The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
AECOM, a Los Angeles-based, Fortune 500 engineering, consulting and architectural company, has a made a verbal commitment to move its regional headquarters and 155 highly paid workers from Virginia Beach to downtown Norfolk early next year.
Company executives told city officials that light rail is a major reason for the decision to consolidate their headquarters downtown. The employees are expected to relocate from two sites in Virginia Beach to the Wells Fargo Center, sources close to the negotiations said Tuesday.
The 7.4-mile light rail, which extends from the west side of downtown to the Virginia Beach border, opened in August. A light-rail station is located in front of the Wells Fargo Center on Monticello Avenue.
AECOM and the city are expected to announce the relocation later this year. Officials with knowledge of the negotiations spoke to The Virginian-Pilot anonymously because they were not authorized to speak about the deal.
The Wells Fargo Center is a $160 million mixed-use development adjacent to MacArthur Center mall that includes 258,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of retail space and 121 upscale apartments. Owned and managed by S.L. Nusbaum Realty, it opened late last year. The office space is about 70 percent leased.
Thomas G. Johnson III, a senior vice president for Nusbaum Realty, declined to comment. Norfolk's development director, Rod Woolard, also declined to comment.
AECOM officials could not be reached for comment.
Sources said officials are reluctant to comment because AECOM has not yet signed a lease with Nusbaum.
It is not clear whether any city subsidy will be used to attract AECOM to Norfolk.
Wells Fargo Bank, the accounting firm of Dixon Hughes Goodman, the Willcox & Savage law firm, the tax and audit firm KPMG, and Nusbaum are the major tenants currently at the Wells Fargo Center.
Pilot writer Josh Brown contributed to this report.
Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
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Glad to see
the trifecta has been completed. First we have a front page story all about how great the Tide's numbers are. Next, bury a small article (this one) with no real verifiable sources the same day and now... the big finish. Write an editorial referencing this article as fact with the emphasis that businesses will flock just as the company in this article is supposed to have said they will do (no real sources, of course). I think someone mentioned in an earlier post that Pilot was critical towards the Tide. I think we can all see that was a load of manure. The real question is can we all admit it?
Virginia Beach and Chesapeake
lost 200 $50,000+ jobs to NetCenter in Hampton.
Not so sure why everyone is
Not so sure why everyone is so worked up about this. So a company moves a few miles up the street to a new building. Great. But its still Hampton Roads cities sniping against each other. Now if it was news that a Fortune 500 company was moving its headquarters from Baltimore or Raleigh etc. to downtown Norfolk I would be elated. Its not like new jobs are moving to the area. The sooner these cities work together to bring in companies from outside of the area, the better we all will be. Sadly, the separation of HR into 7 cities encourages this infighting. United we stand, divided we will fall. Merge these cities and we will all prosper. It is good for Norfolk I guess, and I'm glad to see a positive come so soon from LRT.
"The sooner these cities work together"
You are right it would be better for us all if the cities could work together, but you have to remember Va Beach is most Republican and they think they know better than the mostly Democrat Nofolk. If would be like asking the Republicans to finally agree with SOMETHING President Obama said. It ain't going to happen.
Great
They will come to work in Norfolk and go home at night to Chesapeake or Suffolk.
Heartburn?
A billion + would give anyone heartburn.
I wonder if any of them will
I wonder if any of them will move into the apartments in Wells Fargo Center? Live and work in the same building, save on commuting costs altogether!
doubtful
I bet most are family types that like to have a house, yard, pool, car (or 2) and the convinence of shopping at a grocery store without having to schlep your goods up and down the street.
Besides, LRT and norfolk do not allow food or drink on the train, so patrons are out of luck there.
Tax breaks are positive gains
A number of posters imply that tax breaks or other governmental incentives are inherently bad. Try a little critical thinking.
If the city gives a $100,000 incentive to a business that will generate $300,000 in tax revenues to the city, how can you complain? Do you think that the city has the $100K lying around and will give it to you instead?
This is why we need successful business leaders running our city. They know how to make the money work. The owner of a business understands wise investing and growth. Apparently, the guy stuck as a wage earner doesn't.
Public private partnership is the basis for sound civic development. Those who complain about it just can't understand economic basics. Too bad they vote.
Light Rail to Va Beach Oceanfront
I live is Chesapeake (Western Branch) as my wife and I drove down to the oceanfront last Saturday for the Neptune Festival, we discussed why the city of Va Beach has so much heartburn over bringing the rail service there.
We discussed how practical it would be for folks to park in Norfolk and ride to the oceanfront for festivels, concerts etc.. and vice versa.
In this area that we call Hampton Roads, each city operates independent of each other, there is no "team concept" to work together on major projects, like light rail, that could improve each city in some way or maybe not.
Before all you posters hit me with negative comments, I just wanted to express my personal thoughts on the subject.