^ Another reason you should look for something in U-City . . . very few tall buildings. 
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per the BJ, Wachovia plans to add up 1500 Jobs to area over the next two years. That's a net increase of up to 1000 more jobs that AGE had in the area. Article also states that Wachovia will liquidate some of their local RE assets while at the same time making improvements to others: possibly including a State-Of-The-Art trading floor.
Will post article later, don't know how to copy/past from pdf.
Will post article later, don't know how to copy/past from pdf.
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Wachovia should consider a new tall iconic building on their site in line with the Arch. It would serve as a bookend for the Gateway Mall and downtown and would quickly become a highly recognizable symbol throughout the Midwest as Wachovia -- kind of like the big square arch building in Paris forms a second sculpture a the end of the Champs corridor mirroring the Arc de Triumphe.
Their property is in line with the Gateway Mall and far enough West that it wouldn't detract from the Arch, and wouldn't even need to show up in photos of the Arch unless the photogragrapher wanted it to.
Their property is in line with the Gateway Mall and far enough West that it wouldn't detract from the Arch, and wouldn't even need to show up in photos of the Arch unless the photogragrapher wanted it to.
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The article mentions that Wachovia has been working with Macy's and its displaced employees to fill positions. Very nice.
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Gary Kreie wrote:Wachovia should consider a new tall iconic building on their site in line with the Arch. It would serve as a bookend for the Gateway Mall and downtown and would quickly become a highly recognizable symbol throughout the Midwest as Wachovia -- kind of like the big square arch building in Paris forms a second sculpture a the end of the Champs corridor mirroring the Arc de Triumphe.
Their property is in line with the Gateway Mall and far enough West that it wouldn't detract from the Arch, and wouldn't even need to show up in photos of the Arch unless the photogragrapher wanted it to.
In Wachovia's ancestral home, Winston-Salem, they built this building in 1994-95. It's about 500 feet tall and has become one of W-S's 3 or so signature buildings (old Wachovia, Reynolds bldg that was a study for the Empire State bldg). Tallest non-Charlotte bldg in the Carolinas. Locally some call it the "ban roll-on building." But it's OK. What was cool was seeing some of the dome get put together off site near Salem College.
DeBaliviere wrote:The article mentions that Wachovia has been working with Macy's and its displaced employees to fill positions. Very nice.
Good news! Probably a good move by Wachovia, no doubt some quality people are available.
^^Regarding a new building....
The bottle district (once the--key point--Charlotte developer got invovled) added a 70 story building.
When that plan was dropped, McGowan announced a 70 story building.
It would have been known in circles that Wachovia was looking at AGE and may have considered a signature building -- hence the two 70 story proposals. The addition of that many jobs is huge.
Just a thought...
The bottle district (once the--key point--Charlotte developer got invovled) added a 70 story building.
When that plan was dropped, McGowan announced a 70 story building.
It would have been known in circles that Wachovia was looking at AGE and may have considered a signature building -- hence the two 70 story proposals. The addition of that many jobs is huge.
Just a thought...
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^
The article says that they have a lot of currently unused space on the AGE campus right now.
The article says that they have a lot of currently unused space on the AGE campus right now.
throatybeard wrote:Locally some call it the "ban roll-on building."
Locally, some call it the "Eagleton Erection."
DeBaliviere wrote:^
The article says that they have a lot of currently unused space on the AGE campus right now.
RATS!
I heard they over built a few years ago. By the way, who in the hell was the architect for those newer buildings? They are the WORST looking buildings I've ever seen. What kind of style of architecture is that, LEGO?
All of the A.G.Edwards buildings were designed by Raymond E. Maritz & Sons.
Framer wrote:All of the A.G.Edwards buildings were designed by Raymond E. Maritz & Sons.
I believe the word you're looking for is "drafted."
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Lets just hope Wachovia Securities lives upto their promises and not ending up moving/consolidating this HQ/branch to Charlotte.DeBaliviere wrote:New web site: http://www.withstlouis.com/?cid=WSTL057
All the bad news recently i.e. Messy's closing its Midwest divsion and consolidating it to Atlanta and Sporting News moving to Charlotte has me worried.
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I'm not a big fan of building anything 70 stories high nowadays. Buildings that tall will be impossible to heat/cool in an era of lesser energy consumption.
throatybeard wrote:I'm not a big fan of building anything 70 stories high nowadays. Buildings that tall will be impossible to heat/cool in an era of lesser energy consumption.
I agree, plus they are a pain in the as* if you need to go to the top floors.
