Deutsche Bank expansion could be game changer for Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

Deutsche Bank close to leasing PHH Mortgage building

full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=545760

[CCMjax]

Good that Deutsche Bank is here in Jacksonville, however would be nice if one of these large companies would occupy some of the empty space downtown.  In Detroit, large companies like Quicken Loans are investing in downtown revitalization efforts and locating offices downtown to help lure young professionals (and they employ a lot of them like Deutsche) to Detroit.  It is hard to attract good young talent when everything is in the burbs.

[Captain Zissou]

When Deutsche Bank initially moved here, they received financial incentives equal to about $10k per employee, much of which came from the state.  Sounds like we have gotten a great ROI from that initial investment. We need to use financial packages like what we offered Deutsche to entice other companies with high wage jobs to relocate their offices here. 

[aaapolito]

Good that Deutsche Bank is here in Jacksonville, however would be nice if one of these large companies would occupy some of the empty space downtown.  In Detroit, large companies like Quicken Loans are investing in downtown revitalization efforts and locating offices downtown to help lure young professionals (and they employ a lot of them like Deutsche) to Detroit.  It is hard to attract good young talent when everything is in the burbs.

I have heard from friends at DB that many of the higher level employees moved to the beaches initially, which was also a nice plus for them moving to Fla.  Many of them like the shorter commute to Gate and Belfort.  They would likely be very resistant to driving all the way DT from the beaches.  While, I'm sure this is not the story for all of them, I have heard this consistently for some time now.

In short, the beaches have been a good selling point for NY and NJ DB employees moving to Jax.  I have not heard that DB has had a hard time attracting young talent because its office location. 

[CCMjax]

Good that Deutsche Bank is here in Jacksonville, however would be nice if one of these large companies would occupy some of the empty space downtown.  In Detroit, large companies like Quicken Loans are investing in downtown revitalization efforts and locating offices downtown to help lure young professionals (and they employ a lot of them like Deutsche) to Detroit.  It is hard to attract good young talent when everything is in the burbs.

I have heard from friends at DB that many of the higher level employees moved to the beaches initially, which was also a nice plus for them moving to Fla.  Many of them like the shorter commute to Gate and Belfort.  They would likely be very resistant to driving all the way DT from the beaches.  While, I'm sure this is not the story for all of them, I have heard this consistently for some time now.

In short, the beaches have been a good selling point for NY and NJ DB employees moving to Jax.  I have not heard that DB has had a hard time attracting young talent because its office location.

Good point, I always forget about the impact the beach has.  And actually the beach is one of the reasons DT is struggling so much.

[WarDamJagFan]

Good that Deutsche Bank is here in Jacksonville, however would be nice if one of these large companies would occupy some of the empty space downtown.  In Detroit, large companies like Quicken Loans are investing in downtown revitalization efforts and locating offices downtown to help lure young professionals (and they employ a lot of them like Deutsche) to Detroit.  It is hard to attract good young talent when everything is in the burbs.

I have heard from friends at DB that many of the higher level employees moved to the beaches initially, which was also a nice plus for them moving to Fla.  Many of them like the shorter commute to Gate and Belfort.  They would likely be very resistant to driving all the way DT from the beaches.  While, I'm sure this is not the story for all of them, I have heard this consistently for some time now.

In short, the beaches have been a good selling point for NY and NJ DB employees moving to Jax.  I have not heard that DB has had a hard time attracting young talent because its office location.

This is all too true. I worked right between the equities and muni's sales desk for 2 years on DB's derivatives team. Probably 95% of those employees all the way up to MD's lived between the town center region, Jax, and Atlantic beach. Saw a handful of them out in Neptune on July 4th and they literally all told me the same thing - They had their fill of NYC, but they now feel like they are on permanent vacation living at the beach - all while still having the same job.

[CityLife]

Good that Deutsche Bank is here in Jacksonville, however would be nice if one of these large companies would occupy some of the empty space downtown.  In Detroit, large companies like Quicken Loans are investing in downtown revitalization efforts and locating offices downtown to help lure young professionals (and they employ a lot of them like Deutsche) to Detroit.  It is hard to attract good young talent when everything is in the burbs.

