Smart Growth America, an organization that advocates for people who want to live and work in great neighborhoods, recently released a report, Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown. In this report, they surveyed nearly 500 companies and interviewed an additional 40 companies to gain a better understanding of the emerging trend of corporations relocating into downtown centers.
The report took a special interest into downtown Raleigh, because of the recent downtown growth. They interviewed five companies that have recently relocated downtown: American Underground,Citrix, Evaluserve, Ipreo and Red Hat.
Ashton Smith, Community and Employee Engagement Project Manager of Operations at Citrix noted that moving downtown was vital to attracting talent and giving employees an attractive place to work.
“We looked at moving to Research Triangle Park and suburban North Raleigh, but part of the reason to relocate was to grow our company and attract engaged, creative talent. When we put the models all together and looked at the cost of renovating a space downtown and what we could get out of it in terms of talent and value, downtown was by far the best option.”
In addition, Smith stated that their location has been invaluable to their growth and plays a role in Raleigh’s growing tech industry.
“In addition to being a world-class facility for our employees, we also saw the redevelopment as a socially responsible investment in the community. Overall it’s been an invaluable tool in recruiting new hires and competing with other companies, but we also feel like we have played a role in expanding Raleigh’s presence in the tech business landscape.”
According to the study, six overall factors came into play when companies chose to relocate downtown, all of which downtown Raleigh has to offer:
- To attract and retain talented workers.
- To build brand identity and company culture.
- To support creative collaboration.
- To be closer to customers and business partners.
- To centralize operations.
- To support triple-bottom-line business outcomes.
In addition, companies chose areas like Raleigh due to vibrant, walkable neighborhoods where talent want to both live and work.
From this report, it can be concluded that the trend to move into downtown centers will only continue to grow. With the resources and availability for companies to move into downtown Raleigh, continued momentum can be expected for the area in the coming years.
The full report can be viewed on Smart Growth America’swebsite.
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