Deutsche Bank expansion could be game changer for Jacksonville

[Tacachale]

Here's the Daily Record, commenting on the Journal piece:

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=540731

Deutsche is investing heavily in their campus and bringing a lot of jobs. Their Southside location is part of their strategy here, and bringing this much investment in has been a major positive for the city.

[fsujax]

I was right. haha

[thelakelander]

I doubt DB moves DT; sounds like they are in Jax for cost-cutting reasons and while rents on the SS could ironically be higher than rents DT (we're talking the difference of a $1 or two), their overall costs to be DT are surely higher, thus defeating the whole Jacksonville purpose.

Earlier this year, I participated in a three person panel discussion with Michael Drexler of Deutsche. Based on his comments that day, I'll second the notion of not expecting them to be moving anything near DT.

Drexler of Deutsche Bank shared his views about "The Migration of Business from High Cost Urban Centers."

He said Deutsche Bank in 2010 moved 10 investment traders to Jacksonville and the move worked out so well that there are 220 investment bankers here now and that number "should double in the next 18 months."

"We realized we needed to reorient ... to a broader group of people," he said.

Drexler said Jacksonville was attractive because Florida does not impose a state income tax, it is a two-hour flight to New York and offers a quality of life.

"I've been here 18 months. I think from a business perspective the advantages of Jacksonville are quite profound," he said.

Comparing the area's attractiveness of the ease of transit to Davis's support of urban development, Drexler said the Deutsche Bank investment bankers like the quality of life in a more open setting.

"I like to be able to drive where I want and park in front," he said.

"Having lived in New York City," he said, "be careful what you wish for." He referred to the issues related to mass transit, density and parking.

full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=538565

[thelakelander]

Deutsche is investing heavily in their campus and bringing a lot of jobs. Their Southside location is part of their strategy here, and bringing this much investment in has been a major positive for the city.

The location and expansion of companies like Deutsche will help fuel additional infill development around Tinseltown and SJTC.

[CityLife]

Simms is right about them not moving DT...doesn't make him a negative nancy, just a realist.

That said, Deutsche Bank is great for Jacksonville. I don't think they hire much locally for the big time management/investment banking positions. 80% of their investment bankers in Jax are from Georgia Tech, Emory, UNC, Vanderbilt, and Tulane, with the rest from NYC or Chicago. The IB's here may not be from MIT or Wharton, but they are still a different caliber of worker than we normally get in Jax...plus there are still a lot of good operational type jobs that pay well too. I know a few locals that have jobs at DB that are better than they could get anywhere else in Jax. It would be great if they were DT, but better on the southside than not here at all.

I occasionally meet corporate types who have relocated to Jax and they typically do so for the weather, the beach, golf, and cost of living. This leads to a lot more of them living in Ponte Vedra or Atlantic Beach, than San Marco, Avondale, or Ortega. Which I believe leads to a preference of the southside over Downtown, even if the operational costs are similar.

[BoldBoyOfTheSouth]

Jacksonville needs for jobs that bring interesting people to town and bring more jobs for us too.

[mtraininjax]

Another game changer?  I remember when AOL was the game changer. lol  I must ask though, what is the game these days?

+1

Jacksonville gets used by the Financial Institutions for one thing, cheap labor/low cost of living. Once our labor costs rise and it costs more to do business here, they are off to a 3rd world company.

Enjoy the DB news while it lasts, cause it never does. Not a downer, just a realist because we have all heard this music in the past, do some research and you will see it all around the southside business parks with regard to the financial service companies.

[danno]

I know for a fact that they are looking at Butler Plaza at the corner of JTB and Bellfort.  We at British Airways are vacating 2 1/2 floors of Butler Plaza 2 when we close at the end of the year.  They are also looking at taking the entire building in front of us that was recently vacated.

[edjax]

The actual story in the WSJ was extremely flattering for Jax.  Even quoted some younger people who were thrilled with the move from NYC to Jax and even one who recently declined a move to NYC because they did not want to leave. Sure don't hear those types of comment about Jax often, especially from young professionals!  I am sure Simms will set us straight though on the lowly young professionals though since you know they aren't the real top level ones. 

[jaxtrader]

"The first time I visited Jacksonville was at the interview, and the first thing I thought was, 'It's so green, and it's so clean,'" . More positive press impact in one line than in a year of chamber of commerce promotion!

[Wacca Pilatka]

As much maligned as the Jacksonville Super Bowl was in the sports press, a lot of visitors from the northeast remarked on how clean the city is.

[fsujax]

Most visitors are most always impressed with Jax. I toured someone around the other day from Miami and he was amazed at the river and older neighborhoods that surrond downtown.

[simms3]

As much maligned as the Jacksonville Super Bowl was in the sports press, a lot of visitors from the northeast remarked on how clean the city is.

"The first time I visited Jacksonville was at the interview, and the first thing I thought was, 'It's so green, and it's so clean,'" . More positive press impact in one line than in a year of chamber of commerce promotion!

I've made this remark upon visiting, as well, but I think it depends on the area.  PVB, the SS, San Marco, and DT along the riverwalks seem very clean, new, and tidy...dare I say "organized"?  These are the parts visitors see, which is important.  But Jax and other southern cities have a different kind of grit than denser NE cities.

You can't escape human misery in SF or Manhattan no matter where you are, whereas in Jax you can live in PVB and work around Gate Parkway and never see human misery, towering public housing projects, homeless camps, human feces on sidewalks, needles, gang tags, etc, and so by default that makes whole sections of the city extremely clean, unmatchable by most cities really.

But in-town, I wouldn't say the "wealthy areas" such as Ortega and Avondale are as put together as they should be (let alone the poor areas, which take on an almost poor, rural appearance with junkyards and sparse, dilapidated buildings) and the city can't maintain its own ROW, let alone residents take care of their houses properly.  More of a southern thing, which is why cookie cutter suburbs in Atlanta and PVB in Jax are so popular with northern/CA transplants.

[CityLife]

Jacksonville has somewhat of a bad reputation in parts Florida and outside of Florida, at least partially because of Orlando and Miami (South Florida) in my opinion. People (and media) in those places generally speak poorly of Jax, which doesn't help our perception. Its kind of like New York and New Jersey. New Jersey is not even remotely close to as bad as it is portrayed by the New York media, but in the average American's mind its the worst place on earth. When I visited my wife's family in Jersey I was shocked at how nice that part of the state was. Low and behold, its actually the 2nd wealthiest state in the US and has some extremely nice areas.

Same thing happens in Jax too. When many people visit and see our good sides like the In-Town neighborhoods, the Beaches, Amelia Island, Town Center, and St. Augustine they are genuinely surprised. I can't count on my hands how many times I've had out of towners tell me how crappy Jax was, to which I then would say, "well have you been to San Marco? Have you been to Riverside/Avondale? Have you been to Beaches Town Center?" To which they would typically say no, and make a remark about how its just a sprawling city of strip malls and fast food joints. I've had a few of those people later say they visited the good parts of Jax I told them about and admit that it is actually quite nice.

There is definitely a perception issue with Jax. We need to do a better job of promoting ourselves around the state and nation, and articles like this go a long way towards that.

[edjax]

Unfortunately to most their perception is downtown. And hence why they have a less than stellar view of Jax.