VA consolidating jobs - Downtown to lose 800 Jobs

moorlander · PostMar 07, 2014#12014-03-07T14:40+00:00

Downtown to lose another 800 jobs to Overland.

Downtown just can't catch a break. Downtown has come a looooong way in the last 15 years but St. Louis area businesses just continue to leave. WHY???

The government’s decision to consolidate a Veterans Affairs office in Overland means relocation of more than 800 jobs out of downtown St. Louis.
Officials with the government’s landlord, the General Services Administration, said Thursday that 640 VA employees will leave the privately owned, leased building at 400 South 18th Street. An additional 180 VA workers will move from the Robert A. Young Federal Building, at 1222 Spruce Street.

The moves are a blow to downtown, which struggles to retain workers even though its residential population grows steadily.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 672c6.html

rawest1 · PostMar 07, 2014#22014-03-07T14:45+00:00

moorlander wrote:Downtown to lose another 800 jobs to Overland.

Downtown just can't catch a break. Downtown has come a looooong way in the last 15 years but St. Louis area businesses just continue to leave. WHY???

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 672c6.html

Maybe we should ask the question another way: why should they remain in or move to downtown?

blzhrpmd2 · PostMar 07, 2014#32014-03-07T14:52+00:00

Is this the same government sending a committee assigned to help us solve our urban issues?

wabash · PostMar 07, 2014#42014-03-07T15:20+00:00

This really sucks for any VA employees who rely on public transportation to get to their jobs.

Knowitall · PostMar 07, 2014#52014-03-07T15:21+00:00

And people want office towers at ballpark village and to turn I-44 thru downtown into a blvd because it would attract office and condo towers....riiiiiight

arch city · PostMar 07, 2014#62014-03-07T15:53+00:00

The City of St. Louis and its Congressional leaders need to fight this move. The GSA Regional office in Kansas City appears to be presenting double-standards.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

Jason Klumb, the General Services Adminstration’s regional administrator in Kansas City, said the worker relocation is in keeping with the government’s preference to put employees in GSA-owned buildings.

The regional Veterans Benefits Administration office on South 18th Street occupies the entire building a private developer constructed for the VA in 1993. GSA’s lease on the four-story building expires in June. The government has been leasing the structure for $1.9 million per year from the current owner, GSA-VA St. Louis LLC.

Meanwhile in Kansas City...............where the GSA regional office is located.

GSA bringing 900 employees to Two Pershing Square near Union Station
December 10, 2013
BY KEVIN COLLISON
The Kansas City Star

The federal government has picked Two Pershing Square, an office building near Union Station, to be the new home of 900 employees currently at the Bannister Federal Complex.

The decision to lease about 140,000 square feet in the 11-story building at 2300 Main St. was made after a year-long review of properties throughout downtown by the federal General Services Administration. The 20-year lease is valued at $49.8 million.

The move of the GSA employees — expected to begin one year from now — is being viewed as a major boost to downtown, and another important step toward the ultimate demolition and redevelopment in 2016 of the Bannister Federal Complex, a former World War II defense plant in south Kansas City.

“I’m enthusiastic about the move, and I think it will further connect the GSA with the downtown area,” Jason Klumb, regional administrator for the agency, said Monday.

wabash · PostMar 07, 2014#72014-03-07T15:59+00:00

Double standard indeed. Good find Arch City.

pat · PostMar 07, 2014#82014-03-07T16:21+00:00

And people want office towers at ballpark village and to turn I-44 thru downtown into a blvd because it would attract office and condo towers....riiiiiight

Hey Debbie, what do you propose then to attract offices downtown? New space with views of the beloved Cardinals or Arch grounds seems as good a shot as any.

Anglophile · PostMar 07, 2014#92014-03-07T16:22+00:00

Sometimes I think that most people just have no interest in seeing downtown succeed. It seems like St. Louisans actually LIKE having everything spread out rather than centralized. Like this is all deliberate. It just doesn't make sense to me.

arch city · PostMar 07, 2014#102014-03-07T16:42+00:00

wabash wrote:Double standard indeed. Good find Arch City.

Also, if you notice what the Post-Dispatch article stated, it reported.....................Jason Klumb, the General Services Adminstration’s regional administrator in Kansas City, said the worker relocation is in keeping with the government’s preference to put employees in GSA-owned buildings.

Which reads to me the GSA really doesn't have to terminate its downtown lease at the smaller building.

Just like it "preferred" to move downtown KC to lease an 140,000sf, it could have "preferred" to stay in downtown St. Louis.

This could mean a loss in earning taxes, sales taxes and would likely lower the property taxes on the vacated building.

Also, years ago I believe the Clinton Administration put in place a "preference" for federal jobs to located in downtown urban cores. What ever happened to that policy.

dweebe · PostMar 07, 2014#112014-03-07T16:42+00:00

I'm just waiting for Mayor Slay and his people to spin this as a good thing for the city.

arch city · PostMar 07, 2014#122014-03-07T17:27+00:00

dweebe wrote:I'm just waiting for Mayor Slay and his people to spin this as a good thing for the city.

There's no way to spin this as a "good thing". Losing 800 workers downtown is not good. What I don't understand is how the GSA can take 800 jobs that have been downtown forever and shift them to Overland. If you are spending $35-million to fix up a building in Overland, it seems to me you might have a better deal BUYING the existing building in downtown St. Louis for much less.

