HQ (others) (Arlington, Reston, Fairfax: real estate, leases, insurance)

[NC211]

If I’m Target, Best Buy, or anything else of the like located in either Minneapolis or Portland - I would be giving the pitch guys a second chance to lure me away now. Especially Minneapolis and the whole defund the police nonsense and non-business friendly environment coming from my representatives.

Question is - who’s in their lobby throwing pitches? I certainly hope VA is. We have lots of room for them here and would love to add a few more HQ’s to our impressive (and growing) list.

If I’m a retail executive being recruited by Target, I’d have to give it a second thought on the idea of relocating my family to a city that doesn’t want a police force to help keep them safe...

[CoogHawk]

I have lived in both MN and VA and I can tell you that VA should not waste their time. Those companies will never leave MN. Minnesotans have a loyalty to that state that I have only witnessed in one other group of people, Texans, a group of which I am a member (native Houstonian). You will as soon see Arlington become part of Washington, DC again before Target, Best Buy, Cargill, Medtronic, US Bank or any of the other major companies HQd in Mpls leave. Target in particularly is not going anywhere; the company started as a sub of Dayton’s the famous Minnesota department store chain. Heck a descendant of the family was the recent former governor and senator himself, Mark Dayton, whose grandfather was the founder of the Company.

Heck I think Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy still lives part time in Minneapolis.

For many reasons, some understandable and some not, the people from MN love it up there. We think -10 degree average temps from January to March are crazy, but they wear it as a badge of honor. I can’t tell you how many times I complained about the winter and the snow to a MN native when I lived there only to hear the retort, “this is nothing, you should have been here back in 1982 friend, now that was a winter”. It was crazy.

[NOVA_guy]

While it is true we do need to continue to diversify our economy from all things government related and Amazon is a great continuation of that diversification process, I doubt Fairfax County or Arlington County is praying to land a Target HQ or Best Buy HQ.

It’d be nice but it’s a bigger fish to fry sort of thing.

[JfromReston]

I'm from up north and CoogHawk is right. The winter of 1982 was when I decided I had enough of below freezing temps and made my decision to go south to Georgia for grad school. I remember February 1982 was brutal!

[oneasterisk]

Unless companies are doing close work with the federal government, why would they purchase/lease office space in an expensive market liked the DC metro area?

[NC211]

I was 9 and living in West Lafayette, IN (behind Purdue) in 1982, and i have vivid memories of snow mounds at the end of our driveway 10 feet tall, and my older brother and his friends jumping out of his window on the second floor of the house into massive snow drifts up against the house. I do remember that one...

We'll see what happens with MN, but I don't think it looks very good right now at all for them, and they would be wise to pay attention to Oregon and what is happening there. In my industry, I read an article just last week that several banks are strongly considering not lending on commercial real estate in Oregon going forward, thanks to new laws being put into place that would impact their ability to properly collateralize their loan. This type of activity is exactly what I am talking about that will creep up in the shadows for places like this now. The investment capital will move on to other places, and those left behind will have a decision to make.

States that have go down that road before in the past include Arkansas, Illinois, Alabama, and W.VA. Rules put into place that make it tough for investment capital to operate in and therefore, doesn't. Over time it thins out the economic sector for those states as big players in it also realize they have other options as well elsewhere. Not all go, but eventually a good percentage do.

Loudoun is blinking like a great option for some of them.

[CoogHawk]

Originally Posted by JfromReston

I'm from up north and CoogHawk is right. The winter of 1982 was when I decided I had enough of below freezing temps and made my decision to go south to Georgia for grad school. I remember February 1982 was brutal!

OMG bud I am laughing so hard right now. This comment made my day! Well done.

[CoogHawk]

Originally Posted by NC211

I was 9 and living in West Lafayette, IN (behind Purdue) in 1982, and i have vivid memories of snow mounds at the end of our driveway 10 feet tall, and my older brother and his friends jumping out of his window on the second floor of the house into massive snow drifts up against the house. I do remember that one...

We'll see what happens with MN, but I don't think it looks very good right now at all for them, and they would be wise to pay attention to Oregon and what is happening there. In my industry, I read an article just last week that several banks are strongly considering not lending on commercial real estate in Oregon going forward, thanks to new laws being put into place that would impact their ability to properly collateralize their loan. This type of activity is exactly what I am talking about that will creep up in the shadows for places like this now. The investment capital will move on to other places, and those left behind will have a decision to make.

