Wellmark's New Downtown Headquarters

[homeskillet]

I would think that "taller than 801 Grand" would be too large to house 1,500 employees and since they are a not-for-profit company, I don't think they would/could build speculative office space.

I agree anything the size of 801 Grand is improbable, something along the lines of HUB Tower would be more likely. I worked at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois when they just finished their new headquarters, so it's not unheard of for non-profits to build architecturally significant buildings.

[WesMKE]

I would think taller than 801 isn't likely, either. This got me thinking, though, does anyone remember the likelihood that 801 would be as tall as it is, before it was announced? Was it as suprising/hyped as a new tallest would be? Was it kept "under wraps" well? Maybe this isn't the proper thread for these questions, but this announcement piqued my curiousity about such announcements.

[homeskillet]

Wouldnt it be awsume if it was over 20 stories! Maybee even taller than 801 grand!!! What do you think is the probability of this building being over 20 stories or even taller than 801 grand. I know I will be disapointed if its not tall. Des Moines is ready for a new view of the skyline! (even though they have finished whiteline and are working on westgate.)

LETS HOPE!!

I think it would have to be a mixed use building to be over 20 stories, I can't imagine their needs and space requirements necessitating anything more. Mixed use is not unheard of, Aon is a good example, but the trend these days in the insurance world is to focus on core operations and many insurance companies have trimmed their real estate portfolios for just this reason.

I think the question we should ask is: considering the site location, how tall would it need to be to stand out on the skyline? That area is dominated by towers in the 300 foot range, seems it would need to be about 400 to make an impact. It might be best to hope for quality of design than quantity of floors.

[dsmLA]

Not sure how this will affect the development of this project and the plex, but the Polk County Board of Supervisors voted on issuing $35 million in bonds to put more meeting rooms and a ballroom in Hy-Vee Hall.

The vote was 2-2, with John Mauro absent. Since it was a tie, the proposal was rejected.

So right now, they are not expanding Hy-Vee Hall.

[DMRyan]

I think most of us are hoping for the best case scenario of Wellmark building something sizeable and tall, but I just don't see that happening with the little bit of information that's been said about this project so far. I hope things change, but I'm not sure if Wellmark is interested in the best use for property, which is mixing uses, maybe adding spec office space to lease to other tenants to make it taller.

I wonder what the trend is nationwide for spec office developers to build towers, then sell them (not lease) to a prospective major tenant like this?

[historicdsm]

This was posted today on WHO-TV's website:

Wellmark Could Leave Downtown
Des Moines IA March 20, 2007--- Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield says they are considering leaving Des Moines after 68 years for neighboring West Des Moines. Wellmark is building a new 500 thousand square foot headquarters in order to consolidate office space that is currently spread out throughout the downtown. The company says they are considering three locations. One of those locations is in West Des Moines near the Jordan Creek Town Center.

West Des Moines city officials say the project could qualifty for up to $20 million in incentives if they choose to build in that city. Des Moines city manager Rick Clark says a fair play agreement typically prevents metro cities from competing for an existing employer. Regardless, Clark says he feels confident Wellmark will ultimatly choose to stay in Des Moines Downtown.

A statement from Wellmark says: "There are many factors that will influence our decision including location, accessibility, parking and cost to name a few. And any possible incentives are just one piece of the decision."

Wellmark expects to announce the location of the new headquarters later this spring. The new facility will be home to more than 1,500 employees.

I think it would be really short-sighted of Wellmark to leave downtown. All the faux-urbanism/fancy sprawl surrounding Jordan Creek can't match the excitement of downtown. Maybe it's just me, but I would rather take a lunch break with a slice of pizza at the new East Village Market than Costco's food court or Joe's Crab Shack.

[Des Moineser]

I'd agree, but, the westside is 'urbanizing' and they now feature those Z'Mariks Noodle Cafes and Paneras that are fairly urban in that you stand in a line and then leave with food in hand or sit down quickly.

