ConAgra moving to Chicago

[RNcyanide]

Keep in mind if you want to leave, that's your decision. Good for you. But to base your whole decision on the corporate atmosphere is very, very shallow when considering civic pride.

You'd see that my decision is based more upon the entire body of work if you read these series of posts. Seriously, the percentage of people that actually want to ne here is very small. I am surprised that you dont see that. It's everywhere, the incessant complaining on feeling stuck in this place. It seems as if people like you and I need to find a location where we are not the exception. Because we are.

Not sure if nihilism or existential despair.

[PotatoeEatsFish]

Conagra wants to leave, thats fine. Let Chicago have another dieing buisness maybe some start ups would fill the empty space.

[Guest1]

Between the hundreds going away with private brands, the thousand that are going to be gutted in a month as he ships jobs to india and his inability to actually grow a company, these are all steps from private equity firms and the Hillshire Brands playbook that allowed him to bide time and rape the company for millions. The strategy of sell businesses, buyback stock, layoff thousands and ship jobs overseas only serves to reduce the shares outstanding, drive up the price short term, make executives rich and then either leave the company a shell to wither away or be grabbed up (again, making executives even more rich).

Curious where the highlighted number came from?

[iamjacobm]

UP has had their HQ in STL and Dallas and came back here, TDA could of HQd in any city in the country and picked to stay home, B-H obviously doesn't need to be here, Kiewit is as homegrown as it gets and sticks around, MoO would be a funny one to see leave considering the name, HDR, DLR, Leo A Daly all major players in the arch world HQd here that could easily uproot for a city with more cache.

The companies that have left like ACI and First Data still have a massive presence here.

Yes a lot of our job growth isn't from relocations, but Gallup and PacLife are big feathers in the cap. PayPal and Yahoo also have a large presence that is relatively new.

Yes it would suck to lose ConAgra and all the jobs they bring. No the campus probably won't be leveled, it would be absurd to tear down 25 year old buildings in the hope that something better comes along. Like DTO needs another massive area of land to redevelop right now...

[PotatoeEatsFish]

The conagra campus would be perfect for a tech company.

[RNcyanide]

Between the hundreds going away with private brands, the thousand that are going to be gutted in a month as he ships jobs to india and his inability to actually grow a company, these are all steps from private equity firms and the Hillshire Brands playbook that allowed him to bide time and rape the company for millions. The strategy of sell businesses, buyback stock, layoff thousands and ship jobs overseas only serves to reduce the shares outstanding, drive up the price short term, make executives rich and then either leave the company a shell to wither away or be grabbed up (again, making executives even more rich).

Curious where the highlighted number came from?

Yes

[Erik]

Keep in mind if you want to leave, that's your decision. Good for you. But to base your whole decision on the corporate atmosphere is very, very shallow when considering civic pride.

You'd see that my decision is based more upon the entire body of work if you read these series of posts. Seriously, the percentage of people that actually want to ne here is very small. I am surprised that you dont see that. It's everywhere, the incessant complaining on feeling stuck in this place. It seems as if people like you and I need to find a location where we are not the exception. Because we are.

Not sure if nihilism or existential despair.

Despair, perhaps. Nihilism, maybe. Nonetheless, what more body of work do we need in order to get past our fantasy that Omaha is nothing more than a 3rd tier location and our fanaticism is empty.

[daveoma]

UP has had their HQ in STL and Dallas and came back here, TDA could of HQd in any city in the country and picked to stay home, B-H obviously doesn't need to be here, Kiewit is as homegrown as it gets and sticks around, MoO would be a funny one to see leave considering the name, HDR, DLR, Leo A Daly all major players in the arch world HQd here that could easily uproot for a city with more cache.

The companies that have left like ACI and First Data still have a massive presence here.

Yes a lot of our job growth isn't from relocations, but Gallup and PacLife are big feathers in the cap. PayPal and Yahoo also have a large presence that is relatively new.

Yes it would suck to lose ConAgra and all the jobs they bring. No the campus probably won't be leveled, it would be absurd to tear down 25 year old buildings in the hope that something better comes along. Like DTO needs another massive area of land to redevelop right now...

I completely agree. Conagra would not be a catastrophic loss to Omaha. Even if their headquarters left, a lot of their operations would remain.

[Erik - not logged in]

UP has had their HQ in STL and Dallas and came back here, TDA could of HQd in any city in the country and picked to stay home, B-H obviously doesn't need to be here, Kiewit is as homegrown as it gets and sticks around, MoO would be a funny one to see leave considering the name, HDR, DLR, Leo A Daly all major players in the arch world HQd here that could easily uproot for a city with more cache.

The companies that have left like ACI and First Data still have a massive presence here.

Yes a lot of our job growth isn't from relocations, but Gallup and PacLife are big feathers in the cap. PayPal and Yahoo also have a large presence that is relatively new.

Yes it would suck to lose ConAgra and all the jobs they bring. No the campus probably won't be leveled, it would be absurd to tear down 25 year old buildings in the hope that something better comes along. Like DTO needs another massive area of land to redevelop right now...

I completely agree. Conagra would not be a catastrophic loss to Omaha. Even if their headquarters left, a lot of their operations would remain.