States that have go down that road before in the past include Arkansas, Illinois, Alabama, and W.VA. Rules put into place that make it tough for investment capital to operate in and therefore, doesn't. Over time it thins out the economic sector for those states as big players in it also realize they have other options as well elsewhere. Not all go, but eventually a good percentage do.

Loudoun is blinking like a great option for some of them.

You make some good points and if it gets to that point where lending becomes an issue it could create problems. However I would point out three facts that make such a situation unlikely to occur in MN:

1. MN is the home of several large financial institutions. Most lending is at the local level, and because of banks like US Bank, TCF Bank, and Wells Fargo and the like, MN based businesses should not have a problem obtaining financing. Also, Minneapolis is the home of the 9th Federal Reserve Bank, which also provides added liquidity. Not many other states cannot compare to MN in this regard.

2. MN is a hub for Med Tech and Retail not only for the region by globally. Some of the biggest retailers and medical device companies in the world are HQ’d or have their US operations in Mpls. This attracts billions in R&D, advertising, financing and other discretionary spending. It is also a major reason why University of Minnesota is a top notch research university. Again, not many other states compare to MN in this regard.

3. MN is not as liberal as some people like to believe, including some people in MN itself!

One of the things that immediately stood out to me when I lived in the TC was how conservative it was compared to what I had been told growing up. Most people hear MN and immediately think “Hubert Humphrey” but MN is also the home of Norm Coleman, Rod Grams, Vin Weber, Tim Pawlenty, Jason Lewis, and Michelle Bachman. Outside the TC, the MN is pretty Red and always has been. Point is, despite what some on the Mpls city council would like, most of these crazy ideas about defunding the police are not going anywhere because they don’t have popular support.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by CoogHawk

You make some good points and if it gets to that point where lending becomes an issue it could create problems. However I would point out three facts that make such a situation unlikely to occur in MN:

1. MN is the home of several large financial institutions. Most lending is at the local level, and because of banks like US Bank, TCF Bank, and Wells Fargo and the like, MN based businesses should not have a problem obtaining financing. Also, Minneapolis is the home of the 9th Federal Reserve Bank, which also provides added liquidity. Not many other states cannot compare to MN in this regard.

2. MN is a hub for Med Tech and Retail not only for the region by globally. Some of the biggest retailers and medical device companies in the world are HQ’d or have their US operations in Mpls. This attracts billions in R&D, advertising, financing and other discretionary spending. It is also a major reason why University of Minnesota is a top notch research university. Again, not many other states compare to MN in this regard.

3. MN is not as liberal as some people like to believe, including some people in MN itself!

One of the things that immediately stood out to me when I lived in the TC was how conservative it was compared to what I had been told growing up. Most people hear MN and immediately think “Hubert Humphrey” but MN is also the home of Norm Coleman, Rod Grams, Vin Weber, Tim Pawlenty, Jason Lewis, and Michelle Bachman. Outside the TC, the MN is pretty Red and always has been. Point is, despite what some on the Mpls city council would like, most of these crazy ideas about defunding the police are not going anywhere because they don’t have popular support.

It sounds like Minnesota is like a lot of places. The big cities become more liberal while the surrounding rural areas are more conservative. I hate using those words because I do not see anything inherently right or wrong with either "side". I just think the needs are different. Virginia is like this as well as Washington state.



I do not see any corporate HQ's moving because of any current movement.

[Jrc03]

I read an article a few weeks back that Standard Insurance, Portland's largest employer, is moving out of downtown to the suburbs. They determined downtown was no longer safe for its employees during the day. Not sure if this is permanent or temporary. AirBnB and I believe Amazon and Microsoft have also pulled out of downtown. Very sad. Just a few months ago downtown Portland was bustling with a flagship Nordstrom, Apple Store, brand new MUJI department store, and a number of very high end shops. A Ritz Carlton was planned for a block near the downtown Nordstrom. The downtown was always packed with office workers, tourists, shoppers, etc. It was busy on the weekends as well. I really hope downtown Portland comes back, but it may be tough.

While Standard looks ready to leave its downtown HQ, I don't think Nike or Adidas plan to move. Portland is still synonymous with fitness and the outdoors, and they are also not located downtown.Would Standard move to Virginia? Who knows. I'm not sure about the market or region they serve. Nestle moved its North American HQ to Arlington from the West Coast a couple years ago. Amazon is letting its leases lapse in downtown Seattle, while expanding in suburban Bellevue. I wonder if it will further grow the Arlington HQ2?