10-intuition wrote:Lets just hope Wachovia Securities lives upto their promises and not ending up moving/consolidating this HQ/branch to Charlotte.DeBaliviere wrote:New web site: http://www.withstlouis.com/?cid=WSTL057
All the bad news recently i.e. Messy's closing its Midwest divsion and consolidating it to Atlanta and Sporting News moving to Charlotte has me worried.
Oddly enough, I am not too concerned about Wachovia moving the HQ unless they come along and merge with another big securities firm (which given the Business Journal statements about industry consolidation by the new St. Louis HQ manager would not at all surprise me).
Buildings that tall will be impossible to heat/cool in an era of lesser energy consumption.
is this a joke?
But, but, we'll need taller buildings since many of the lower floors will be under water!JCity wrote:Buildings that tall will be impossible to heat/cool in an era of lesser energy consumption.
is this a joke?
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As a new member to this forum and a practitioner in the Financial Services industry, I may be able to alleviate some mental congestion relation to AGE-WB.
Here’s a brief analysis on the acquisition, industry-wide and StL-centric (a bit long, but I believe worthwhile):
1. We are getting the headquarters for the second largest securities firm in the US, with $1.2 trillion net assets under management. As StL already has the HQs of Stifel Nicolaus, Edward Jones, and Scottrade, the sustainability of the metro area for financial services is incredibly secure. No place outside of Lower Manhattan has as much capacity as StL does.
2. This entity will have locations in all 50 US states and globally.
3. Even with multiple registered representatives / licensed stock brokers with AGE transferring to other institutions, both in the StL area and across the country, the combined entity will be home to about 20,000 such professionals.
4. The combined Wachovia Securities business will also bring into the practice a clientele of a relatively higher per capita net worth, increasing relative AUM, with the broader reach increasing its draw for clientele. The selectivity it will have in new hires also will increase, bringing more net new hires to StL.
5. Only Merrill Lynch will be bigger. Also, noting their relative weaknesses in recent months, Wachovia may emerge as the top dog, more than before.
6. Notes previous on WB buying out ML regard speculation that is not going to happen anymore. This is based on ML having sought the capital it needed from sovereign wealth funds. The only reason it would have allowed WB to take it over, potentially re-moving operations to NYC & ML’s HQ, are for liquidity needs from fallen hedge funds. The sovereign wealth fund allocations from Singapore and Abu Dhabi have taken care of this need.
7. Charlotte is home to multiple banks, but it does not have much for non-banking financial services in terms of human capital and ancillary support structures. Meanwhile, StL is one of the most entrenched metro areas for this industry. Our long-term sustainability is ideal for this company and the industry at large. While Charlotte is better positioned along the lines of business clusters for the banking industry, StL is better positioned for its cluster of financial services professionals.
8. Once establishing operations in this city, they don’t have much reason for then departing. While no one can see twenty or even ten years down the road, you shouldn’t live your life worrying that an asteroid will hit the earth in 5, 4, 3 …
9. AGE has utilized portfolio managers within the StL metro area that were not previously on Wachovia’s approved portfolio manager lists. To keep business flowing as usual, they will approve the portfolio managers AGE has been utilizing, increasing the sales draw for multiple StL firms, many now able to enter markets they couldn’t have beforehand.
10. The majority of those who have left AGE, including its Investment Banking division, have moved laterally within StL. This includes the hiring of AGE Investment Bankers by previously established local firms (such as former Investment Banking head Spencer Burke moving to Saint Louis Trust Company) and new firms establishing Investment Banking operations in StL (such as Wells Fargo in Clayton).
11. Neither Wachovia Securities (independent of its banking operations) nor AGE were hit too hard in the credit market collapse, noting the hits taken by ML, Credit Suisse, or Bear, Stearns & Co. It is positioned for exceptional long-term growth within the industry.
12. They can fill up the real estate on the AGE campus and may expand further, even if they are dumping some real estate positions AGE had held. I don’t see a new 70-story building being built on the campus, but I do see increased ancillary development as the complex is fully integrated into operations.
13. The specter of AGE being hostilely taken over is gone. If Morgan Stanley had bought out the firm in April 2001, as they almost did, they would have moved the whole thing to lower Manhattan, even after the Towers fell (T2 was where MWD had their Operations based, with HQ along Broadway at I believe 54th or 55th).
14. They’ll continue AGE’s pledges to local charities. In fact, to increase relative goodwill, they will probably invest more money into StL non-profit initiatives.
15. As increased numbers of firms grow around town, and should continued industry consolidation regarding financial services take place, StL is a more viable option for establishment of companies’ long-term operations. We could potentially see this entity being a larger draw for more financial services firms setting up base in town, both domestic and international.
