Cemex expected to move out of corporate tower in Houston by this month!

http://www.chron.com/business/sarnoff/article/Cemex-moving-out-of-tower-that-shares-its-name-2277485.php

Remember that OKC built 5 of our tallest 15 buildings in the 80's: Oklahoma Tower, Leadership Square, Valliance Bank Tower, Mid-America (Devon) and Union Bank.

1) OKC missed out on the high-rise housing boom by 100%.
2) Corporate campuses are nearly a total failure. Many campuses have numerous building that sit empty and the employees I know that work in them hate them. It was an attempt by tech companies to recreate the college campus because for many of the people in charge of these companies 'college life' was all they knew. Places like Microsfot, Cisco, etc - they are stuck in them now. They can't sell them, rent out the space, or anything. Chesapeake is at full employment so they fill up their campus but let them lay off 500 and see what happens to their campus. Even companies like Amazon dropped the suburban campus and moved into high rise buildings.

1. Most cities "missed out" on the high-rise housing boom. Many that did not miss out might wish they had.

2. There is no evidence I am aware of that corporate campuses are a total failure. If they were, companies would not still be building them.

Amazon? From an April 2010 news article: "It's the beginning of a new era for Amazon.com. The first Amazon employees began moving into the company's new headquarters campus in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood this week. The move will take place over stages until 2013, with the online retail giant eventually occupying a dozen buildings totaling nearly 2 million square feet of office space." (http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/04/amazon_starts_moving_into_new_seattle_hq_campus.ht ml) They moved from scattered sites around the Seattle area to a corporate campus. It's an urban corporate campus (although not downtown, but nevertheless a corporate campus. Not a single building. And I believe the tallest building is no taller than 12 stories.

Cemex expected to move out of corporate tower in Houston by this month!

http://www.chron.com/business/sarnoff/article/Cemex-moving-out-of-tower-that-shares-its-name-2277485.php

Uh, yeah. And into another building just down the block.

Uh, yeah. And into another building just down the block.

however, maybe its just tempory, until they finalize everything up here, and they didn't want to resign major lease?

cemex lost a lot of money the last few Q

cemex lost a lot of money the last few Q

which gives them even more reason to come here, with our incentives and low cost of doing business. It might be cost effective for them in the long run to consolidate offices, and start headquarters in OKC.

1. Most cities "missed out" on the high-rise housing boom. Many that did not miss out might wish they had.

2. There is no evidence I am aware of that corporate campuses are a total failure. If they were, companies would not still be building them.

Amazon? From an April 2010 news article: "It's the beginning of a new era for Amazon.com. The first Amazon employees began moving into the company's new headquarters campus in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood this week. The move will take place over stages until 2013, with the online retail giant eventually occupying a dozen buildings totaling nearly 2 million square feet of office space." (http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/04/amazon_starts_moving_into_new_seattle_hq_campus.ht ml) They moved from scattered sites around the Seattle area to a corporate campus. It's an urban corporate campus (although not downtown, but nevertheless a corporate campus. Not a single building. And I believe the tallest building is no taller than 12 stories.

Yeah,

Check this one out. Apple’s new 4 story, 2.8 million square foot headquarters in Cupertino. It will hold 13,000 employees. Due to be completed in 2015.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/13/apples-new-headquarters/


http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/1erz19qeps12rv94/images/1-86701ccec5.jpg

http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/screen-shot-2011-08-13-at-12-13-52-pm.png?w=640&h=358

campuses are far from dead. Steve Jobs called this the office building of the future.

Why can't we just build a replica of the "Death Star?"

http://www.engineeringcivil.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/moon-shaped-skyscraper-1.jpg

Why can't we just build a replica of the "Death Star?"

http://www.engineeringcivil.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/moon-shaped-skyscraper-1.jpg

That'd fit right there on boathouse row !

Plains is in Houston. No oil company from Houston is going to move to OKC. They have a field office off of Broadway Ext. That is all we can get from them.

and they just entered into a new, expanded, long-term lease for the HQ in downtown Houston.

