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United has finalized the acquisition of Cardinal Financial in the Washington Metro. The only problem with the article is that it details United Bank as the 38th largest bank. That was before the merger; after, it is the 32nd.
We keep talking about United growing and we keep hoping they will build a larger hq here in Charleston. The problem that I'm starting to see unraveling is that United has made significant investments within the D.C. Market and they have expanded in that general direction. Is it possible that with this growth, United desires to flee Charleston and establish a new hq somewhere in or around Washington? We could actually lose something special here in Charleston. Just a thought, but hopefully that doesn't happen!
Best thing a proactive Charleston could do is approach them to work with them to facilitate any type of growth or other type of need that could mutually benefit both parties...not holding my breath on that thought process to happen though.
on the one hand the DC and Northern Virginia markets are fabulously wealthy and the market potential is unlimited. On the other WV is cheap to operate in (wages, cost of living, rent, cost of doing business etc) vs DC but the workforce there is much more skilled and educated. However here, there is a fraction of the competition and United seems to own the market. There are positives and negatives to both markets. Hopefully UBSI realizes it can operate and grow one of the largest banks in the country out of the friendly confines of Charleston, WV.
We keep talking about United growing and we keep hoping they will build a larger hq here in Charleston. The problem that I'm starting to see unraveling is that United has made significant investments within the D.C. Market and they have expanded in that general direction. Is it possible that with this growth, United desires to flee Charleston and establish a new hq somewhere in or around Washington? We could actually lose something special here in Charleston. Just a thought, but hopefully that doesn't happen!
United has indeed become the biggest player in the D.C. metro but that is not the totality of their footprint and while Cardinal Financial was the cherry on top of the expansions in that area, it was not a huge acquisition.
United is not located in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and Ohio according to their website. Their last annual stated that they hope to expand into Kentucky in the next few years. Charleston is perfectly sited for a company that has that footprint as it is equidistant to them all.
Further, expansions are not listed, but the track record for United is to purchase small, marginal chains after moving into an area and building up the presence. I think that is a great strategy because local banks that are community based, used and supported know their customers. United is essentially buying loyalty - provided that they do not change too much too quickly. The desire for bigger banks to grab these properties is much lower and so the cost of expanding this way is manageable.
Still, United Bank has a small employee size of only 1,701. I am not sure if that figure includes the Cardinal people, but I doubt it since the figure was posted some time ago and the Cardinal deal was not finalized until today. Cardinal was not big though, so they may add 100-150 people total, bringing United just 2,000.
The desire for them to build a new tower in Charleston is that a 30 story tower is going to have 700,000 to 800,000 square feet of rentable space. UB would need only a fraction of that. On the good side, their current building is leased with self-perpetual leases and is 91% occupied - second best in the city behind BB&T at 6.7%. If they need more space, they are unlucky to find it in their own building. But, do we need to hit the market with what would amount to two Chase Bank Towers in space? Laidley Tower is the dog in the city with a 73.8% occupancy rate, but all of that is at the whim of Kelley & Johnson who built and occupy a third of that building. I seldom here good things about that firm.
We keep talking about United growing and we keep hoping they will build a larger hq here in Charleston. The problem that I'm starting to see unraveling is that United has made significant investments within the D.C. Market and they have expanded in that general direction. Is it possible that with this growth, United desires to flee Charleston and establish a new hq somewhere in or around Washington? We could actually lose something special here in Charleston. Just a thought, but hopefully that doesn't happen!
They already advertise as having a 'dual headquarters' in Washington, DC and Charleston but I doubt they would ever fully vacate the Charleston operations. Some of United's C-Suite people are based up here but I'd say that is more the product of hiring or transitioning staff over from some of their local acquisitions. They took advantage of some growth opportunities in the market up here that weren't available in West Virginia and it worked out well for them but aside from that- they are West Virginia born and bred and Charleston is very central to all of their operations- especially if an expansion into Kentucky is planned.
Regarding a new tower- that would be a nice addition to the skyline. Does anyone know what the overall vacancy rates are in downtown Charleston? I feel like I read a million different numbers on various publications and can never get the full picture.
I don't believe I've seen any recent numbers regarding overall occupancy for the different classes of office space. I think last summer it was reported that the vacancy rate was in the lower teens, which was higher than 2012.
All the talk of them building a new tower, has that ever come from the bank or just from people wishing? Because most bank HQs are moving to big sprawling locations instead of tall buildings (those not in big cities). If they build a new building, I'd bet they would more likely buy some land near town and build a big 3-5 story sprawling building with a bunch of green space.
I don't recall hearing United Bank propose a new office tower, I think all the recent talk here on the message board is 'what if' scenarios.
With the Class A Office space vacancy rate hovering around 18%, it will be difficult, currently, to propose building a multi-story office tower and knowing the occupancy rate will be high enough to cover the costs.
United could always go the route City Holdings did and build their headquarters in an unincorporated area, like Cross Lanes, to avoid certain taxes and fees.
There has never been any plans for a United to build a new office tower. We on city-data have simply expressed our desire for such a development in downtown so much that it has translated from fantasy to work in progress!
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