16. The move-in is taking place, with executive management in town. They’re not just going to change their minds now.
More tax revenues for the city. More residents in the metro area who are going to be working in the city; as 40 is still being gutted, potentially more residents in the city by percentage. A new HQ. Increased attention to StL as a center for financial services.
Overall, I'd say this is a good thing. A very, very, very good thing.
Here’s a brief analysis on the acquisition, industry-wide and StL-centric (a bit long, but I believe worthwhile):
1. We are getting the headquarters for the second largest securities firm in the US, with $1.2 trillion net assets under management. As StL already has the HQs of Stifel Nicolaus, Edward Jones, and Scottrade, the sustainability of the metro area for financial services is incredibly secure. No place outside of Lower Manhattan has as much capacity as StL does.
2. This entity will have locations in all 50 US states and globally.
3. Even with multiple registered representatives / licensed stock brokers with AGE transferring to other institutions, both in the StL area and across the country, the combined entity will be home to about 20,000 such professionals.
4. The combined Wachovia Securities business will also bring into the practice a clientele of a relatively higher per capita net worth, increasing relative AUM, with the broader reach increasing its draw for clientele. The selectivity it will have in new hires also will increase, bringing more net new hires to StL.
5. Only Merrill Lynch will be bigger. Also, noting their relative weaknesses in recent months, Wachovia may emerge as the top dog, more than before.
6. Notes previous on WB buying out ML regard speculation that is not going to happen anymore. This is based on ML having sought the capital it needed from sovereign wealth funds. The only reason it would have allowed WB to take it over, potentially re-moving operations to NYC & ML’s HQ, are for liquidity needs from fallen hedge funds. The sovereign wealth fund allocations from Singapore and Abu Dhabi have taken care of this need.
7. Charlotte is home to multiple banks, but it does not have much for non-banking financial services in terms of human capital and ancillary support structures. Meanwhile, StL is one of the most entrenched metro areas for this industry. Our long-term sustainability is ideal for this company and the industry at large. While Charlotte is better positioned along the lines of business clusters for the banking industry, StL is better positioned for its cluster of financial services professionals.
8. Once establishing operations in this city, they don’t have much reason for then departing. While no one can see twenty or even ten years down the road, you shouldn’t live your life worrying that an asteroid will hit the earth in 5, 4, 3 …
9. AGE has utilized portfolio managers within the StL metro area that were not previously on Wachovia’s approved portfolio manager lists. To keep business flowing as usual, they will approve the portfolio managers AGE has been utilizing, increasing the sales draw for multiple StL firms, many now able to enter markets they couldn’t have beforehand.
10. The majority of those who have left AGE, including its Investment Banking division, have moved laterally within StL. This includes the hiring of AGE Investment Bankers by previously established local firms (such as former Investment Banking head Spencer Burke moving to Saint Louis Trust Company) and new firms establishing Investment Banking operations in StL (such as Wells Fargo in Clayton).
11. Neither Wachovia Securities (independent of its banking operations) nor AGE were hit too hard in the credit market collapse, noting the hits taken by ML, Credit Suisse, or Bear, Stearns & Co. It is positioned for exceptional long-term growth within the industry.
12. They can fill up the real estate on the AGE campus and may expand further, even if they are dumping some real estate positions AGE had held. I don’t see a new 70-story building being built on the campus, but I do see increased ancillary development as the complex is fully integrated into operations.
13. The specter of AGE being hostilely taken over is gone. If Morgan Stanley had bought out the firm in April 2001, as they almost did, they would have moved the whole thing to lower Manhattan, even after the Towers fell (T2 was where MWD had their Operations based, with HQ along Broadway at I believe 54th or 55th).
14. They’ll continue AGE’s pledges to local charities. In fact, to increase relative goodwill, they will probably invest more money into StL non-profit initiatives.
15. As increased numbers of firms grow around town, and should continued industry consolidation regarding financial services take place, StL is a more viable option for establishment of companies’ long-term operations. We could potentially see this entity being a larger draw for more financial services firms setting up base in town, both domestic and international.
16. The move-in is taking place, with executive management in town. They’re not just going to change their minds now.
More tax revenues for the city. More residents in the metro area who are going to be working in the city; as 40 is still being gutted, potentially more residents in the city by percentage. A new HQ. Increased attention to StL as a center for financial services.
Overall, I'd say this is a good thing. A very, very, very good thing.
Very nice write up. Plenty of reasons to be positive about this move.
