Report: Pulte HQ Bailing out of Detroit

[Bham1982]

What is an "invertebrate" board? Is he saying they're invertebrates, and therefore lack spines/backbones? Weird terminology.

[TexasT]

What is an "invertebrate" board? Is he saying they're invertebrates, and therefore lack spines/backbones?

Yes, he's calling them spineless.

[rb336]

The only reason the state is doing ok right now economically is because of the auto industry bailout, which, of course, the Republicans opposed.

Snyder's economic scorecard only looks stronger than Granholm's because of fortunate timing. He seems to think that corporations want the absolute cheapest, least regulated environment, yet why are corporations in California and New York and not Mississippi and Arkansas?

lest we forget, for the last three years of the Granholm administration, Michigan ranked near the top [[and at #1 one year) for drawing new investment from out-of-state companies, according to a national corporate real estate journal [[which I can't recall, but posted it here about a half-dozen times)

[401don]

For a guy who talks about positivity in his twitter profile Gilbert sure spills some nasty venom. Sounds like Lebron all over again.

[belleislerunner]

It sucks their leaving - make no mistake about it - but it's the CEO's personal affinity for Atlanta [[the Detroit of the South) and nothing more. There was nothing Detroit could do to keep them. It wasn't motivated by anything other than Dick Jr [[what a name for a CEO) wanted to get back to Atlanta where his family is [[he used to be CEO of their Atlanta region). Personal greed, pure and simple, at the expense of everyone else. We should be glad Gilbert called him, and the board, out for what they are. Spineless. That's Gilbert sticking up for this hometown pride - not being nasty.

[TexasT]

Though it is interesting when you find most corporate relocations don't have anything to do with business climate, but how close the new building is to the head honchos main house

Definitely can be true. When United [[HQed in Chicago) and Continental [[HQed in Houston) merged, we Texans were positive they'd choose Houston over Chicago - I mean, it's Texas and everyone is moving there, right? No income tax, cheap housing, no unions, lax business restrictions...

Wrong. 1500 corporate jobs moved from Houston to Chicago. They said it was a "tax benefit" but word on the street was that the United board was adamant that they would not move to Houston.

[rb336]

For a guy who talks about positivity in his twitter profile Gilbert sure spills some nasty venom. Sounds like Lebron all over again.

I liked it.

I do think ALL Michigan entities should cancel any Pulte contracts. Plenty of fine local companies around that deserve the money

[rb336]

Although I recall making a similar statement about Comerica, but local and state govt. units still use them

[belleislerunner]

Did a quick google seach for Richard Dugas Jr and it shows he owns a house in Duluth, GA so the move make senses. My guess is they'll relocate in the northeastern burbs of Atlanta [[Gwinnett County). And he'll probably upsize his dwelling abode from his current Knoll Drive digs in Bloomfield Hills.

[313WX]

Although I recall making a similar statement about Comerica, but local and state govt. units still use them

Part of the reason is because they're about the only bank here that has locations/ATMs all over and don't go by the name of "Chase" and "Bank of America."

[corktownyuppie]

Could we correct the headline to read Pulte bailing out of Bloomfield Hills...or Michigan? or is BH now "Detroit"?

BH = BH from a local perspective. "ABC Co. leaving BH for new HQ in Troy"

BH = Detroit from a national perspective. "ABC Co. leaving Detroit for Los Angeles".

No matter how you look at it, this is disappointing news for both Detroit [[the city) as well as Detroit [[the region).

Btw, I didn't know that the management were from Atlanta. That makes the corporate move look a little different.

[belleislerunner]

Looks like they're targeting the Buckhead section of Atlanta [[which is the equivalent northern sprawl - or as exciting - as Troy). They have Lenox/Phipps - we have Somerset.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/m...arters-to.html

[bailey]

BH = BH from a local perspective. "ABC Co. leaving BH for new HQ in Troy"

BH = Detroit from a national perspective. "ABC Co. leaving Detroit for Los Angeles".

No matter how you look at it, this is disappointing news for both Detroit [[the city) as well as Detroit [[the region).

Btw, I didn't know that the management were from Atlanta. That makes the corporate move look a little different.

Pulte Homes, the homebuilding giant responsible for tons of love-it-or-hate-it sprawl across the nation, is moving its headquarters from suburban Detroit to Atlanta, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Totally nitpicky..i understand, but the second line of the article makes the distinction... why can't we? Besides, is there a company more tied to the disaster that is most of SeM in-terms of sprawl than Pulte? Is this one company or industry [[assembly line sprawl home builder...not construction) where we should all be happy to see leave?

[belleislerunner]

As an aside, one of the biggest perks Gilbert has is his comanies are privately controlled - so he doesn't have to answer to investor relations, private equity firms, stockholders and everyone else who whines the second he does something someone doesn't like.

