DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Confusion afoot.

Job One
In order to meet all the SEC requirements and investor relations expectations I'm sure there's been a small army of lawyers and accountants preparing for the spinoff.

It appears they've had more of a corporate campus but try finding pics. The only image I could find for VF Corp

From yesterday's Triad Business Journal
https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2...eaders-focus-on-silver-lining-in-vf.html

What's the current employee splits and who's staying?

Did Denver out-hustle The Triad?


Not sure they've even decided but the 'innovation center' could be totally separate, unless they prefer a campus setting by locating in Broomfield, for example. What does seem obvious is that VF wants to be a leading innovator of outdoor and athleisure stuff and hopes to create more of a 'nimble' environment.

Of course the Denver discussion has been around "800 jobs." We will see how real that number is. From the various news stories, it seems workers will be coming from lots of different locations, not just NC, so will see.

It also wouldn't surprise me if the 800 jobs is a very aggressive "aspirational" target, assuming future growth, etc.

[TakeFive]

Updated info from the Triad BJ (carried by the DBJ)
Not sure who did what for or to whom but this was obviously a rigged competition.

Bottom Line:

Steve Rendle, CEO of VF Corp ... told Triad Business Journal, that the apparel company hired a third-party firm to conduct an extensive national location study. Six cities made the cut, and three "popped out," Rendle said.

The three major contenders were Portland, Salt Lake City and Denver. The Mile High City ultimately made the final cut for the company's new global headquarters...

It was all about the criteria given to the search firm. (Shhh, nobody's saying.) But consider:

It's no coincidence that the cities that emerged as contenders were all located out west, Rendle said, where the brands that will be consolidated to Denver are currently located. The North Face is currently headquartered in San Francisco, JanSport is in Seattle, Altra is in Utah, Eagle Creek is also in California and Smartwool is in Steamboat Springs, a Colorado municipality.

Why Denver? Hint: DEN rocks the skies.

"Denver emerged as that one city that had the access, had the living environment, had the transportation criteria," Rendle said. "All of those boxes were checked exceptionally well."

"Certainly, the surrounding area's recreational environment was part of it," Rendle said, referring to the search criteria. "But it was more importantly about access to the talent, access to ease of transportation in and around the market place, ease of transportation for air travel, nationally and internationally. (There was) a whole host of criteria."

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Of course the Denver discussion has been around "800 jobs." We will see how real that number is. From the various news stories, it seems workers will be coming from lots of different locations, not just NC, so will see.

It also wouldn't surprise me if the 800 jobs is a very aggressive "aspirational" target, assuming future growth, etc.

They're bringing/consolidating all the brands listed to Denver. Presumably many will be offered transfers to Denver but they'll end up hiring a boatload from the metro area as well. No doubt 800 is a bit aspirational plus I'm sure they'll scale up as they go.

[DenverPoke]

Looks like VF Corp. is planning on going into Union Station at 1551 Wewatta. They have signed a letter of intent for the entire building.

https://businessden.com/2018/08/15/vf-corp-looks-in-union-station-for-new-hq/

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by DenverPoke

Looks like VF Corp. is planning on going into Union Station at 1551 Wewatta. They have signed a letter of intent for the entire building.

https://businessden.com/2018/08/15/vf-corp-looks-in-union-station-for-new-hq/

If this bears out it would be a good sign that VF Corp would look at an Enterprise Zone near downtown for it's permanent HQ.

[twister244]

This article makes it sound like this might be their actual headquarters, and not just a temporary location. 285k seems appropriate, unless they are wanting something a little more signature. One thing I noticed in the article though:

"Amazon also has been sniffing around for space in that building, according to multiple sources."

Not sure how much weight that has, but interesting......

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by twister244

This article makes it sound like this might be their actual headquarters, and not just a temporary location. 285k seems appropriate, unless they are wanting something a little more signature. One thing I noticed in the article though:

"Amazon also has been sniffing around for space in that building, according to multiple sources."