Story in the paper the other day about Plains All American Pipeline, putting huge investment in the Mississippi Lime play. They are in the fortune 100, maybe it's them ???

As I was the first person to bring up the idea of a fortune 100 company I feel like I need to clarify something. What I said was I knew of a (probably unrealistic) effort, by a CEO of one of our larger metro corporations, to bring in a certain fortune 100 company to headquarters in OKC. It stands to reason then that other large (not necessarily fortune 100, but possibly) companies have also been contacted by this CEO, with the same premise in mind.

My the intention behind my comment was to put into scope the ambition of some of the bigwigs in oklahoma to bring in new companies, I did not (at least not intentionally) imply that there IS a fortune 100 company moving there HQ to OKC.

however, maybe its just tempory, until they finalize everything up here, and they didn't want to resign major lease?

Even if that made some sense, it's not the case. They are under lease with the same landlord, different building. They were not under any pressure to resign any major lease.

As I was the first person to bring up the idea of a fortune 100 company I feel like I need to clarify something. What I said was I knew of a (probably unrealistic) effort, by a CEO of one of our larger metro corporations, to bring in a certain fortune 100 company to headquarters in OKC. It stands to reason then that other large (not necessarily fortune 100, but possibly) companies have also been contacted by this CEO, with the same premise in mind.

My the intention behind my comment was to put into scope the ambition of some of the bigwigs in oklahoma to bring in new companies, I did not (at least not intentionally) imply that there IS a fortune 100 company moving there HQ to OKC.

huh? :whiteflag

Steve Jobs called this the office building of the future.

Well, we know he could design tech products, but I would hate to work in a building like that. And can you image suburbia filled with those things? It may have some aesthetic advantages over some suburban offices and campuses, but it still looks like it has all the downside or sprawl and inefficiency.

Even if that made some sense, it's not the case. They are under lease with the same landlord, different building. They were not under any pressure to resign any major lease.

CEMEX-USA is what's in Houston, CEMEX's world headquarters is in Mexico in Monterrey. I did quite a lot of research yesterday regarding CEMEX and it's very interesting. There are apparently some Mexican laws hampering their growth, many business observers are surprised they're still in Mexico, etc.

Remember, we're speculating on two tracks here. A large "Fortune 100" firm that a CEO has been lobbying and a "large international company" that a chamber representative mentioned. CEMEX, by the way, is a Fortune GLOBAL 500 company.

At any rate, a consolidation of CEMEX corporate offices would be off-the-radar huge.

Here's my earlier post about CEMEX with pix of their current offices in Monterrey:
http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=28630&p=507080#post507080

Well, we know he could design tech products, but I would hate to work in a building like that. And can you image suburbia filled with those things? It may have some aesthetic advantages over some suburban offices and campuses, but it still looks like it has all the downside or sprawl and inefficiency.

Actually Jony Ives is the design genius behind Apple. Jobs was simply the idea man, not the designer.

I agree with your sprawl comments. Steve Jobs was no Donald Trump or xyz Commercial real estate developer.

I still think the legislature's current initiative to eliminate the state income tax is the last piece of the puzzle before an out of state company announces re-location to OK. The Cemex angle is interesting. It also may be a factor in why the DOK and state chamber have fought so hard against recent state immigration reforms from Rep Terrill & Co. Not trying to stir the political pot. Just a thought.

Yeah,

Check this one out. Apple’s new 4 story, 2.8 million square foot headquarters in Cupertino. It will hold 13,000 employees. Due to be completed in 2015.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/13/apples-new-headquarters/


http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/1erz19qeps12rv94/images/1-86701ccec5.jpg

http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/screen-shot-2011-08-13-at-12-13-52-pm.png?w=640&h=358

campuses are far from dead. Steve Jobs called this the office building of the future.
Still only one building. Just not vertical.

1. Most cities "missed out" on the high-rise housing boom. Many that did not miss out might wish they had.

2. There is no evidence I am aware of that corporate campuses are a total failure. If they were, companies would not still be building them.