I have heard from friends at DB that many of the higher level employees moved to the beaches initially, which was also a nice plus for them moving to Fla.  Many of them like the shorter commute to Gate and Belfort.  They would likely be very resistant to driving all the way DT from the beaches.  While, I'm sure this is not the story for all of them, I have heard this consistently for some time now.

In short, the beaches have been a good selling point for NY and NJ DB employees moving to Jax.  I have not heard that DB has had a hard time attracting young talent because its office location.

Good point, I always forget about the impact the beach has.  And actually the beach is one of the reasons DT is struggling so much.

I've heard the exact same as aaaplito and posted in another thread that I was told there was no chance Deutsche would relocate DT because there would be a mutiny from employees. They all live at the beaches, Southside, or northern SJC. The employees that moved here from up north did so because they wanted to live at the beach or in golf communities. A guy I know there said he would have stayed in NY if he wanted to live in the city. Its a problem DT Jax has to deal with that inland cities don't.

The distance from DT Jax to the beaches is another issue. Look at other coastal cities in Florida. Downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale, WPB, and Sarasota are all much closer to the beach than Jax is. Tampa is the only large coastal community in the state that is as far from the beach as Jax. If DT Jax was 5-10 miles closer to the beach (where many execs and professionals live), I think you would see a lot more demand for downtown office space.

[fsquid]

Not having to take mass transit is also a plus for these guys.   They like being able to drive their cars and park in front of their work building.

[ProjectMaximus]

Like everyone else, I have heard all the same things from DB friends. (This could just be an echo chamber effect)

From my observations I also feel like young DB employees would rather have the city life. It may not be a problem recruiting execs and upper management away from the city, but young talent is interested in something else. About a dozen of the young folks I know have left DB, left the city, want to leave, and/or travel away every weekend. Certainly having the offices in downtown Jax in its current state wouldn't do any more good, but eventually in a decade or more if there were enough activity and semblance of vibrancy that might have an effect.

The distance from DT Jax to the beaches is another issue. Look at other coastal cities in Florida. Downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale, WPB, and Sarasota are all much closer to the beach than Jax is. Tampa is the only large coastal community in the state that is as far from the beach as Jax. If DT Jax was 5-10 miles closer to the beach (where many execs and professionals live), I think you would see a lot more demand for downtown office space.

True. However, in a dream scenario some light or heavy rail would fix this "problem."

[dp8541]

I think this is pretty par for the course for a lot of companies either headquartered or with a large work force in Jax.  My company is currently in the process of relocating from one Southside location to another (moving almost 200 employees).  Moving downtown was never even considered (must to my dismay) in this case due to the higher ups living in the beaches and St. Johns county.

[BennyKrik]

Younger people at DB rarely make friends outside of work.
For most of these younger people, jacksonville is a stepping stone before New York or San Fran.

Visiting 5 points is as exotic as it gets. Living downtown is out of the question.

If Db moved downtown, some would live in RAP area or continue commuting from Ponte V
And Beaches, where building a new home with a pool is cheap with New York salaries

Trust me. I know

[dp8541]

I found this old article from the WSJ (October 2013) regarding DB in Jax

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304176904579112822472241240

[Captain Zissou]

Younger people at DB rarely make friends outside of work.
For most of these younger people, jacksonville is a stepping stone before New York or San Fran.

Trust me. I know

That's strange, since I'm friends with a number of young people that work at DB, two of whom lives downtown.  I guess they don't know that they aren't supposed to have friends.  Thanks for the heads up, I'll let them know.

[BennyKrik]

I knew some whom lived downtown when they moved from out of town.
They always relocated to other parts of town after leases were up

Yeh ask them - 'do u hang out mostly with colleagues from work'?

[For_F-L-O-R-I-D-A]

Don't most people hang out with communities they are apart of whether work, church, organization,etc? For young adults, work is your main social network as well unless you have some college or high school friends around.