its relocation of about 500 employees from Covington, Ky. to downtown Cincinnati.

 

The global information and media company moved into the Chiquita Center at 250 E. Fifth St. The Business Courier broke the story about Nielsen’s plans to move across the Ohio River from the RiverCenter complex in September.

 

“The Cincinnati area is strategically important to Nielsen,” Mitchell Habib, chief operating officer of Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN), said in a news release. “Greater Cincinnati is a world class business marketplace, offering tremendous opportunity and a great workforce. It’s why Nielsen has enjoyed a presence here for 25 years. Nielsen is thrilled to remain in the Cincinnati area and we look forward to serving some of our major clients from our new downtown location.”

 

Cont

^Intersting. This article from today states there is no update on the plans to add it to the east side of the building.

 

 

Nielsen completes move to downtown Cincinnati

Business Courier

 

Nielsen  has completed its relocation of about 500 employees from Covington, Ky. to downtown Cincinnati.

 

The global information and media company moved into the Chiquita Center at 250 E. Fifth St. The Business Courier broke the story about Nielsen’s plans to move across the Ohio River from the RiverCenter complex in September.

 

“The Cincinnati area is strategically important to Nielsen,” Mitchell Habib, chief operating officer of Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN), said in a news release. “Greater Cincinnati is a world class business marketplace, offering tremendous opportunity and a great workforce. It’s why Nielsen has enjoyed a presence here for 25 years. Nielsen is thrilled to remain in the Cincinnati area and we look forward to serving some of our major clients from our new downtown location.”

 

Cont

 

 

I found it funny, just look up, the sign is right there

Oh crap! I feel like an idiot now- emailed a couple councilmembers saying the Chiquita sign should come down ASAP and be replaced by the sign of a company that actually wants to be here (Nielsen).

 

How could the reporter screw that up?!?

Chiquita never even had a sign on the building. their logo was printed on the glass window above the doors of the entrance.

^ Don't feel like such an idiot. Apparently there are some serious issues regarding the naming rights for the building. Chiquita still has its lease for a couple years and rights to have the building called the Chiquita Center but Nielson wants its name up on the building asap. I heard there are some City regulations about office tower names that require that the name be of the "primary" tenant, and that tenant has to occupy a certain percentage of the building. It is also possible Nielson isn't there yet.

^ Don't feel like such an idiot. Apparently there are some serious issues regarding the naming rights for the building. Chiquita still has its lease for a couple years and rights to have the building called the Chiquita Center but Nielson wants its name up on the building asap. I heard there are some City regulations about office tower names that require that the name be of the "primary" tenant, and that tenant has to occupy a certain percentage of the building. It is also possible Nielson isn't there yet.

 

Nielson already has a sign up. Chiquita had what some 350 employees there? and Nielson has a reported 500? sounds like they would have enough.

^ On the top of the tower?

Yes, east side of the building.

Very small & weird.

Very small & weird.

 

I agree. Maybe that plan on leasing the soon to be empty Chiquita floors with the selling point of having the new companies sign on the other side of the building.

 

Another note. Construction on the First Financial Center sign is under way.

Speaking of First Financial Center... demo is underway at the old Emery Credit Union location (435 Sycamore) next to the 'Wich. I've not seen anything announced for that location.