Amazon? From an April 2010 news article: "It's the beginning of a new era for Amazon.com. The first Amazon employees began moving into the company's new headquarters campus in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood this week. The move will take place over stages until 2013, with the online retail giant eventually occupying a dozen buildings totaling nearly 2 million square feet of office space." (http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/04/amazon_starts_moving_into_new_seattle_hq_campus.ht ml) They moved from scattered sites around the Seattle area to a corporate campus. It's an urban corporate campus (although not downtown, but nevertheless a corporate campus. Not a single building. And I believe the tallest building is no taller than 12 stories.

Why let some facts stand in the way of theory: http://www.newgeography.com/content/002550-s-suburbia-doomed-not-so-fast My experience coast to coast the last decade has not indicated a growing trend to increasing growth of office space in center cities vs. suburbs. Most data I see does not support the opinions of this mass movement to the cores except in a few cities like OKC which doesn't have an already developed core. And, in fact, even in cities like Vancouver, the worry now is that there is so much housing downtown that it is crowding out opportunities for businesses and people are having to commute OUT to jobs more on the outlying areas.

That's why it would be great for companies to move downtown first. Then that's when we can build residential areas and new condos in the future (just like whats proposed in core to shore)

CEMEX-USA is what's in Houston, CEMEX's world headquarters is in Mexico in Monterrey. I did quite a lot of research yesterday regarding CEMEX and it's very interesting. There are apparently some Mexican laws hampering their growth, many business observers are surprised they're still in Mexico, etc.

Remember, we're speculating on two tracks here. A large "Fortune 100" firm that a CEO has been lobbying and a "large international company" that a chamber representative mentioned. CEMEX, by the way, is a Fortune GLOBAL 500 company.

At any rate, a consolidation of CEMEX corporate offices would be off-the-radar huge.

Here's my earlier post about CEMEX with pix of their current offices in Monterrey:
http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=28630&p=507080#post507080

Yeah, we get it. I was just responding to a post speculating that their moving out of their current leased space in Houston might mean something.

Yeah, we get it. I was just responding to a post speculating that their moving out of their current leased space in Houston might mean something.

Sorry! Your post didn't make the distinction and I thought you might not realize Houston wasn't their world headquarters. I know you don't care for me due to my posting news about Chesapeake that local news media censors, but really, why carry it over into other threads? "Yeah, we get it," is nothing more than dismissive. I happen to think it could be a major part of this story.

Oil Capital, new assignment. Take the Forbes Top 100 and do a detailed internet search, leases on headquarters, yadi yada and get back to us with your judgement on which companies have an 80% chance of moving into downtown. I know you love doing the research ;-)

Still only one building. Just not vertical.

And the parking is all under it, underground.

Yeah,

Check this one out. Apple’s new 4 story, 2.8 million square foot headquarters in Cupertino. It will hold 13,000 employees. Due to be completed in 2015.

That is going to be some crappy traffic to wait around in. They better put a gas station in the parking garage.

It's Hertz. They are going to be moving the rest of the their headquarters from Park City, New Jersey to OKC. The big question is when. Most of the land around their current headquarters is already owned by Hertz.

Why can't we just build a replica of the "Death Star?"

We'd get sued, by either George Lucas (who owns the design) or AT&T (which earned it).

It's Hertz. They are going to be moving the rest of the their headquarters from Park City, New Jersey to OKC. The big question is when. Most of the land around their current headquarters is already owned by Hertz.

Where did you hear this?

Hertz owns the large building it occupies near Quail Springs -- built in 2001/2.

As I was the first person to mention a fortune 100 company I feel like I need to clarify something.

What I said was I knew of a (probably unrealistic) effort, by a CEO of one of our larger metro corporations, to bring in a certain fortune 100 company to headquarters in OKC. It stands to reason then, that other large (not necessarily fortune 100, but possibly) companies may have also been contacted by this CEO, with the same premise in mind.

The intention behind my comment was to put into scope the ambition of some of the bigwigs in oklahoma to bring in new companies.

I did not (at least not intentionally) imply that there IS a fortune 100 company moving there HQ to OKC.
...