[dogbo]

I'd agree, but, the westside is 'urbanizing' and they now feature those Z'Mariks Noodle Cafes and Paneras that are fairly urban in that you stand in a line and then leave with food in hand or sit down quickly.

Sorry. But there is nothing "urban" about having to drive to go out to lunch. As has be discussed previously on this forum, the travesty of the Well Fargo campus in W DSM is that you have several restaurants in the vicinity, but due to the typical suburban design/sprawl, a person has to jump in their car and drive to get anywhere within their normal allotted lunch time.

I saw this story on 13 last night and quite frankly got sick to my stomach hearing that there's only a 50/50 chance that they'll stay downtown.

[josh]

$20,000,000 incentives offered by West Des Moines, sounds like Jordan Creek Town Center take 2.

[Des Moineser]

That's why I put 'urbanizing' in quotes.

[DMRyan]

Nothing has changed since this story first broke. The very first Register article mentioned that West Des Moines is a possibility, check the top of this thread.. There are two Des Moines sites to one West Des Moines site, and they aren't going to give any clues that they're favoring one site over another while they're in the negotiations/decision making process.

Don't think that Des Moines won't pull out all the stops to keep them in the City too.

[Bluestem]

Isn't wellmark the same company that is complaining that all the hospitals are terribly evil for wanting to build out west? Hypocritical much

[dmluvr]

Ka Blam!!
no doubt bluestem.

Well--nevertheless--this is a total bummer. I hope Well mark pulls it together and stays downtown.

and to think my son's and I insurance is with them......

[dogbo]

Isn't wellmark the same company that is complaining that all the hospitals are terribly evil for wanting to build out west? Hypocritical much

apples and oranges comparison.

[speeder]

Where do wellmarks employees live, and how do they get to work?

If they move to WDM, they are caterers, not leaders.

[Cyclonefan]

If they built it downtown, they would need a large parking garage/s, they will need a lot of parking. Im all for WDSM growing, but when it comes to deowntown dsm, I would hope we would be gaining large buisnesses, not loosing, A nother large office building by Wells Fargo out there would be ugly with all the parking, There are so many surface parking lots out there. KEEP IT DOWNTOWN!

[Des Moineser]

Wellmark's employees probably live out on the westside, but downtown needs more major office projects to survive. West Des Moines should be the place to put lower density commercial projects.

[Ingersoll1978]

Wellmark has employees that live all over the Des Moines metro (west, north, south, and east).

About the parking-they could always add parking on the bottom of their new structure. They also aren't even close to the number of employees as Allied, Principle, or Wells Fargo, so I doubt they will need a mega parking structure to go with a new downtown project.

[hawk61401]

We know that Wellmark's decision will be based on location, accessibility, parking, costs, and maybe the millions that West Des Moines wants to dangle for incentives.

Let's hope that another factor in their decision is ego and the company's image. They have an opportunity to build a signature building in downtown Des Moines, a building that their employees, policy holders, and the city of Des Moines can be proud of. Or, they can be predictable and conservative and disappear into the maize of ho-hum, 3 story boxes of office buildings in West Des Moines with a surface parking lot.

If they moved to West Des Moines, it wouldn't be the equivalent of Maytag moving to Mexico but darn close. How about some loyalty to the city of Des Moines which has served them well for 68 years?

[Young DSM Social Club]

I am tired of always hearing news reports, etc., discuss companies, stores, etc. moving to the western suburbs to be "closer to where their employee live" ... DSM itself has 200,000 people and I assume at least some of them hold down jobs! I would think the majority of people would prefer something be downtown vs. suburbs as I'd imagine the majority do not live in the western suburbs.

[Ingersoll1978]

I don't even know why it's even being discussed so extensively. Wellmark has been committed to Downtown for years. I don't think they are going anywhere but Downtown.