Too bad Compuware didn't end up that way. Going public is an easy way to cash out [[Karmanos) but you give up control to the greed of Wall St private equity and hedge funds. Meijer and Gilbert are smart enough to realize they can have their cake and eat it too, by staying private =)

[iheartthed]

Looks like they're targeting the Buckhead section of Atlanta [[which is the equivalent northern sprawl - or as exciting - as Troy). They have Lenox/Phipps - we have Somerset.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/m...arters-to.html

Isn't Buckhead in Atlanta proper? If so, Atl proper isn't a very large city geographically, so how can it be so suburban inside the city?

[canuck]

For a guy who talks about positivity in his twitter profile Gilbert sure spills some nasty venom. Sounds like Lebron all over again.

My middle finger tells me he's pissed off.

[TexasT]

I liked it.

I do think ALL Michigan entities should cancel any Pulte contracts. Plenty of fine local companies around that deserve the money

I like it too.

And agreed. United lost a ton of goodwill with the City of Houston, who promptly started letting Dallas-based Southwest have international flights [[over United's objections). Of course, United laid off 1300 Houstonians in response, so this kind of thing can get nasty.

[canuck]

A bit of good news is that they are looking for 100,000sq ft of leasing space. Not huge, 300 workers.

[Bham1982]

Isn't Buckhead in Atlanta proper? If so, Atl proper isn't a very large city geographically, so how can it be so suburban inside the city?

Buckhead is extremely sprawly even though it sits within Atlanta city limits. It basically looks like a cross between Southfield and Bloomfield Hills [[the highrise suburban office parks of Southfield with the estates of Bloomfield).

[Bham1982]

Besides, is there a company more tied to the disaster that is most of SeM in-terms of sprawl than Pulte?

I don't think you can blame/credit Pulte for sprawl. They're a company that took advantage of a market preference. If there were no Pulte, the same homes would have been built.

[bailey]

I don't think you can blame/credit Pulte for sprawl. They're a company that took advantage of a market preference. If there were no Pulte, the same homes would have been built.

Well, I mean their product was driving the preference right? Crack heads are also just a market with a preference, that doesn't mean we can't be happy when a crackhouse gets shut down.

[atl_runner]

Buckhead is extremely sprawly even though it sits within Atlanta city limits. It basically looks like a cross between Southfield and Bloomfield Hills [[the highrise suburban office parks of Southfield with the estates of Bloomfield).

It's not what I would call 'Sprawly' at all. Perimeter yes, Buckhead, definitely not. Buckhead is generic and trendy amongst the wealthier set, and sits about 6 miles north of the midtown / downtown area, in the city limits of Atlanta. Atlanta proper is very small. What people call Atlanta.. is fairly big.

Atlanta is a poor choice as it's roads are maxed out. Buckhead is an even worse choice as commuting in and out of there is a nightmare. Trust me when I say that for the average employee who transfers down with this relocation, this will be a major inconvenience. Most will not be able to afford to live within 10 miles of Buckhead, which means an hour+ commute due to traffic. Thankfully they are not coming to perimeter.. another 'buisness' area who's roads are also maxed out. It can take me 30 to 45 minutes to get on the freeway, who's exit is 2/10ths of a mile from my office. Fun times.

[Wesley Mouch]

The only reason the state is doing ok right now economically is because of the auto industry bailout, which, of course, the Republicans opposed.

Snyder's economic scorecard only looks stronger than Granholm's because of fortunate timing. He seems to think that corporations want the absolute cheapest, least regulated environment, yet why are corporations in California and New York and not Mississippi and Arkansas?

You might want to look a bit more into where corporations are moving from and to.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/05/18/t...om-california/

You may have noticed a few auto plants in Alabama here and there. Nice wages and benefits too.

I think you would find that the trend is away from NY/CA and to the south and southwest [[AZ, TX).

[Bham1982]

It's not what I would call 'Sprawly' at all. Perimeter yes, Buckhead, definitely not.

I don't see how Buckhead could not be labeled sprawly. The roads are all winding through wooded areas, 90% of which don't have sidewalks, and the commercial space is the typical "edge city" autotopia format, complete with two mega-malls. But if you're labeling "sprawl" as just generic tract-home/strip mall type areas with Pulte-type developments and Sams Clubs everywhere, I agree that Buckhead isn't sprawly. But then neither is Bloomfield Hills, but Sterling Heights is which to me, is a very narrow definition [[because Sterling Heights is much denser).

[Bham1982]

You might want to look a bit more into where corporations are moving from and to.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/05/18/t...om-california/

You may have noticed a few auto plants in Alabama here and there. Nice wages and benefits too.

I think you would find that the trend is away from NY/CA and to the south and southwest [[AZ, TX).

Texas is a special case because of energy and the Mexican border. Those are inherent advantages independent of corporate tax policy. Almost all the other low tax, no regulation states are the poorest in the country [[MS, AL, OK, KY, etc.) and NY and CA both have current growth rates that exceed the national average [[and the NYC metro, by far, leads the nation in net jobs gained since last recession, and the SF metro leads the nation in median household income).