Atlanta’s SunTrust to merge with BB&T, shift HQ to Charlotte (Salem: moving to, bill)

[JoeP]

This period could be an inflection point for Atlanta, consider Nashville won Amazon while Atlanta wins Norfolk Southern. One is high cutting edge skill sets and the other so old it's got it's own pension scheme because it's older than the universe.

Welcome to the forum, bless your heart.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

^ This ^

Sualpine is right.

Even though it is the second-tallest building in the state of Georgia, and the consolidated SunTrust/BB&T bank will maintain a significant level of operations in Atlanta, SunTrust Plaza is going to completely collapse and be totally worthless. NO ONE is clearly going to want to occupy the second-tallest skyscraper in the most important metropolitan area in the Southeastern U.S.

Also, even though Downtown Atlanta is home to the third-largest convention center in North America (Georgia World Congress Center), the brand-spanking-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium (where the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the MLS Champion Atlanta United play, where the Super Bowl was just played, where college football playoff and national championship games are played, and where the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four will be played in 2020, etc.), the newly-renovated State Farm Arena, AmericasMart, Georgia-Pacific Headquarters, CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park, a large installation of federal government offices and facilities, a large installation of state government offices and facilities (including the Georgia State Capitol), a large installation of local government facilities (including Atlanta City Hall and the Fulton County Courthouse), Georgia State University, the Georgia Aquarium, the College Football Hall of Fame, the World of Coca-Cola, the Hotel District, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, Apex Museum, the Children's Museum of Atlanta, dozens of restaurants, nightclubs, Grady Hospital, etc., etc., NO ONE clearly needs to or wants to go to Downtown Atlanta anymore, especially since Downtown Atlanta was a desolate ghost town that was in extremely serious trouble even before the news of the SunTrust/BB&T merger.

There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING in Downtown Atlanta except tumbleweeds and all completely abandoned buildings. There are no jobs, businesses, residences, places-of-interest or anything in Downtown Atlanta. Downtown is completely desolate after this.

All of the jobs (for now) are only in Midtown, Buckhead or Sandy Springs, because, you know, that is only where Sualpine sees them... Though, the jobs will soon be gone from there, too, because, you know, there is no way that a large major metro area/region with a diversified economy like Atlanta will ever be able to survive a crushing blow like this.

This is clearly a catastrophic event for Atlanta, and not just the beginning-of-the-end, but the end-of-the-end, because that. is. what. Sualpine. sees. I just don't understand why no one else sees what Sualpine sees and has been trying to warn us about all this time?

People on this forum need to listen to Sualpine a lot more, because Sualpine is only clearly just trying to look out for Atlanta's best interests.

We all just need to face the reality that Atlanta (a large major metro region of nearly 7 million people, that is a massive hub of business, logistics and industry for the Southeast and is home to the world's busiest airport) is done, totally finished and completely washed-up, and that at the end of the day, Sualpine will be able to say "see, I told you so."

We all just need to stop denying that Sualpine totally cares about Atlanta. That's all I'm saying.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Oh please!

Making sure people get their facts straights about about CNN/Turner is now "something very close to the term that rhymes with 'polling.'"

Now I've heard it all.

And yet your "facts" are cherry-picked and incredibly one-sided.

Glad you've finally heard it all. Now you know.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

And yet your "facts" are cherry-picked and incredibly one-sided.

Well that's your opinion.

Nothing I said about CNN/Turner was wrong, like it or not.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Well that's your opinion.

Nothing I said about CNN/Turner was wrong, like it or not.

It's all about the broader context. Don't be obtuse.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

It's all about the broader context. Don't be obtuse.

Oh jeez. Now setting the fact straight about CNN/Turner is being "obtuse."

This conversation is going nowhere.

[Charlotte485]

Originally Posted by Pemgin

Are there currently any valuable companies in Charlotte that could be targeted for acquisition by an Atlanta firm?

But no Charlotte firm acquired an Atlanta firm. Charlotte offered no incentives. No subsidies. Uptown isn't any cheaper than elsewhere in Atlanta. Local leaders, no one tried to lure the newly formed company to Charlotte. It was kept secret by the company. The city had nothing to do with the newly formed company choosing Charlotte as a HQ.


So. Shouldn't your question be "are there currently any valuable companies in Winston-Salem that could be targeted for acquisition by an Atlanta firm?"




And isn't Atlanta's, along with nearly all southern cities, growth contributed to poaching firms from the Northeast? (And for the Texas cities - California)

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Charlotte485

But no Charlotte firm acquired an Atlanta firm. Charlotte offered no incentives. No subsidies. Uptown isn't any cheaper than elsewhere in Atlanta. Local leaders, no one tried to lure the newly formed company to Charlotte. It was kept secret by the company. The city had nothing to do with the newly formed company choosing Charlotte as a HQ.


So. Shouldn't your question be "are there currently any valuable companies in Winston-Salem that could be targeted for acquisition by an Atlanta firm?"






And isn't Atlanta's, along with nearly all southern cities, growth contributed to poaching firms from the Northeast? (And for the Texas cities - California)

As much as losing SunTrust to Charlotte stings, to even think about asking such a question is just being petty.

Ultimately, it should be a lesson that Atlanta/Georgia needs to so what's necessary to become even more competitive so that it doesn't keep ending up on the losing end of these high-profile deals.

A good start, as someone mentioned earlier, would be with reforming the state's archaic banking laws (good luck with that under the Rural-centric current administration).

[JoeP]

Ultimately, it should be a lesson that Atlanta/Georgia needs to so what's necessary to become even more competitive so that it doesn't keep ending up on the losing end of these high-profile deals.

...except that this was not a competition. Where is the RFP?

This was just an old fashioned business situation.

One company bought another and its corporate presence was already decided due to the company's existing corporate presence, resources and needs.

Some are trying desperately to make this into a city vs city thing and it just isn't.

Atlanta had no say in this and no positives or negatives about Atlanta are relevant to the the decision.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by citidata18

As much as losing SunTrust to Charlotte stings, to even think about asking such a question is just being petty.

Ultimately, it should be a lesson that Atlanta/Georgia needs to so what's necessary to become even more competitive so that it doesn't keep ending up on the losing end of these high-profile deals.

A good start, as someone mentioned earlier, would be with reforming the state's archaic banking laws (good luck with that under the Rural-centric current administration).

I think that the Georgia General Assembly did reform the state's previously archaic banking laws back in the early 1980's, because that is how the core of the modern SunTrust Bank was able to be formed when Trust Company of Georgia acquired SunBanks of Orlando in 1985.

The bank now known today as SunTrust then acquired Third National Bank of Nashville in 1986, Crestar Bank of Richmond in 1998, and Memphis-based National Commerce Financial in 2004... Three major acquisitions which enabled SunTrust to expand its geographical footprint throughout much (but not all) of the greater Southeastern U.S.