What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    30
Banks are willing to lease these prime spaces when several of their other branches outside the core are easy to get to and have ample free parking. So either the idea that retail can't be successful because of a lack of people or free parking is false, or banks are paying a prime just for visibility and don't care if no one uses these locations. Because I'm sure many of the same people who would use a DT bank would also shop for clothes, shoes, books, etc. if they had somewhere to do so nearby.
 
Barnaby said:
Servus Credit Union is relocating the 107th ave location to Rogers place. I believe it is going in the pictured CRU, next to the Grand Villa Casino entrance.
Click to expand...
I wish they'd move their head office Downtown. THAT would be a win. It baffles me that we have companies like that with suburban head offices in Edmonton.
I guess I can understand why some major companies, like PCL or The Brick would have their corporate HQ in industrial/suburban areas, considering that they usually just have those attached to warehouses and ops facilities, but the idea of a bank choosing to be in the Research Park instead of the downtown core is mind boggling.
 
scyeg said:
So either the idea that retail can't be successful because of a lack of people or free parking is false, or banks are paying a prime just for visibility and don't care if no one uses these locations
Click to expand...
A little bit of both? Banks, even small ones, have a far easier time justifying the prime lease rates, even if the branches operate at a lower margin, because of brand exposure and the overall stability of their business (doesn't depend of foot traffic, since no one really just walks into a bank to "shop" in the same way people do with a retailer).
 
ChazYEG said:
I wish they'd move their head office Downtown. THAT would be a win. It baffles me that we have companies like that with suburban head offices in Edmonton.
I guess I can understand why some major companies, like PCL or The Brick would have their corporate HQ in industrial/suburban areas, considering that they usually just have those attached to warehouses and ops facilities, but the idea of a bank choosing to be in the Research Park instead of the downtown core is mind boggling.
Click to expand...
Yes, a Servus head office downtown would be good. I feel they have passed the size for a suburban office park head office a decade or more ago, perhaps it is partly inertia that keeps them there.

At least they will finally have a branch in the downtown core once again (after closing the one in City Centre many years ago), so I suppose at least that is one step forward.

In addition to the visibility of having a downtown core location, these branches also serve a useful purpose as there are a number of businesses in the nearby office towers that would bank at them.

This is partly why the big banks have them. I suspect Servus has fewer of these larger business customers than the big banks, but it may be an area they want to try grow in.
 
David A said:
Yes, a Servus head office downtown would be good. I feel they have passed the size for a suburban office park head office a decade or more ago, perhaps it is partly inertia that keeps them there.

At least they will finally have a branch in the downtown core once again (after closing the one in City Centre many years ago), so I suppose at least that is one step forward.

In addition to the visibility of having a downtown core location, these branches also serve a useful purpose as there are a number of businesses in the nearby office towers that would bank at them.

This is partly why the big banks have them. I suspect Servus has fewer of these larger business customers than the big banks, but it may be an area they want to try grow in.
Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Servus head office move to Calgary?
 
It's understanding that the Servus HQ is in the suburbs because many of their clients are rural folks who would be uncomfortable in a downtown office tower. @IanO would have better insight since he brokered the deal with Servus to move into the office space that was previously occupied by Dell.

Before you start ganging up on poor old @IanO for betraying his urbanist ideals, just remember that the HQ is still in Edmonton and not in a bedroom community like Sherwood Park or St. Albert.
 
Gronk! said:
It's understanding that the Servus HQ is in the suburbs because many of their clients are rural folks who would be uncomfortable in a downtown office tower. @IanO would have better insight since he brokered the deal with Servus to move into the office space that was previously occupied by Dell.
Click to expand...
Do a lot of clients really go to their corporate HQ, tho?


Gronk! said:
Before you start ganging up on poor old @IanO for betraying his urbanist ideals, just remember that the HQ is still in Edmonton and not in a bedroom community like Sherwood Park or St. Albert.
Click to expand...
It's still a net positive, but I would still love if they moved DT.
 
Gronk! said:
It's understanding that the Servus HQ is in the suburbs because many of their clients are rural folks who would be uncomfortable in a downtown office tower. @IanO would have better insight since he brokered the deal with Servus to move into the office space that was previously occupied by Dell.

Before you start ganging up on poor old @IanO for betraying his urbanist ideals, just remember that the HQ is still in Edmonton and not in a bedroom community like Sherwood Park or St. Albert.
Click to expand...

Haha, I certainly did not broker any deal for that.

I did however work on the project for ~2yrs and helped the building with being 'reimagined' from a pretty crap Dell call centre into a LEED Certified corporate centre that many of us on 'the team' are still proud of to this day.

From what I know, when the 3 credit unions merged, they made it very clear that they were not wanting to be like the big 4 and were not a Downtown corporate bank.
 
IanO said:
Haha, I certainly did not broker any deal for that.

I did however work on the project for ~2yrs and helped the building with being 'reimagined' from a pretty crap Dell call centre into a LEED Certified corporate centre that many of us on 'the team' are still proud of to this day.

From what I know, when the 3 credit unions merged, they made it very clear that they were not wanting to be like the big 4 and were not a Downtown corporate bank.
Click to expand...
Good points, I understand the image they want to maintain and I would rather have a suburban HQ than none. However in a city our size (and growing) more of a central presence also makes sense for a growing organization
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top