Oil Capital, new assignment. Take the Forbes Top 100 and do a detailed internet search, leases on headquarters, yadi yada and get back to us with your judgement on which companies have an 80% chance of moving into downtown. I know you love doing the research ;-)

I give up...

It's Hertz. They are going to be moving the rest of the their headquarters from Park City, New Jersey to OKC. The big question is when. Most of the land around their current headquarters is already owned by Hertz.

This would make sense.

Hertz owns two large parcels near QS, each about 30 acres and only half of one developed:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/hertz.jpg

So... Hertz probably wouldn't be building downtown?

It's Hertz. They are going to be moving the rest of the their headquarters from Park City, New Jersey to OKC. The big question is when. Most of the land around their current headquarters is already owned by Hertz.

I already tried that rumor as the buyer of Devon's current building.

Thanks UnFrSaKn for posting the pictures of the Vancouver condos. Those were the ones I was thinking of. If I remember correctly the design looks really cool at night.

Hertz reportedly has 640 employees in Park Ridge. It's a mostly high-skill workforce. Would they really ask these people to move from NYC to Oklahoma City and expect them to say "oh boy!"? Park Ridge is NJ alright, but it's also 29 miles from Mayor Bloomberg's office. I can't see it. There would be a revolution. Nothing against our great city - but we're talking major cultural changes. The county itself, Middlesex, is one of the 50th wealthiest counties in the United States and an exclusive NYC burb - I don't see it.

Those who think it's a possibility - what's the gameplan?

I don't know Mike, Exxon moved from Rockefeller Center to Irving, TX.

It's Hertz. They are going to be moving the rest of the their headquarters from Park City, New Jersey to OKC. The big question is when. Most of the land around their current headquarters is already owned by Hertz.

Not Hertz, the CEO is from NY and it will never move from Park Ridge, New Jersey, as long as he is in control.

I know them way too well.......for that matter, Ford threatened to move them back in 1998 but it never happened.

Sometimes "change" gets facilitated with bold moves like that.

So... Hertz probably wouldn't be building downtown?

Hertz isn't building anywhere..they downsized here and had the old res center for sale for a while....in fact, Chesapeake bought the res center (on North Penn) and rescinded a month later.

Hertz reportedly has 640 employees in Park Ridge. It's a mostly high-skill workforce. Would they really ask these people to move from NYC to Oklahoma City and expect them to say "oh boy!"? Park Ridge is NJ alright, but it's also 29 miles from Mayor Bloomberg's office. I can't see it. There would be a revolution. Nothing against our great city - but we're talking major cultural changes. The county itself, Middlesex, is one of the 50th wealthiest counties in the United States and an exclusive NYC burb - I don't see it.

Those who think it's a possibility - what's the gameplan?

Absolutely not ask anyone to move here.

Hertz owns two large parcels near QS, each about 30 acres and only half of one developed:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/hertz.jpg

At one time, they were going to build 2 more 4 story buildings identical to what is there now, plus put a lake in between them.....I actually think they sold those parcels that are marked in yellow.

I don't know Mike, Exxon moved from Rockefeller Center to Irving, TX.

Yes, but those are temporary digs. They're building a HUGE campus in Houston (Spring, TX) that everyone in the business and their dog believes will be the consolidated headquarters of Exxon/Mobil. They denied it a couple of years back, but since the full-scale plans went public - there's no question and even they've backed off and said that everything is on the table. Have you seen how big this project is, btw?
swamplot.com/a-first-look-at-the-plans-for-exxonmobils-humongous-new-corporate-campus-north-of-houston/2011-03-17/
http://constructioncitizen.com/blog/project-delta-aka-exxonmobil-black-box-projects/1107061

And, there's a big difference in moving from the NYC metro to DFW or Houston and from NYC metro to Oklahoma City.

Absolutely not ask anyone to move here.

I didn't mean it like that. Seriously, metropolitan New York City to Oklahoma City? It's a great place, our city, but we might do better recruiting companies from someplace other than one of the world's great metropolitan areas. I mean, I love Oklahoma City, but let's get real. That's just not going to happen. If I have to eat my words, I owe you, Bellaboo, lunch anywhere of your choice.

