Posted on 10/26/2018 10:36:56 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
BlackRock Inc. has big plans for Atlanta.
The New York-based money manager, touted as the biggest with $6.28 trillion in assets under management, will go from 15 employees in the Georgia capital to 1,000 people by 2024.
According to the Wall Street Journal, BlackRock will use $25 million in public tax breaks to bolster its Southern expansion.
The final incentive package is still under negotiation with the city, the report continued, citing unnamed sources.
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) did confirm the Atlanta expansion in a memo to employees Thursday, calling it “our newest innovation hub.” The memo was signed by chief operating officer Rob Goldstein.
Atlanta's proximity to universities like Georgia Tech and its concentration of Fortune 500 companies makes it a prime spot for sourcing talent and potential tech deals.
BlackRock plans to move into a temporary new office location in 2019 while it scouts a permanent office location for the expansion.
After New York and San Francisco, Atlanta would be BlackRock’s third-largest office.
The move underscores a larger trend in which more companies are opting for Atlanta as a tech hub for innovation, startups and advancement in the South. According to Atlanta Inno, numerous businesses have flocked from their founding cities to make a home in Georgia, including drone startup Airbus Aerial, cybersecurity firm DefenseStorm, data purveyor Featurespace, and real estate loan provider GroundFloor.
BlackRock employs 7,500 people across 26 U.S. offices.
Atlanta isn't the only city where BlackRock is expanding. Earlier this year, the firm increased its staff in Paris in an effort to set up an alternative investment management business in France.
The world's largest asset manager is also expanding in Germany, Switzerland and Italy (h/t Reuters).
In NYC, BlackRock — along with Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) — plans to move over to Hudson Yards.
The Atlanta METRO is huge. The CITY of ATL is tiny. If they are in negotiations with the CITY, their employees are gonna hate them ... (traffic/commute).
Yup - they are aiming for Midtown - just east of Georgia Tech.
Worst commute in ATL. No matter which direction you come from, you’re screwed. Unless you live CLOSE to MARTA, or downtown. Prices on housing there have gotten crazy. Good for the Execs; bad for worker bees.
A lot of higher end companies like to be in the city. While not having anything like the housing problems in San Fran or NY, the housing inside the I-285 perimeter (close to the city) has gotten really pricey.
In 1996 I bought a Cape Code style house, 900sf downstairs and 350sf in an expanded attic, for $114,000. This was in a modest working class neighborhood. Zillow now has an estimate of $427,000. This was in the north section of Chamblee about 15 minutes to Buckhead via Peachtree Industrial. A good location, but never would I have dreamed those little 1950’s era houses would go above $400K.
my oldest son and his wife bought a house in Chamblee near St Pius. They bought a modestly fixed up flip two Septembers ago. Now it’s already worth $150k more than the $340k they paid.
Regarding downtown/midtown NCR located their new HQ right rhere as well.
Atlanta traffic?
Nuke it from space. That’s the only way to be sure.
Amazing that a company with over $6 trillion under its management needs tax breaks to take over some office space in Atlanta. It seems to me that it’s almost become a sport for these big time folks to see just how much they can make local and state politicians bark like trained seals. No different than Bezos making folks all over the country do the same thing, just so he can bring his radical, liberal hipster army with him.
As others have said, the traffic is a nightmare and for those that haven’t been there in a while, the city is getting so congested that it’s hard to get around.
LOL, or work from home like I do (if not on a airplane)
Good on ya. I don’t have that option. I track between Decatur and McDonough daily. That can be rotten, too.
yeah we live on the Lake up north of Cumming.
Long drive to airport, but no daily commute.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.