Why would you spend an extra 10% of your profits to give to government? Why would you voluntarily give 10% of YOUR paycheck to government? Why would you use space in one of the worlds most expensive cities when you business is by phone, travel and the Internet? You do not need the allure of San Fran, what you need is to add to the bottom line—to create more profits and jobs!
Charles Schwab is a national known stock brokerage—it can operate anywhere. Now it is ready to decide if it wants to go “mile high” (pun intended) and head off to Denver. Or, save and make big bucks by going to Dallas. Either way, another major California company is on its way out of the State. Like Toyota, not all at once.
“In discussing Schwab’s hunt for office space with the Dallas Morning New s Thursday, Schwab spokesman Greg Gable said, “We are keeping all of our options open, but I can’t talk about anything specific.”
Where the firm is based is a hot topic as Schwab plans a big jobs shift out of San Francisco. In Bay Area financial circles it’s no secret that founder and Chairman Chuck Schwab is no fan of California’s high taxes. Last year, Chuck Schwab himself sparked rumors the firm’s headquarters might move to Denver.
“As we noted several months ago, we plan to move approximately 1,000 jobs out of SF over the next three to five years,” Bulgatz said. “We have not yet made a determination as to which locations those jobs will be moving to.”
Dallas courting Charles Schwab after winning Toyota
Mark Calvey, San Francisco Business Times, 5/2/14
Charles Schwab is feeling the love from Dallas.
The San Francisco brokerage, with operations across the United States, said earlier this year that it planned to move jobs out of its hometown, possibly to Texas or Colorado.
The disclosure of those plans, initially reported by the San Francisco Business Times, had a similar effect on those states’ economic development departments that can be seen when tossing meat into a pool of piranhas.
In asking how Dallas plays into Schwab’s plans for moving jobs, and possibly even the company’s highly coveted corporate headquarters, the firm told the San Francisco Business Times Friday that its headquarters will remain in San Francisco for the “foreseeable future” even as Texas courts the brokerage firm.
“SF will remain Schwab’s corporate HQ for the foreseeable future,” Schwab spokeswoman Sarah Bulgatz said Friday. That’s not the level of certainty one wants to hear coming from such a prominent firm with deep roots in San Francisco. Asked whether the reference to “foreseeable future” means the location of Schwab’s headquarters is up for grabs if the Lone Star State writes a big enough check, Bulgatz said, “No, I’m afraid you’re reading too much into it. You can delete “foreseeable future.” There are no plans to move HQ out of SF.”
In discussing Schwab’s hunt for office space with the Dallas Morning New s Thursday, Schwab spokesman Greg Gable said, “We are keeping all of our options open, but I can’t talk about anything specific.”
Where the firm is based is a hot topic as Schwab plans a big jobs shift out of San Francisco. In Bay Area financial circles it’s no secret that founder and Chairman Chuck Schwab is no fan of California’s high taxes. Last year, Chuck Schwab himself sparked rumors the firm’s headquarters might move to Denver.
Over the years, Schwab has established major operations in Denver, Phoenix, Orlando, Indianapolis and elsewhere.
“As we noted several months ago, we plan to move approximately 1,000 jobs out of SF over the next three to five years,” Bulgatz said. “We have not yet made a determination as to which locations those jobs will be moving to.
“We are evaluating multiple locations to accommodate our future real estate needs,” Bulgatz said. “Texas is only one of several locations.”
Some Texans, unhappy to see any liberal leanings in state politics, are asking Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) to send them the jobs but keep the Califonians.
But Texas business and civic leaders are putting on a full-court press.
The Dallas Business Journal reported Friday that Schwab is among several large companies taking a closer look at Dallas after Toyota said this week it will move its North American headquarters from Southern California to the Dallas suburb of Plano.
Susan Arledge, managing principal at Cresa Dallas told the Dallas Business Journal this week that she was surprised it was Toyota, and not Schwab, announcing this week’s big relocation to Texas.
“They are looking in the Dallas market, as well as other markets,” Arledge said of Schwab in speaking with Dallas Business Journal reporter Candace Carlisle. “People are talking about it, but … there’s really no information.”
The Dallas Business Journal said jobs at Google, (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) along with TD Ameritrade (NYSE: AMTD) and Caterpillar, (NYSE: CAT) are also on the Dallas wish list.
Bay Area residents may have trouble understanding the allure of Dallas. But the city’s success in courting Toyota to the Dallas suburb of Plano highlights the economic strengths of North Texas, including lower taxes, lighter regulation and a lower cost of living than can be found in the Bay Area.
These are boom times for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Still, downtown Dallas has plenty of available real estate. Steve Brown of the Dallas Morning News reported last week that a 52-story office building in downtown Dallas — about the size of Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) former headquarters in San Francisco — has stood vacant for four years. New owners plan to convert the Dallas tower into apartments, offices and retail, according to his story titled, ” Downtown Dallas running out of empty buildings.”
In suburban Plano, real estate developer Fehmi Karahan, whose $2 billion Legacy West development landed Toyota, this week spoke with a level of freedom in changing his development plans that Bay Area developers could only envy.
“This really has changed what we plan to do initially, but we have increased the number of town homes we were planning for the project,” Karahan told the Dallas Business Journal following Toyota’s decision. “It does create an urgency in moving forward and to get this built faster than anticipated.”
Early plans for the Legacy West corporate magnet, which also pulled in FedEx (NYSE: FDX) Office & Print Services, originally called for 2,000 to 3,000 apartments, 500 to 600 town homes, one or two high-rise condo towers and perhaps another hotel in addition to the Renaissance Hotel, expected to get underway this year.
At least Bay Area developers, familiar with the region’s often lengthy planning and approval process, can take some comfort they’re not in Italy. The Wall Street Journal this week highlighted the case of an ambitious 45-year-old entrepreneur who sought permits to build a supermarket near Florence. He recently received his permit. He’s now 88.
Bay Area residents are likely to see more of Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his economic recruiters. Once asked why his plane lands so often in California, Perry quipped, “You fish where the fish are.”