You guys are aware NYC is bleeding companies, jobs, and people right.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Wall-Street-Jobs/2011/10/11/id/413989

At one time, they were going to build 2 more 4 story buildings identical to what is there now, plus put a lake in between them.....I actually think they sold those parcels that are marked in yellow.

No, they still own them as per the County Assessor.

You guys are aware NYC is bleeding companies, jobs, and people right.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Wall-Street-Jobs/2011/10/11/id/413989

New York not New Jersey. I don't see Hertz moving, but maybe another company....

You guys are aware NYC is bleeding companies, jobs, and people right.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Wall-Street-Jobs/2011/10/11/id/413989

That article specifically states these are Wall Street jobs lost in the securities industry and the domino effect that has hurt.

But, what a difference four months (since the article above) can make.

Just a few days ago, CBS News says that New York City has gained back 52% of jobs lost in the recession. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57371029/comptroller-ny-rebounding-unevenly-around-state/

They've been hurt like everyone else, but would you bet against New York City?

I was reading something the other day that said Houston is outpacing everybody else in new jobs by a very wide margin. There's your next great American city. I'll standby as OKCPulse will be here within minutes to tell us we need my head examined. He hasn't liked it there. I love Houston. Its growth has been nothing short of phenomenal.

I'd love to see a new tower downtown and there's a lot of smoke - I'm guessing if there's a fire of real news we'll hear about soon. I hope.

I didn't mean it like that. Seriously, metropolitan New York City to Oklahoma City? It's a great place, our city, but we might do better recruiting companies from someplace other than one of the world's great metropolitan areas. I mean, I love Oklahoma City, but let's get real. That's just not going to happen. If I have to eat my words, I owe you, Bellaboo, lunch anywhere of your choice.

I've known Hertz for 27 years, they outsourced 210 programmers and systems folks 3 years ago to India......they are in the business of downsizing...I'm amazed that Mark P Frissora has let the money fly on the Thunder though.

I used to work there in the mid-2000s. I worked in their company mailroom and delivered mail to all the offices including the top dogs in the OKC offices. It was always mentioned as in the plans but when?, that was the question.

I used to work there in the mid-2000s. I worked in their company mailroom and delivered mail to all the offices including the top dogs in the OKC offices. It was always mentioned as in the plans but when?, that was the question.

Like I said, there was pressure from Ford when they actually were majority owners, but it was just for a few years............. but it won't happen now folks, so we need to move on to someone else.

No, they still own them as per the County Assessor.

It might be that they sold some that was just to the west of their current facility.....like 20 acres about 5 years ago.

Like I said, there was pressure from Ford when they actually were majority owners, but it was just for a few years............. but it won't happen now folks, so we need to move on to someone else.

My governmental accounting instructor told the class that at one time OKC promised big tax breaks to businesses to get them to relocate here. A few companies came but OKC and the state withdrew their tax incentives. Now OKC has a bad reputation out there as far as taking back things that were promised.

If OKC and OK make th epromises they need to live up to them or not make them in the first place.

My governmental accounting instructor told the class that at one time OKC promised big tax breaks to businesses to get them to relocate here. A few companies came but OKC and the state withdrew their tax incentives. Now OKC has a bad reputation out there as far as taking back things that were promised.

If OKC and OK make th epromises they need to live up to them or not make them in the first place.

I believe you are referring to GM. The tax break promised to GM was actually against the state constitution. It was a property tax break that cost the Mid-Del school district ad valorem tax revenue. It was battled in court and ultimately the constitution prevailed, so GM had to pony up. It was bad communication and bad circumstances. OKC did not withdraw any tax incentives. GM was dealt a blow, and lawmakers failed to show spine and make sure it was a win-win for both GM and the school district. And no, OKC does not have that reputation. Everyone knows about the history with GM, but that was 1984. Almost 30 years later? Let it go.

I can't believe an instuctor told an entire class that. Now that's an entire class that is running around with misinformation that will be relayed to more people in conversation, and so on. Misinformation makes me sick.