Not sure how much weight that has, but interesting......

For what it’s worth, Amazon was looking for office space in Denver well before the HQ2 sweepstakes started.

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by twister244

This article makes it sound like this might be their actual headquarters, and not just a temporary location. 285k seems appropriate, unless they are wanting something a little more signature. One thing I noticed in the article though:

The original Denver Post article indicated that they gave the state the indication they would invest $100 million in building their own HQ and lease for a few years in the interim. I dont think the businessden article changes that at all.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

The original Denver Post article indicated that they gave the state the indication they would invest $100 million in building their own HQ and lease for a few years in the interim. I dont think the businessden article changes that at all.

Ahhh, ok. Thanks for clarifying that.

[TakeFive]

Why I think DIA was Pivotal
Not that other boxes weren't equally important but consider...

After the dust settles Vans will still be in Costa Mesa, CA; Timberland will still be in Stratham, NH; Williamson-Dickie will still be in Fort Worth TX. VF Corp only acquired Williamson-Dickie last October for $820 million. Only change announced so far for them is that manufacturing is being moved out of Texas to Mexico and Honduras.

Plus, the only other VF headquarters is in Switzerland.

• Video Link

[SnyderBock]

Swiss airline Edelweiss Air offers seasonal direct flights between Zurich, Switzerland and Denver. I wonder, this must have certainly helped Denver. VF HQ might create the demand needed between the two cities for year around service?

[Robert.hampton]

Todays biz journals article (https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2018/08/16/vf-corp-denver-bay-area-real-estate.html) got me curious about their built to suit campus in the Bay Area. Frankly its not the most inspiring buildings: https://forge-sf.com/projects/vf-outdoor-south/; https://forge-sf.com/projects/vf-outdoor-campus/.

The Bizjournals article also makes me think that, if their previous campus was any indication, a RiNo location probably fits their culture best. Definitely don't think we will see a signature tower out of this.

And finally, everyone has been pitching this as stealing a company from Greensboro, but its pretty clear we stole this company from the bay area. 600 of the 800 jobs are coming from SF, while only 80 or so are coming from N Carolina.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

And finally, everyone has been pitching this as stealing a company from Greensboro, but its pretty clear we stole this company from the bay area. 600 of the 800 jobs are coming from SF, while only 80 or so are coming from N Carolina.

I myself was unaware of their campus in the Bay Area. That unto itself is a huge story as it shows Denver has a draw from the Bay area. This has been mentioned before previously in other articles, but it will be interesting to see how this trend plays out over the coming years.

If they do go to RiNo, that really will be a huge catalyst for further development there. The change I have seen in the last two years is nothing short of remarkable, but if VF goes there, the area will be completely different in 5 years.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

Todays biz journals article (https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2018/08/16/vf-corp-denver-bay-area-real-estate.html) got me curious about their built to suit campus in the Bay Area. Frankly its not the most inspiring buildings:

And finally, everyone has been pitching this as stealing a company from Greensboro, but its pretty clear we stole this company from the bay area. 600 of the 800 jobs are coming from SF, while only 80 or so are coming from N Carolina.

Some people would find net zero buildings inspiring, others not so much obviously.

Their HQ in Switzerland is also net zero. Sustainability is a big part of their product's marketing but whether they would want to continue this tradition who knows. They could probably work with Hines to create the kind of quality they want in RiNo.

I wouldn't rely on initial media numbers of 600 employees coming from the Alameda/North Face campus; I haven't found a company source for that. Given their R&D is there in addition to North Face I wouldn't doubt many will be offered transfers and make the move.

Originally Posted by twister244

I myself was unaware of their campus in the Bay Area. That unto itself is a huge story as it shows Denver has a draw from the Bay area. This has been mentioned before previously in other articles, but it will be interesting to see how this trend plays out over the coming years.

