Russell Sets Deadline for Final Offers
The fine folks at Russell Investments have apparently told the cities of Tacoma and Seattle that they have until the end of May to lay all their cards on the table. The company then expects to make a headquarters decision by the end of the 3rd quarter. So … who has the better hand?
Link to MSN Money
Previously: The Russell Proposal – The Numbers
Filed under: General
18 comments
N Nick April 22, 2009
Has Tacoma done this for any employer that isn’t already here? It is saddening to see Seattle go to such lengths for an employer that isn’t already there while Tacoma only seems to do so to maintain the status quo. What if Tacoma did this to try and attract OTHER employers from outside the city to come here?
N Nick April 22, 2009
Also, I’m not so sure Russell has the upper hand anymore in this negotiation. My guess is that their balance sheet is begging for some cash, and they’re trying to milk this for all it’s worth.
But following those recent layoffs and observing the collapse of the financial industry, the benefits Russell brings to Tacoma have greatly diminished since the last time this subject came up. They now hold fewer jobs and much less tax revenue ransom than they did even 6 months ago.
D Derek staff April 22, 2009
Hey everybody, let’s show our moxie and put on a talent show for them!
Sidewalk variety show? Or something more formal?
C Christine April 23, 2009
After all the drama, I’m having a hard time giving a rat’s ass.
J John Sherman April 23, 2009
Just maybe, the owners of the building that Russell occupies now as their headquarters building in Tacoma could just gift that building to Russell -it follows, Russell would then have some roots that anchor them to Tacoma with ‘free rent’ tomorrow and they could still use the Tacoma Link Train for free. Kind-of-like when Weyerhaeuser gave up their new parking structure that former Russell owners built their headquarters building atop as we see today. Also, City of Tacoma could grant the gifted new Russell building a property tax exemption just to help a struggling financial company just like City of Tacoma would do for any other business doing business within City of Tacoma today or tomorrow.
And, maybe the City of Tacoma could allow the Russell company to manage all City pension funds absent competitive bidding for financial services, all other City funds investments management, and the City and City Employees could pay Russell for that for that financial benefit service if it just happens to loose a little money.
D David Boe April 23, 2009
Or as I explained to my kids this morning at the breakfast table: What if we wanted to keep one of our more prosperous neighbors to stay in the neighborhood – should we offer to buy them a new car, a trip to Vegas, and reduce their taxes to convince them to stay put? Or should we get together as a neighborhood and fix all of our sidewalks, plant street trees, mow our lawns, get the cars off the front yard and put a fresh coat of paint on all our houses. The first option provides direct benefit only to the one neighbor – the later provides direct benefit for the whole neighborhood.
C crenshaw sepulveda April 23, 2009
Boe is right. This can’t be about Russell, it has to be about Tacoma. If we are not doing something for ourselves it really ends up being pretty meaningless. I suspect the prosperous neighbor will get the trip to Vegas and a new car which he’ll end up driving to Seattle.
T Tim Waer April 23, 2009
Woah, woah, David! That makes too much sense.
As someone who works downtown and owns a house in Tacoma, I couldn’t agree more. If we do all that you suggest and they still leave, we have a better community and that could appeal to the next company that is looking at Tacoma.
Too bad government doesn’t work that way.
E Elliot April 23, 2009
@Tim
I think the problem isn’t that government doesn’t work that way (governments are just fine at infrastructure improvements), but that voters don’t respond that way. If Russell leaves, that’s all people will think about, even if the city can show that it spent tons of money on fixing up downtown – a lasting investment that will help attract Russell’s replacement. In other words, governments don’t have a hard time thinking in the long term, but voters do.
Bottom line: as long as Tacoma is a city that companies need an reason to stay in, rather than a city that companies want to move to, we’ll be continuously over a barrel. Getting to the point of being an attractive city is going to take a lot more money than we can throw down the hole that is Russell.
S Squid April 23, 2009
John Sherman, it follows; you never fail to crack me up.
R RR Anderson April 23, 2009
Think I need to draw more David Boe action figures.
B burg April 23, 2009
my question is what about the restaurants from lets say from 9th to 7th…half gonna be shut down within a year? thats a huge lunch and happy hour crowd to try and replace. I think for the sake of the overall downtown you have to keep Russell. what happens if Davita happens to makes a similar move too, then where are we as a city?
I I'm for Change (for tacoma) April 23, 2009
Tacoma should pursue getting some cruise ships to dock at the port. Then the Russell building owners can renovate the building into a hotel. Seasonal cruise tourists and convention center conference attendees will probably spend more money in downtown Tacoma than Russell suburbanites do now.
T Thorax O'Tool April 24, 2009
Russell, Russell, Russell!
Meanwhile, the rest of the Tacoma Bunch gets ignored and has less screen time than Alice…
D drizell April 24, 2009
I don’t think losing a couple big companies is really going to make much of a difference over the long term. When Seattle lost Boeing to Chicago, some people were saying it was a precursor to the downfall of that city, but it really wasn’t. Companies are always pulling up roots and putting them down somewhere else. Tacoma has always had a much lower office vacancy rate than other cities in the Puget Sound area, meaning other companies may quickly come to fill the void left by Russell and/or Davita.
burg @ 13: I don’t think the restaurants will be affected by Russell and Davita as much as you think. To put it in perspective, over 38,000 people work downtown. Russell and Davita combined comprise less than five percent of that number.
T The Fish April 24, 2009
Drizell-
However, those households earning more that $100K per year control over 90% of the disposable income in the U.S. That equals a lot of lost meals at Meconi’s, Matador, Galanga, etc. The Russell ecosystem Downtown is a complex and vital thing, underestimating it is foolish.
J jamie from thriceallamerican April 24, 2009
Sidewalk variety show? Or something more formal?
How about a production of Annie with laid-off Russell employees as the residents of the Hooverville?
T Thorax O'Tool April 24, 2009
I don’t think there are as many $100K/yr jobs there as you think. A gal on the 3rd floor of my building works at Russell and constantly bitches about not being paid enough.
I asked her once about it, down by the mailbox one sunny Tuesday. I told her I thought Russell was a good company to work for.
They’re good to work for, but apparently you won’t break $50K until you’re up into management.
While $50,000 isn’t bad at all, it certainly isn’t steelworker money.