kohls (Richmond, Roanoke, Lynchburg: 2009, unemployment, theater)

[Mr_Jonas]

When Eriksson came to Lynchburg they got all kinds of tax breakes (then after 10 years when the tax-breaks were up they moved on). Can a store such as Khols recieve the same kind of tax breaks?

Lynchburg can not even support a Gap, after all....

[Diamond Dave]

He protests too much. Definitely Roanoke envy.

[Diamond Dave]

Info on Kohl's from the Roanoke Times from a while back:

Kohl's. The Cheesecake Factory. Ikea. Will they come? - Roanoke.com

The retailer's No. 1 consideration is whether a city houses a large group of families with children, said spokeswoman Courtney Rogaczewski.
She would not reveal specific income or population criteria.
Rogaczewski also said that Kohl's eyes communities near cities where it already has stores. A new Kohl's opened last year in Lynchburg. But Rogaczewski said the chain isn't planning a Roanoke Valley store.

FYI: Roanoke Times' circulation: ~100,000. Lynchburg News Advance:~34,000.

[Mr_Jonas]

Originally Posted by Diamond Dave

Info on Kohl's from the Roanoke Times from a while back:

Kohl's. The Cheesecake Factory. Ikea. Will they come? - Roanoke.com



FYI: Roanoke Times' circulation: ~100,000. Lynchburg News Advance:~34,000.

Interesting article. IKEA would be "kanon bra"! ...but I doubt it.
But it makes me think of something. A year or two ago IKEA opened their forst store in Ireland. They chose between Dublin in the Irish Republic, a city, who at the time had grown significantly during the last 15 years and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Now, Belfast is a whole lot calmer these days then in the 60' to the 80's. (Yes, I know the last few days there has been violent) but Dublin was by far wealthier.
IKEA went with Belfast because salaries were lower, tax breaks AND less competition. Dublin has plenty of similar stores.
Could Khol's establishment i Lynchburg have a similar story behind it?

[headnsouth]

My city's bigger than your city!

This all reads like a locker-room comparison among guys who are supposed to be on the same team. Regional growth is better for long-term economic health than two adjacent cities competing against each other.

Besides, Kohl's is just another big-box retailer selling essentially the same things you can get in other big-box retailers. And retailers follow economic trends, they don't set them. Sustainable growth has to come from the tech, biotech, and energy sectors (among others), not from retail. If Wachovia-turned-WellsFargo leaves Roanoke, the laid-off workers aren't going to be doing much shopping.

[sregorat3]

Roanoke envy- you have exposed me, Dave. Thankfully, I rarely deal with Roanokers who believe that other Virginia neighbors suffer from such imagined ailments. Being from PG County, MD, I have to travel much further than 50 miles to get a big city fix.

Originally Posted by Mr_Jonas

When Eriksson came to Lynchburg they got all kinds of tax breakes (then after 10 years when the tax-breaks were up they moved on). Can a store such as Khols recieve the same kind of tax breaks?

Lynchburg can not even support a Gap, after all....

Ericcson (in the form of GE) was in Lynchburg before many of us were born. Tax breaks were only given when the Lynchburg facility was expanded and jobs were added- alot of jobs. Ericsson left when they began outsourcing to Samnina and opening manufacturing lines in Brazil and Indonesia. The only retailer in Lynchburg that has recieved any kind of incentive was the Lowes in Madison Heights, and I don't think they specifically rec'd tax breaks, as opposed to the waiving of certain fees associated with development.

[Mr_Jonas]

Originally Posted by sregorat3

Ericcson (in the form of GE) was in Lynchburg before many of us were born. Tax breaks were only given when the Lynchburg facility was expanded and jobs were added- alot of jobs. Ericsson left when they began outsourcing to Samnina and opening manufacturing lines in Brazil and Indonesia. The only retailer in Lynchburg that has recieved any kind of incentive was the Lowes in Madison Heights, and I don't think they specifically rec'd tax breaks, as opposed to the waiving of certain fees associated with development.

I just know what I heard from an Ericsson higher up that now works with my dad for the Swedish postal service.

[PaperTrail]

Originally Posted by headnsouth

Regional growth is better for long-term economic health than two adjacent cities competing against each other.

Please feel free to email a link to your post to the city officials of Roanoke and Salem. It might do them some good to hear that.

[sregorat3]

Originally Posted by Mr_Jonas

I just know what I heard from an Ericsson higher up that now works with my dad for the Swedish postal service.

The GE facility on Candler's Mtn. Rd. opened in the 50's. Spinoffs from GE and E-GE have resulted in over 1000 current jobs in Lynchburg, so although Ericsson's Swedish management ran the company into the ground, the Lynchburg area continues to benefit from the investments that were made in the community over the 40+ years that the facility was in operation. Currently, Sony is involved with Ericsson in the cell phone arena and the US side of the business is languishing in Raleigh- seemingly dying a slow death.

[Diamond Dave]

Originally Posted by sregorat3

such imagined ailments.

And yet, you seem determined to prove that Lynchburg is not only larger than Roanoke, and more affluent, based on--get this--the fact that you drive around Virginia a lot, and even though I have presented data that defeat your argument.

(I drive around Virginia a lot, too. It's hilly in the west, flat in the middle, and wet in the extreme east.)

So, either you have a crush on me (I'm spoken for), or you have Roanoke envy, or both, because you won't drop it.

Are you sure you're not from Salem?