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CONSTRUCTION THREAD: TD Bank Regional Headquarters Campus

g-man430

By g-man430
in Greenville

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gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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It's about time the board had the guts to get finally force his retirement. This has been a long time in coming.

Well, not sure about that, but I can say, this man deserves a wonderful life of retirement. Starting with one office in 1986 and growing a bank into the 35th largest in the nation is no small feat. I doubt any of us on UP could have done the same. Congrats to Mack Whittle....he put Greenville on the banking map. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Greenville City

Greenville

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Well, not sure about that, but I can say, this man deserves a wonderful life of retirement. Starting with one office in 1986 and growing a bank into the 35th largest in the nation is no small feat. I doubt any of us on UP could have done the same. Congrats to Mack Whittle....he put Greenville on the banking map. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Well stated. He is the main reason why Greenville is the banking capital of SC. :thumbsup:

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  • 3 months later...
krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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^I think I saw it this past weekend while traveling along I-85; does it have that big circular feature in the front between two of the main buildings? I'd only remember seeing ICAR from the interstate (which is looking better and better) but this is the first time I can recall seeing the Carolina First corporate campus.

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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^I think I saw it this past weekend while traveling along I-85; does it have that big circular feature in the front between two of the main buildings? I'd only remember seeing ICAR from the interstate (which is looking better and better) but this is the first time I can recall seeing the Carolina First corporate campus.

You got it. I'll have to check it out at night!

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gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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I wish they would cut down some of the trees that currently block the view of Carolina First's headquarters from I-85. I am all for saving trees within developments and in subdivisions, but when something like this fronts such a high visibility area I think it should be shown off. :)

I bet your bud Heidi Aiken is reading this e-mail right now and she's rounding up the local tree sitters en masse! :lol: She's gonna call you out on the air for that comment. :lol:

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  • 5 weeks later...
gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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Not sure if anyone has paid attention to the buildings at night, but they are starting to look pretty good. All the lights were on last night and I noticed each floor is "color coded". All the interior walls on the first floor were a light sky blue, all the inetrior walls on the second floor were a burnt orange, all the walls on the third floor were between a celery and pale lime green, and so on.

Really looking sharp at night. :thumbsup:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Greenville City

Greenville

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I vote for selling it entirely. Wouldn't it be much cheaper for them to be a major tenant in a new downtown project (Washington Square, Main at McBee, or an unknown project) or even build their own building? It seems like their campus being built along I-85 is incurring a lot of unnecessary expense. I understand that they were planning for the future with the scope of the campus, but in reality they could expand to a new space downtown which would still afford them more space and some room to grow. Plus, that would seemingly save a lot of money. Thoughts?

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gman430 Megalopolis

gman430

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I vote for selling it entirely. Wouldn't it be much cheaper for them to be a major tenant in a new downtown project (Washington Square, Main at McBee, or an unknown project) or even build their own building? It seems like their campus being built along I-85 is incurring a lot of unnecessary expense. I understand that they were planning for the future with the scope of the campus, but in reality they could expand to a new space downtown which would still afford them more space and some room to grow. Plus, that would seemingly save a lot of money. Thoughts?

I agree 100%. Their new campus cost $100 million to build. A highrise could cost that much but locating in Washington Square sure wouldn't.

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gman Hamlet

gman

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I vote for selling it entirely. Wouldn't it be much cheaper for them to be a major tenant in a new downtown project (Washington Square, Main at McBee, or an unknown project) or even build their own building? It seems like their campus being built along I-85 is incurring a lot of unnecessary expense. I understand that they were planning for the future with the scope of the campus, but in reality they could expand to a new space downtown which would still afford them more space and some room to grow. Plus, that would seemingly save a lot of money. Thoughts?