My governmental accounting instructor told the class that at one time OKC promised big tax breaks to businesses to get them to relocate here. A few companies came but OKC and the state withdrew their tax incentives. Now OKC has a bad reputation out there as far as taking back things that were promised.

If OKC and OK make th epromises they need to live up to them or not make them in the first place.

Yeah that was GM and it happened about 25 years ago... quite obviously that's not how business is done here anymore.

The GM deal was done in 1974 - 38 years ago.

Sorry! Your post didn't make the distinction and I thought you might not realize Houston wasn't their world headquarters. I know you don't care for me due to my posting news about Chesapeake that local news media censors, but really, why carry it over into other threads? "Yeah, we get it," is nothing more than dismissive. I happen to think it could be a major part of this story.

Sorry to burst your bizarrely paranoid little bubble, but not only do I not " not care for you", I had not previously even noticed your existence. I was also not aware you had been posting "news" about Chesapeake, having not been interested enough to have even opened that particular thread.

In any event, it is quite hard to see how Cemex moving their US headquarters 100 yards dwn the street in Houston gives any indication whatsoever that they might be moving their world headquarters anywhere.

FWIW, you have apparently been overlooking a crucial part of the quote from the Chamber of Commerce. It is not the headquarters of an international company that is considering the move to OKC. It is the North American headquarters of an international company. Your Cemex thory does not fit so well under those circumstances.

Yes, but those are temporary digs. They're building a HUGE campus in Houston (Spring, TX) that everyone in the business and their dog believes will be the consolidated headquarters of Exxon/Mobil. They denied it a couple of years back, but since the full-scale plans went public - there's no question and even they've backed off and said that everything is on the table. Have you seen how big this project is, btw?
swamplot.com/a-first-look-at-the-plans-for-exxonmobils-humongous-new-corporate-campus-north-of-houston/2011-03-17/
http://constructioncitizen.com/blog/project-delta-aka-exxonmobil-black-box-projects/1107061


I thought I was the only one who thought the Exxon HQ was on the move to the new campus. Glad to hear others have noticed that too. That campus looks way too spectacular to not be the corporate HQ. (As an aside, apparently the Exxon Mobil honchos haven't gotten the memo re: the total failure of corporate campuses)

Sorry to burst your bizarrely paranoid little bubble, but not only do I not " not care for you", I had not previously even noticed your existence. I was also not aware you had been posting "news" about Chesapeake, having not been interested enough to have even opened that particular thread.

In any event, it is quite hard to see how Cemex moving their US headquarters 100 yards dwn the street in Houston gives any indication whatsoever that they might be moving their world headquarters anywhere.

FWIW, you have apparently been overlooking a crucial part of the quote. It is not the headquarters of an international company. It is the North American headquarters of an international company. Your Cemex thory does not fit so well under those circumstances.

Oil Capital, Come on. About the first part of your post, I don't even know what to say.

As for CEMEX - maybe you missed the whole point. I was the one saying you all were discussing CEMEXUSA and that's not at issue. The question is if the world headquarters in Monterrey could be considering a move here. I said that in response to two of you discussing the CEMEXUSA building in Houston. I said it has nothing to do with anything. That's why you made your "Yeah, we get it" comment in the first place; it was in response to my explaining in this post (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=28630&p=507351#post507351) what you just told me(!)

Paranoid? Maybe you should read through the thread and you'll see who's confused.

You're a snarky one, by the way. Rarely friendly and that's too bad on this forum. By and large, we have a lot of good people that I may disagree with, but make this a great place for discussion because there's no hard feelings despite differences. You? You're nothing but snark and more snark. (Well, it's true.)

ON EDIT: Yeah, I noticed the Exxon/Mobil campus. Imagine that - paranoid, Mike. Maybe we can start over. I've only had "problems" with one person on this board in all these years and we've started over and I find I actually like him very much. Maybe we can start over, too?

Oil Capital, new assignment. Take the Forbes Top 100 and do a detailed internet search, leases on headquarters, yadi yada and get back to us with your judgement on which companies have an 80% chance of moving into downtown. I know you love doing the research ;-)

I'll get right on that. ;-)