California in general and the Bay Area/Silicon Valley especially for tech are a yuge business generator for the whole country. Few states haven't been touched. With a GDP of $2.5 TRILLION it's hardly a surprise. AZ has been recruiting there for years and generated lots of new employees - but mostly from back office/customer support expansion. Most tech companies want to retain a CA address for their HQ but Austin and the Research Triangle have attracted some of the best tech expansion.

With respect to Denver's more modest tech presence, it does seem to be growing but VF Corp reflects more the impressive diversity of Denver's economic appeal.

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by twister244

I myself was unaware of their campus in the Bay Area. That unto itself is a huge story as it shows Denver has a draw from the Bay area. This has been mentioned before previously in other articles, but it will be interesting to see how this trend plays out over the coming years.

If they do go to RiNo, that really will be a huge catalyst for further development there. The change I have seen in the last two years is nothing short of remarkable, but if VF goes there, the area will be completely different in 5 years.

We often overlook on here the biggest "re-location" in Denver history, which in fact came from the Bay Area, simply because it wasn't a "headquarters" re-location.

Of course, I'm talking about Charles Schwab which by all accounts now has more jobs in Denver than in its San Francisco HQ (4,500 highly paid jobs !!! according to https://crej.com/news/ridgegate-downtown-unveiled/.).

This was a massive coup for Denver, driving thousands of well-paid jobs into metro Denver. We probably overlook it on here because Schwab chose to build a mega campus on the extreme southern edge of metro Denver.

While "tech" gets all the press when it comes to Denver growth, in fact financial services growth in Denver has been a huge part of the mega-boom of the past 10 years in Denver.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/pas...as-financial-firms-relocate-to-cut-costs

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Of course, I'm talking about Charles Schwab which by all accounts now has more jobs in Denver than in its San Francisco HQ (4,500 highly paid jobs !!! according to https://crej.com/news/ridgegate-downtown-unveiled/.).

This was a massive coup for Denver, driving thousands of well-paid jobs into metro Denver. We probably overlook it on here because Schwab chose to build a mega campus on the extreme southern edge of metro Denver.

That goes to the point I made about keeping a CA address for their HQ but expanding outside the state. I'd have to look up specific numbers but I'd guess they're about the same for Phoenix and Dallas - not sure where else. In Phoenix they split their personal between Sun City/Glendale area and Scottsdale.

[Agent Orange]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

That goes to the point I made about keeping a CA address for their HQ but expanding outside the state. I'd have to look up specific numbers but I'd guess they're about the same for Phoenix and Dallas - not sure where else. In Phoenix they split their personal between Sun City/Glendale area and Scottsdale.

They have a very large, newly opened campus in Austin as well. Schwab loves them some Sunbelt (I feel like Colorado is semi-sunblet, no?)

I've also heard rumors that when Chuck croaks, they'll leave SF completely, and that Austin is the favored city for the main office.

[rds70]

Here is the first color rendering I have seen of the 355 Logan Street project being developed by Holland Partner Group. Its officially 8 stories (but there is a mezzanine level on the upper floor), 171 units and 107 feet in height. It will look good siting next to Modera West Wash Park just to the west on the same block:

[BG918]

Nice looking Project. Are there any renderings for the Holland Partners project at 12th & Acoma? Also curious about the Lennar project down the street at 10th & Acoma. Both are slated to be 16 story apartment towers.

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by rds70

Here is the first color rendering I have seen of the 355 Logan Street project being developed by Holland Partner Group. Its officially 8 stories (but there is a mezzanine level on the upper floor), 171 units and 107 feet in height. It will look good siting next to Modera West Wash Park just to the west on the same block:

[/img]

Looks A LOT like Alexan Cherry Creek.



Very much prefer these modern-looking, quality material looks to the faux old red brick that some of the central Denver apartments have chosen (Speer Gables, etc.).

[BG918]

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Very much prefer these modern-looking, quality material looks to the faux old red brick that some of the central Denver apartments have chosen (Speer Gables, etc.).

Or the mix-matched fiber cement siding like Alta CityHouse, 1000 S Broadway, Welton Park, etc