They don't have the money to build a new facility. That is the point. Like I said on this topic in April of last year, they will never move into this building. I was wrong about this bank being around at the end of 2008, but I hold to my thinking that not one South Financial employee will ever work in those buildings. They were already a struggling institution when they announced this project. It made no sense then and certainly does not now. They were laying off folks while at the same time announcing new hires with the completion of this campus. What a joke it was to imply they were going to move out of Greenville. Bottom line, if they survive, and I hope they do, they will stay where they are in downtown Greenville and try to weather the storm. There is no need to fund new space. No business needs to do anything stupid in this economy.

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vicupstate Metropolitan Area

vicupstate

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I agree 100%. Their new campus cost $100 million to build. A highrise could cost that much but locating in Washington Square sure wouldn't.

If they moved into Washington Square, they would not own the building, only lease it, which was no doubt a factor in their decision in the first place. Buying a large tract on the interstate might very well have been cheaper than building a similiar sized facility downtown.

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gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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I vote for selling it entirely. Wouldn't it be much cheaper for them to be a major tenant in a new downtown project (Washington Square, Main at McBee, or an unknown project) or even build their own building? It seems like their campus being built along I-85 is incurring a lot of unnecessary expense. I understand that they were planning for the future with the scope of the campus, but in reality they could expand to a new space downtown which would still afford them more space and some room to grow. Plus, that would seemingly save a lot of money. Thoughts?

Seems a lease back deal could work. Sell it and make dollars, lease back needed space, let the owner lease the space not needed.

The round, multi function / meeting building......seems the city of Greenville could get involved.....partial GO Center / meeting space / etc.

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mallguy Town

mallguy

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There's an article in today's New York Times business section about sale/leasebacks and how they're harder to do these days.

I don't have any current info from Southeast Real Estate Business but the last Greenville office market overview I saw showed that in Greenville, downtown has a much stronger (lower vacancy rate and higher rents) market than suburban markets do. (This was before the I-85/Woodruff Road office space boom.)

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gman430 Megalopolis

gman430

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There's an article in today's New York Times business section about sale/leasebacks and how they're harder to do these days.

I don't have any current info from Southeast Real Estate Business but the last Greenville office market overview I saw showed that in Greenville, downtown has a much stronger (lower vacancy rate and higher rents) market than suburban markets do. (This was before the I-85/Woodruff Road office space boom.)

In the third quarter 2008, the office vacancy rate was 10.4% for the CBD and 10.7% for the suburbs. That is class A, B, and C office space combined.

CBD office vacancy-

Class A: 11.3%

Class B: 11.2%

Class C: 6.8%

Suburban office vacany-

Class A: 4.0%

Class B: 13.0%

Class C: 10.3%

As you can tell, the Class A vacany rate for the suburbs is a lot lower than that for the CBD mainly due to engineering firms such as Fluor expanding. This is a lot of the reason you're seeing more office buildings getting proposed and built in the suburbs than downtown even though that is slowly starting to change.

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B&R Whistle-Stop

B&R

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I was disappointed when they decided to move operations out of downtown but maybe this could end up being win-win-win. IF they can sell their new campus that would put needed dollars in their hands. If they were to stay downtown they might expedite construction at Washington Square and make that development successful. And the new campus could be a lure for an outside company or companies.

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goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

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I would be surprised if they actually decided to expand or move while they continue to lose worth (and lots of it). Hopefully they will hire a proven marketing agency to sell the property and buildings. It is a great location with high visibility for a headquarters looking to relocate from a larger city.

So if they are unable to move into the new buildings, it will be interesting to note that we have other buildings around the city which have suffered a similar fate. The massive "Crescent Center" at the Point, behind Whole Foods. The partially-built "Peacock Hotel & Spa" in downtown. Any others?

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gman430 Megalopolis

gman430

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Wow, that's really shifted from a few years ago- yikes! Hopefully downtown promoters are working hard to get more tenants downtown.

They're trying to. The city recently hired a consultant to try and attract new office tenants downtown. Whether anything comes from it or not remains to be seen.

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btoy Town

btoy

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They're trying to. The city recently hired a consultant to try and attract new office tenants downtown. Whether anything comes from it or not remains to be seen.

Actually I don't think she was hired by the city. I think she was hired by a group off office owners themselves.

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