Blues lead way back to urban core

[begingri]

BY TOM WALSH

DETROIT FREE PRESS COLUMNIST


LANSING -- Last weekend, the second wave of 300 Accident Fund employees moved into their new downtown corporate headquarters, conjured from the shell of a long-dormant 73-year-old power plant and transformed into an eco-friendly, high-tech showplace.

And next week, on May 2, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the state's largest health insurer and owner of Accident Fund, will begin moving nearly 3,000 employees from Southfield into Renaissance Towers 500 and 600 in downtown Detroit.

Those back-to-back moves will cap the biggest shift of a major Michigan employer's workforce from suburbs to urban downtowns in recent memory. When the RenCen move is completed, Blue Cross will have more than 7,750 full-time and contract workers located in the downtowns of Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids.

In all, 97% of Blues' workers in those three regions will be in the urban cores, up from 49% a few years ago.


Continued at: http://www.freep.com/article/20110424/COL06/104240439/Tom-Walsh-Blues-lead-way-back-urban-core?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

[BrushStart]

I wonder if the push to move back to the cities is coming from upper management or from the workers or both. If I were an employee, I would support an urban location, especially with gas prices going the direction they are. If I was upper management, I'd want the high visibility and prestige of being in an urban center. I read a study once that found that companies are substantially more productive when located in urban environments, which is thought to be the result of proximity efficiencies and the faster pace of life.

[Bham1982]

I wonder if the push to move back to the cities is coming from upper management or from the workers or both. If I were an employee, I would support an urban location, especially with gas prices going the direction they are.

I don't understand this. Given that BCBS has been in Southfield for decades, and given that far more folks live in the northern and western suburbs than in Detroit, wouldn't it stand to reason that this will involve further commutes with larger gas bills for the vast majority of workers?

Downtown is on the edge of the metro, on an international frontier. You have essentialy no employees coming from points south. Southfield is in the very geographic heart of the region.

[Detroitej72]

Downtown is on the edge of the metro, on an international frontier. You have essentialy no employees coming from points south. Southfield is in the very geographic heart of the region.

Not to people who live downriver. If you look at a map, downtown is centrally located to the majority of the metro area.

[Bham1982]

Not to people who live downriver. If you look at a map, downtown is centrally located to the majority of the metro area.

I guess we'll agree to disagree, because I don't see this at all.

I see downtown on the very fringe of the metro. Canada and Lake St. Clair aren't supplying workers, and Detroit proper and Downriver have relatively small worker counts.

The population center would likely be somewhere around Southfield.

And, it's purely anecdotal, but from my two years working downtown for a professional firm, I don't think 10% of employees worked in the city proper [[and none, to my knowledge, were from Canada).

I would bet that if you took a Detroit firm and a Southfield firm, and then drew a 10-15 mile radius around their respective workplaces, you would capture a ton more employee residences in the Southfield firm. IMO, Southfield, as unattractive as it looks, has an incredibly convenient location, with easy access to basically everywhere, from Downriver, to Livingston, to Macomb.

[gthomas]

Great News...They understand the importance of using urban cores as a economic hub. Major cities attract more educated, creative, young professionals. THEY UNDERSTAND that you have to be in a certain environment to expose talent and where it thrive well...Downtown. Its simple and make sense...Blue Cross: 3000 employees by mid May- Quicken Loans 2000 employees by year end, Downtown will be dramatic...keep it coming!

[gthomas]

I don't understand this. Given that BCBS has been in Southfield for decades, and given that far more folks live in the northern and western suburbs than in Detroit, wouldn't it stand to reason that this will involve further commutes with larger gas bills for the vast majority of workers?

Downtown is on the edge of the metro, on an international frontier. You have essentialy no employees coming from points south. Southfield is in the very geographic heart of the region.

Live downtown...thats the goal!

[Hermod]

Having been involved with such moves before, the wishes of the employees were not taken into account. The interests of management in having a "prestige address" and in being "politically correct" always outweigh the burdens placed on workers especially in a down economy [[If you don't like it, quit). As a result, the workers will just have to suck it up and have more misery added to their daily commute plus the burden of expensive and inconvenient parking. The poor guy with three kids and an upside down mortgage can't afford to move into an "upscale loft".

[the rock]

And I hear that the Blues have also found their way to Ann Arbor, spending thousands of dollars to lease an expensive suite in the recently refurbished Big House. [[Your premium dollars at work.) Is there truth to this or is this just another urban myth? I know they were taken to task a few years ago for questionable spending on condos in Florida for their Directors, but leasing a suite for home football games does not seem to be pinching pennies to give Blue Cross/Shield subscribers the best possible insurance coverage for their dollars.
Again, I would love to have a confirmation or denial of this lease arrangement. Go Blue[[s)?

