Modis is moving out of Downtown....

[stjr]

MPS’s information technology subsidiary, Modis, has its name on the signature 35-story building in downtown Jacksonville, where MPS was headquartered. But MPS’s lease in the building expires in March 2011, and Adecco is already considering a move to a less costly building in the suburbs when the lease is up.

Maybe they will move but then maybe they are just posturing for a better lease and some incentives from the City.  Let's see.

One thing downtown offers is visibility and status which have intangible value marketing the image of the company.  Especially as they are catering to professionals.  Just the shots of the sign during aerial and skyline shots during sporting events and the impressions made on thousands of daily I-95 drivers is worth something.  How many people will know of them as a tenant of a bland office park building surrounded by more bland office buildings?

[Keith-N-Jax]

Good points. We shall see.

[Ocklawaha]

So, who gets the naming rights next?

Based on downtown occupancy I'd say we're down to "LEROY," he's the guy on the 24Th floor that sells Shaklee Vitamins.  "THE LEROY BUILDING!" Wow, that sounds hot.

Guess we shouldn't expect "Modis," to appear on the Stadium anytime soon either?  It's just as well that they DON'T put their name on the Jaguar Field, since it sounds more like a feminine hygiene product. God knows our City and our team have been flushed down enough toilets this year.

If Peyton just catches onto the LIGHT RAIL LEGACY, building streetcar in downtown, and pushing completion of the Skyway system as called for in 1978, 82, 85, 2002, etc...  I think we all would experience a renaissance of downtown as THE happening place in North Florida or South Georgia.


OCKLAWAHA

[vicupstate]

Maybe they will move but then maybe they are just posturing for a better lease and some incentives from the City.  Let's see.

You may be right about the lease, but I don't see the city being able to do much.  First, the city is broke already, second, paying incentives simply to stay DT would open the door to EVERY employer DT trying to extort incentives in the same way.  If parking were the issue, the city could do something with that, as it did with Stein Mart, but parking doesn't appear to be the issue here.

In reference to my earlier post about Jax corporate citizans not supporting the city's goals, contrast the attitude of Kansas City corporate titans to Jax's. It's a night and day difference.   

[copperfiend]

In reference to my earlier post about Jax corporate citizans not supporting the city's goals, contrast the attitude of Kansas City corporate titans to Jax's. It's a night and day difference.   

What are the city's goals exactly?

[fsujax]

My heart sank when I saw the article in the paper this morning. I know its only 375 jobs, but we can't afford to lose anymore jobs in the downtown. The city should be really trying to encourage them to stay downtown.

[JeffreyS]

Damn, right after the good news from Peyton, this comes along immediately after.  The DT vacancy rate is already quite high.

The corporate titans of Jax seem to have little commitment to the city beyond charity/event sponsorships.  Maybe I'm wrong, but that is how I perceive it.

This is because Jacksonville has spent decades trying  to pay companies to come here (JEDC style) instead of trying to attract companies with high quality of life, a well educated workforce and good infrastructure suburban and urban. But hey it has kept taxes low.

[copperfiend]

You mean like a Bridgestone tire distribution center that pays 10 dollars an hour?

[hightowerlover]

does anyone know who the next highest tenant is in the building formerly known as modis?  I think Deloitte & Touche is in there...that would look quite hilarious on our tallest building with a marquee

[mtraininjax]

considering a move to a less costly building in the suburbs

Considering is NOT moving, so thanks for stirring the pot and getting the muckrakers all up in arms.

Hell yes they are making a public appeal for Eola Capital to make them a deal to stay downtown. Losing anyone from downtown would be a problem, as we are trying to add, not subtract.

It costs thousands to add/remove a sign from a building, I wonder if the shareholders appreciate that expense. When you are multi-billion dollar company, I suppose it does not matter to them. Thankfully, I am not an Adecco stockholder.

[mtraininjax]

Deloitte & Touche

I am not sure, I believe that D&T has offices off of Belfort, but they do have an accounting and consulting effort, so could be 2 offices. They used to seperate the offices when I was in Atlanta too.

[JeffreyS]

I think they closed or at least radically downsized the Belfort office.

[blizz01]

Guess we shouldn't expect "Modis," to appear on the Stadium anytime soon either?  It's just as well that they DON'T put their name on the Jaguar Field, since it sounds more like a feminine hygiene product. God knows our City and our team have been flushed down enough toilets this year.

Ha Ha - unfortunately, Deloitte & Touche looks like a feminine hygiene product also at quick glance - just let the names run together.  

Maybe the city, the landlord, & the Jags can get together to incorporate stadium naming rights to be inclusive of this building considering that it's always visible between commercial breaks during games.  In the interim, Team Teal could push to get that huge Jag head moved to the top of the building (from the jumbotron) even!

[hightowerlover]

Looks like they're branding as "Deloitte." now but, they're definitely in the modis building

http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_pqdhs

[Wacca Pilatka]

I am sure that Adecco would be approached about if not naming rights, at least continuing Modis' long-standing support of the Jaguars.  The last time I saw a comment from Mr. Weaver on the naming rights issue over a year ago, he remarked that he figured the best source for naming rights in the future might be larger foreign companies trying to make their name in the U.S.  Who knows; maybe Adecco would be a good match.

I thought KPMG, not D&T, was the Big Four firm in the Modis building.  KPMG and other large accounting firms often do have naming rights to buildings in larger cities, so I don't think that would in any way look silly if that scenario ever did happen.

What ever happened to AT&T?  In 2008 it was suggested that it was leaving downtown.  Did that in fact happen or is it still scheduled to happen?