If you are trying to shrink GSA inventory, why not sell the building in Overland and buy/renovate/expand the cheaper newer building downtown built in 1993 - with that $35-million. The Prevedel Building in Overland is OLDER than their building downtown.

Perhaps I am missing something, but it makes no sense to me what they are doing.

But hey, he's a Democrat.

Here's information on Jason Klumb.

Knowitall · PostMar 07, 2014#132014-03-07T17:27+00:00

I emailed Mr.Klumb and this is what I got back.
I asked about moving out of downtown stl because they want GSA ppl in GSA buildings and how that works with the kc story

"Great question. You have the priorities in the right order. I presume you are wondering about Bannister, and as you know, it will not be a federally owned building soon. Your logic is correctly, if you take the analysis to the next level. Thanks for asking. May I share your question with our colleagues? It's important to share this information with our colleagues so there is mutual understanding. "

Jason Klumb
Regional Administrator
Heartland Region of GSA
816-854-9516 cell

JNOnSTL · PostMar 07, 2014#142014-03-07T17:31+00:00

^Reads like an auto-reply. One that wasn't proofread.

Knowitall · PostMar 07, 2014#152014-03-07T17:39+00:00

It's bizarre

arch city · PostMar 07, 2014#162014-03-07T17:40+00:00

Knowitall wrote:I emailed Mr.Klumb and this is what I got back.
I asked about moving out of downtown stl because they want GSA ppl in GSA buildings and how that works with the kc story

"Great question. You have the priorities in the right order. I presume you are wondering about Bannister, and as you know, it will not be a federally owned building soon. Your logic is correctly, if you take the analysis to the next level. Thanks for asking. May I share your question with our colleagues? It's important to share this information with our colleagues so there is mutual understanding. "

Jason Klumb
Regional Administrator
Heartland Region of GSA
816-854-9516 cell

Great Job!

Still, the GSA is making a bad move in St. Louis - I think. Why don't they sell the Overland building, buy/renovate their current VA building @ Union Station in downtown St. Louis, shift other federal jobs (smaller departments) from RAY into the Union Station building and consolidate the VA jobs in RAY. Perhaps he has an explanation for that too.

BrickCity4470 · PostMar 07, 2014#172014-03-07T18:04+00:00

I feel like this is a vendetta against downtown.. When was the last time downtown has/had significantly gained any good paying jobs? All the job growth is in the county outside of maybe cortex but other than that downtown hasn't gained zilch.. If we're ever going to have a lively beautiful downtown St.Louis companies have got to stop with the excuses.. These 800 jobs shouldn't be leaving downtown when the GSA is consolidating most of its employees into downtown areas its ridiculous.. I'm tired of downtown being the odd ball and targeted.. Slay and staff need to step up their game..

arch city · PostMar 07, 2014#182014-03-07T18:04+00:00

Knowitall wrote:It's bizarre

Not really. He likely used his smart phone voice box to respond.

Also, the GSA is/was headquartered at Bannister. The Bannister Federal Complex is contaminated and will be redeveloped.

Read: Bannister Federal Complex in south Kansas City will be razed in 2016

Still, with all of the GSA real estate in Kansas City.......the GSA "prefers" to "lease" downtown/Crown Center, while downtown St. Louis loses 800 jobs to the suburbs due to the GSA's seemingly poor planning.

downtown2007 · PostMar 07, 2014#192014-03-07T21:48+00:00

Slay's tweet today....

@MayorSlay: Moving VA jobs from the City to the county is much better than losing jobs in the region. #fgs

dweebe · PostMar 07, 2014#202014-03-07T21:48+00:00

dweebe wrote:I'm just waiting for Mayor Slay and his people to spin this as a good thing for the city.

Took until late in the afternoon: but here it is. Almost exactly word-for-word what I was expecting.

MayorSlay.com ‏@MayorSlay
Moving VA jobs from the City to the county is much better than losing jobs in the region. #fgs

Anglophile · PostMar 07, 2014#212014-03-07T22:22+00:00

That's bull****. I want to see our elected officials call these people out and stick up for our downtown. It'd be nice to see Slay grow a backbone.

olvidarte · PostMar 07, 2014#222014-03-07T22:27+00:00

I'm all for city/county cooperation, but this is beyond the pale. I expect my mayor to be angry and willing to fight for those jobs...or at least fake it!

At the very least that's a lot of earnings tax money that disappears.

I'm really at a loss for words over that tweet. Unbelievable

rawest1 · PostMar 07, 2014#232014-03-07T22:28+00:00

Serious question: what are the advantages of a company locating jobs downtown as opposed to anywhere in the County, specifically Clayton?

olvidarte · PostMar 07, 2014#242014-03-07T22:31+00:00

Cheaper leasing rates might be an advantage? It seems like office space downtown is a steal compared to Clayton.

jstriebel · PostMar 07, 2014#252014-03-07T22:32+00:00

For what it's worth, I suspect Mayor Slay does the opposite. I'd be surprised if he doesn't fight for jobs behind the scenes. But in public (and on Twitter), he's putting on a face of cooperation.

I hope he's fighting, anyways.