[Bham1982]

Live downtown...thats the goal!

If that's BCBS overriding goal, then obviously they made the correct choice.

If, however, they place a higher importance on attracting and retaining talent, they would probably be better off in Southfield. Closer to most people's current residences, higher salaries due to no city tax or parking costs, and much more convenient to most decisionmakers.

[EL Jimbo]

If that's BCBS overriding goal, then obviously they made the correct choice.

If, however, they place a higher importance on attracting and retaining talent, they would probably be better off in Southfield. Closer to most people's current residences, higher salaries due to no city tax or parking costs, and much more convenient to most decisionmakers.

BCBS, Quicken, and other companies might be thinking towards the future. Sure, a lot of their current, Baby Boomer and older Gen X staff might enjoy the life of the northwest suburbs, the lifestyle of the Millenials [[or Gen Y) has already proven to be a clear and defined shift. The 30 and under crowd [[such as myself) are the generation that grew up in the outer ring suburbs and exurbs. Many of us didn't really care for it all that much in retrospect. We want a more urban, less automobile oriented lifestyle. Therefore, the most talented among us are going to gravitate towards jobs in areas that allow us to have that lifestyle [[hence why 60% of my MSU alumni friends currently live in the city of Chicago).

Companies are realizing that if they want to be able to compete for the best talent among this current generation of young employees, that they are going to have to shift their model [[and even their location) to make themselves as attractive an employer as they can be to these new workers. In the long run, moving back to the urban core is probably in the best interest of many companies.

[iheartthed]

If that's BCBS overriding goal, then obviously they made the correct choice.

If, however, they place a higher importance on attracting and retaining talent, they would probably be better off in Southfield. Closer to most people's current residences, higher salaries due to no city tax or parking costs, and much more convenient to most decisionmakers.

This reminds me of the thread about Oakland County's economic development brochure with the big picture of Somerset on the cover.

[GOAT]

I guess we'll agree to disagree, because I don't see this at all.

I see downtown on the very fringe of the metro. Canada and Lake St. Clair aren't supplying workers, and Detroit proper and Downriver have relatively small worker counts.

.

Not true at all. In fact appprox. 5,000 Windsor/Essex county residents work in the Detroit area. Most work at the hospitals close to downtown and many do in fact work in the downtown area.

[Bham1982]

The 30 and under crowd [[such as myself) are the generation that grew up in the outer ring suburbs and exurbs. Many of us didn't really care for it all that much in retrospect. We want a more urban, less automobile oriented lifestyle. Therefore, the most talented among us are going to gravitate towards jobs in areas that allow us to have that lifestyle [[hence why 60% of my MSU alumni friends currently live in the city of Chicago).

I'm in this generation too, but I find that most folks start moving to suburbs as soon as they pair off and start thinking about settling down.

And I assume most of those folks are in Chicago for reasons that have little to do with a "more urban, less automotive-oriented lifestyle". They probably moved there because the economy was better in Illinois when they graduated, and because big, urban centers are great places for young, single people to find other young, single people. Tough to find the young, single ladies in Shelby Township.

[BrushStart]

I'm in this generation too, but I find that most folks start moving to suburbs as soon as they pair off and start thinking about settling down.

And I assume most of those folks are in Chicago for reasons that have little to do with a "more urban, less automotive-oriented lifestyle". They probably moved there because the economy was better in Illinois when they graduated,

I think your statements highlight your disconnect. Nearly all of my friends in Chicago moved there for the city, not a job. Most didn't even have jobs lined up at the time of their move.

and because big, urban centers are great places for young, single people to find other young, single people. Tough to find the young, single ladies in Shelby Township.

Right...

[Bham1982]

Not true at all. In fact appprox. 5,000 Windsor/Essex county residents work in the Detroit area. Most work at the hospitals close to downtown and many do in fact work in the downtown area.

Assuming this number is correct, there are a couple hundred thousand folks working in the city of Detroit, so even if 100% of those Canadians worked in Detroit city limits, it wouldn't be remotely comparable to the suburban counties' worker counts.

[Bham1982]

I think your statements highlight your disconnect. Nearly all of my friends in Chicago moved there for the city, not a job. Most didn't even have jobs lined up at the time of their move.

That's fine, but it still doesn't contradict anything I said.

