Movin On Up
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 6/30/08 @ 10:00 pm - Filed Under Local Politics
I read Kevin Leininger’s piece in today’s News-Sentinel about One Resource Group Corp’s decision to move out of downtown and build a new headquarters by General Motors. Now I think it’s fantastic that a local business is expanding and investing in the community. But if I were an employee I would see their rational for the move as a little odd:
“We’re on three floors in the Murphy Building (at 809 S. Calhoun St.), and we’re just out of space,” said Todd Stewart, president and co-owner of One Resource Group Corp., who said his firm was unable to find a larger suitable space downtown, despite two years of searching.
Change Ft Wayne found them a larger site for half the cost in no time flat. Of course that’s a little simplistic as I’m sure they already saw that site and/or contacted the Downtown Improvement District for help. Each company has their own unique set of needs but I’m surprised they couldn’t find anything to suit them in all of downtown.
To each their own I suppose but I don’t think I’d be very happy if I worked for them and they decided to move out into the middle of nowhere. Gone is central location and ambiance of downtown - hello industrial park! The company brought up the old parking conundrum as well:
In addition to the new site’s proximity to major highways, it will offer one benefit scarce in downtown Fort Wayne: plenty of room for free parking. “We pay for parking for our employees, and it got to a point where we had to draw the line,” Stewart said.
First off, I want to point out that there’s no such thing as “free parking”. You have to buy the land, develop and maintain it and there’s a significant cost associated with that. Parking downtown ranges from $32-$98/month. If I were an employee I might want to consider how my commute cost might increase versus the benefit of “free parking”. I know several people that work in the downtown area, including myself, and I doubt any of them would want to trade their current locale for a “fun” industrial park site.
But like I said, to each their own…
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9 Responses to “Movin On Up”
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Yeah… the “fun” industrial park is what really had me scratching my head with that article
What’s not fun about it? It’s way more fun driving 5 miles to Waynedale for lunch than walking a few blocks downtown…
Won’t it cost about the same - or even more - for the company to maintain the new parking lots? The downtown lots are maintained by the businesses that accommodate the employees.
The trip out to GM for those living in the opposite end of the county will be much longer and use more gas.
Maybe the company can reimburse the employees for increased gas costs now that they won’t have the monthly parking expense.
I thought that there was a TON of open space downtown?
Hey wait.
They could take the space formerly occupied by the Lincoln Museum, right? That’s a fun place.
Charlotte,
I think so. They have to pay for the land and develop it as well. But come winter time they have to pay somebody to go out there and plow it when necessary - something that is “free” in the downtown lots.
Maybe they are moving closer to their clients. Traffic still moves faster along I/69 than along West Jefferson during rush hour. It may even be the case that many of their clients are GM employees.
One Resource is also applying for a tax abatement from the county. By moving out of city limits, they avoid city taxes altogether.
Insurance companies are in the business of minimizing risk. There is risk that if they buy that downtown building, someone will decide to “improve” downtown again and displace their business.
So instead of the company paying for their employees’ parking they are forcing their employees to pay more in gasoline.
Passin’ the buck.
Also, unless it was in the hiring agreement, the company isn’t obligated to pay for their parking. In a tough economy, I’m sure if someone really wanted that job, and it sounds like they are decent paying ones too, then they would put up with a $30 a month cost.
In order for any of you to claim that the employees would have to drive farther, you would have to know where the employees live. If One Resource is moving closer to their clients, that means a net savings on fuel consumption in Allen County. Aside from that, I’m tired of hearing about poor, oppressed, white collar workers.