[dogbo]

It is being discussed because the media is reporting there is a 50/50 chance they'll be leaving downtown.

[Cyclonefan]

Consider how much the media is wrong though. Although there is that possibility, you cant trust everything the media says. They better stay dwnt though.

[DMRyan]

My take is that this is all of sudden being sensationalized by the media, when it was announced from the get-go that sites in West Des Moines and Des Moines would be studied for this project.

Why would Wellmark give indication that they prefer one site over another when negotiations are still in session? I've heard from one higher level employee of Wellmark and two design professionals that are apparently working on the conceptual plans, and all have indicated it being downtown...for ever that's worth.

It would obviously be pretty crushing if this didn't pan out in Des Moines' favor though.

[JohnstonMom]

At the risk of sounding like a giant weenie, parking is one reason some employees would rather work in a location other than downtown. I work for a major employer that happens to be located in the heart of downtown, and a friend in human resources told me recently that our company frequently loses out on good hires when the prospective employees learn they'll either have to pay to park, or will have to park several blocks away from their offices. It's more of pain than one might assume. My husband works in Urbandale and has never parked anywhere other than directly in front of his building; others like him would not consider working downtown because of the traffic and parking issues. I personally enjoy being downtown, but I imagine employers have to take all these factors into consideration when deciding where to locate.

[hawk61401]

JohnstonMom, that surprises me. I am out of the loop but I thought that at least some employers paid for employee parking if the parking was in a city garage. And, if you couldn't park next to the front door, the second choice would be no worse than a 2 or 3 block walk on the skywalk to another garage.

I am thinkin' of the new garages for Allied, across from the EMC building, surface lots and garages near ING Insurance. I'm sure that Principal and Iowa Methodist have enough parking for their employees.

I woulda thought that downtown has an abundance of surface lots and parking garages.

[DMRyan]

That is probably one of the single biggest reasons why companies large and small chose to build outside of downtown. There's really nothing that can be done (nor should there be) in the core to accomodate parking for quick visits to a building. There is not a shortage of parking in downtown. There is the perception of inconvience in finding a place to park. It defintely isn't as easy in the suburbs, and it will cost money, but in Des Moines, the distances one CAN park away from a building is pretty minimal. In most instances, you'll be walking further to get from your car to Jordan Creek mall that you would in a garage a block away from a downtown building, yet our auto oriented public isn't trained to think that way.

[Philby]

I think it would be interesting to see how much money employers could save if they offered to subsidize public transit instead of parking? (for the ones that currently offer parking) I know some companies do both - but I know I'd give up my parking pass (that i rarely use) if my bus pass was paid for (which i use 95% of the time)

[JohnstonMom]

The company I work for does subsidize public transit and also pays parking for employees who have attained a certain position level. My parking is paid for and is only a couple of blocks from my building. However, a few years ago, when I started here, my parking -- while paid for - was a mile from my office. While JohnstonMom can certainly always use exercise, she also is unfortunately running late more often than not, so adding another 15-20 minutes to each end of the workday wasn't always feasible. In the overall scheme of things, I think downtown employers do a great job of trying to make parking available -- but from a logistics standpoint, it's simply more of a pain overall than parking out west. That said, I much prefer downtown, but perhaps that's primarily because I'm so used to it.

[dmluvr]

good comments on here.

I for one---admittedly can get pretty annoyed with this whole "parking" topic.

I for one have a big 'ole butt, but guess what---that extra walking helps me and would most certainly help Americans.
This is still one of those regional things that erks me(yes yes--it's a national thing too--but most certainly more prevalent in the Midwest) that when building something, rehabbing something--or what have you--its seems that parking almost get's the main attention.
Sure--it's certainley something to consider--but when you are talking a dense urban environment---you don't and shouldn't freaking rely on your car.
We all do----and we all (i included) love our 2nd home--a la our vehicle--but it's time to park that 4 wheeler down the street and deal with an extra little walking.