Once again, I said they probably moved there because they want to do what post-collegiate folks do [[have fun and chase their preferred gender) and because the area had a better economy at the time.

For example, I moved to NYC after college without a job, but it wasn't because I think buses are cooler than cars or because I wanted a green lifestyle.

It's because I had much better professional opportunities and wanted to have fun.

[j to the jeremy]

That's fine, but it still doesn't contradict anything I said.

Once again, I said they probably moved there because they want to do what post-collegiate folks do [[have fun and chase their preferred gender) and because the area had a better economy at the time.

For example, I moved to NYC after college without a job, but it wasn't because I think buses are cooler than cars or because I wanted a green lifestyle.

It's because I had much better professional opportunities and wanted to have fun.

And how much fun did you have because you didn't have to drive everywhere? NYC is the highest and best example of walkable urbanism in the USA, so even if it attracted you for other reasons, you can't avoid the fact that Detroit is the only place in Michigan with that potential, for better or for worse.

Let's be honest, the 'burbs were never built for young people. If Michigan wants to get on a level playing field with the rest of the world we have to improve the walkability of all of our cities. It's not about getting rid of suburbia, it's about giving people options. If you look at the cities with healthy economies, they're the ones whose states actually support them, and whose suburban residents don't mind the commute because of the benefits a healthy downtown brings the region.

[esp1986]

Let's be honest, the 'burbs were never built for young people. If Michigan wants to get on a level playing field with the rest of the world we have to improve the walkability of all of our cities. It's not about getting rid of suburbia, it's about giving people options. If you look at the cities with healthy economies, they're the ones whose states actually support them, and whose suburban residents don't mind the commute because of the benefits a healthy downtown brings the region.

Well said.

[p1acebo]

Let's be honest, the 'burbs were never built for young people. If Michigan wants to get on a level playing field with the rest of the world we have to improve the walkability of all of our cities. It's not about getting rid of suburbia, it's about giving people options. If you look at the cities with healthy economies, they're the ones whose states actually support them, and whose suburban residents don't mind the commute because of the benefits a healthy downtown brings the region.

Very well said, Detroit needs to be vibrant for the whole region to gain momentum. Having your HQ in Southfield does nothing to attract young talent, especially since there is nothing to do in Southfield. They aren't worried about how they are going to think when they are 40, you have 20 something year olds that are worried about how they want to live their life now. Settling down is a thing for the future, and companies need to worry about bringing in young talent. I am in my mid 20s and live in downtown Detroit and love it, despite all the criticism Detroit receives.

[gthomas]

OMMMMGGGG!!!! The last four post are on POINT on what I have been trying to explain to some of these confuse people who probably dont no JACK about what a REAL city should be. Most that dont understand probably lived in the suburbs...? Lets worry about NOW, and worry later. The solution is there, so tackle it and move on....smh. It make me sick how this region is soooooo backwards!! They're more focus on suburbs than urban cities...DONT CARE IF LIVE IN A SWAMP, TURNED FAKE COOKIE CUTTER COMMUNITY...OH HOW SO NICE. Who told you to live that far from your job...move closer. DENSITY + YOUNG-TALENTED PROFESSIONAL = CURRENCY, JOBS, REVENUE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

[gthomas]

Very well said, Detroit needs to be vibrant for the whole region to gain momentum. Having your HQ in Southfield does nothing to attract young talent, especially since there is nothing to do in Southfield. They aren't worried about how they are going to think when they are 40, you have 20 something year olds that are worried about how they want to live their life now. Settling down is a thing for the future, and companies need to worry about bringing in young talent. I am in my mid 20s and live in downtown Detroit and love it, despite all the criticism Detroit receives.

I agree...I live downtown and wouldnt live anywhere else in the region! The best for my money..truthfully! Better than most fancy, overrated suburbs community. Just saying...and to note that all these criticism comes from people who has no UNDERSTAND. To understand something you have to go through it..Experience counts...I have it.

[gthomas]

* UNDERSTANDING*....little correction.

[English]

Downtown is on the edge of the metro, on an international frontier. You have essentialy no employees coming from points south. Southfield is in the very geographic heart of the region.

Chicago's downtown is on the edge of the metro, on a lake. You have essentially no employees coming from points east. Oak Park is in the very geographic heart of the region... or is that Naperville?

[Detroit Stylin]

Chicago's downtown is on the edge of the metro, on a lake. You have essentially no employees coming from points east. Oak Park is in the very geographic heart of the region... or is that Naperville?

***crickets