Not at all catastrophic, I agree. However, the foundation has been shaken again. Still cannot lure, but can be lured from. That is Omaha currently and by legacy. I cannot imagine another city having been gutted as many times as this one (outside the great Lakes region)

[bigredmed]

How exactly does no one want to be here, and how do we lack civic pride? In no way do I stand for everyone in this city, but speaking for myself alone, I love this city and I feel there is a great deal of pride. The day I have to leave for whatever reason that may be will really be one of the saddest days of my life. heck, a guy at my gym has a large, detailed tattoo of the skyline on his side. There's some (odd) civic pride.

I am from a family with roots back to Winter Quarters. I have an ancestor buried there. This is my home. I have lived elsewhere and this is where I chose to move back to and stay. We have a lot of assets. We need to recognize that we have weaknesses too. On balance, this place comes out ahead of where I have lived before.

In NM, you have structural issues with the economy being essentially run by various branches of the fed. You have astoundingly bad schools. You have willful poverty and dangerous demographics. In Fla., you have dangerous demographics and even worse schools. Neither place compares well to us. We see this in various rankings.

We have issues regarding excessive tolerance for arguments about decisions taken and done. This forum bloviates over buildings that have been gone longer than some of you have been alive. They are gone. Get over it. We have people who argue about city wide problems proposing solutions that are focused just on one section yet require everyone to pay for it, and then are shocked when they are refused. Instead of rethinking the problem, we see them denigrate Omaha as a bunch of backward yokels. We accept these arguments as valid. This becomes our online image.

Jobbers Canyon had NO ONE willing to put their money on the line to redevelop them. Turns out that ConAgra ironically found out why. The Asarco lead plume was much worse and it was just the first found. The land where heartland park and their HQ is at was contaminated 8 feet deeper than anyone knew. The plume was larger in east-west dimension than expected and any redevelopment for residential use would have been hugely impacted by this, to the point of being no longer viable.

We need to recognize that decisions get made and then we move on. We need to solve city wide problems with city wide solutions. Pie in the sky is just that. As for our image, play to our assets and portray ourselves as what we are and not as a bunch of whiny haters bitching about everyone else being backwards.

On a day to day basis, life in Omaha beats Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake, Jacksonville, Phoenix, and LA for most people. The rich will always live well no matter where they live, the middle class is where Omaha shines.

[Guest]

UP has had their HQ in STL and Dallas and came back here, TDA could of HQd in any city in the country and picked to stay home, B-H obviously doesn't need to be here, Kiewit is as homegrown as it gets and sticks around, MoO would be a funny one to see leave considering the name, HDR, DLR, Leo A Daly all major players in the arch world HQd here that could easily uproot for a city with more cache.

The companies that have left like ACI and First Data still have a massive presence here.

Yes a lot of our job growth isn't from relocations, but Gallup and PacLife are big feathers in the cap. PayPal and Yahoo also have a large presence that is relatively new.

Yes it would suck to lose ConAgra and all the jobs they bring. No the campus probably won't be leveled, it would be absurd to tear down 25 year old buildings in the hope that something better comes along. Like DTO needs another massive area of land to redevelop right now...

I completely agree. Conagra would not be a catastrophic loss to Omaha. Even if their headquarters left, a lot of their operations would remain.

I see their operations leaving as a guarantee. A chunk of their brand and marketing is already in Chicago. The CEO talks about being agile and "adapting to the market." These are the same things he said while at Hillshire and was the very reason why he moved all the company downtown. Honestly, he does not care one bit about "back office employees" and would prefer all their work was done in India for a fraction of the cost. The question is if he sees there being any reason to keep what is left of these functions after outsourcing in Omaha or if the numbers are small enough that he will just move them with everyone else to keep it all together.

[Garrett]

Well this thread went in a lot of directions...

First, losing Conagra jobs may not be the worst thing in the world. I mean yeah, it would suck, but Omaha, in some senses, has an almost unattractively low level of unemployment, 3% in April, compared to Des Moines' 3.5% and KC's 5.2%. With unemployment that low, it becomes difficult for companies to expand or relocate to the city, because it's hard to find quality employees. A few hundred, or even thousand, unemployed people would certainly make expansion or relocation to Omaha an incredibly attractive option for companies.

Now then, on to civic pride. Quite the doozy. Overall, I think there is always a layer of cynicism towards one's own hometown. I've seen it in Omaha, and I've seen it here in Chicago too. The grass is always greener, after all. But Omaha has lots of things, many of them that cities of much greater size don't have. Of course, we have our Zoo, Warren Buffett, and our Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, but then we also have institutions like UNMC, which as we all know, is adding thousands of jobs to our city, and seems to never stop growing in both size and prestige. Then we have other medical centers like Children's, which is one of the best in the country as well. Omahan's support the arts as well, from the Holland and the many galleries around the city, to homegrown festivals like Grassroots and Maha, which just get bigger and better every year. And, as evidenced by recent rankings, our food scene is growing rapidly as well. As for sports, we have Creighton, the CWS, and the now rising UNO which many people are very proud to have and support, and, of course, the Huskers right down the road. Omahans are also very philanthropic as well, from, again, Warren, to many other people and organizations who care about their city and neighborhoods. On top of all of that, I've been told the Max is quite an impressive gay bar.

A little over a year and a half ago, one of my urban planning professors actually took a trip to Omaha for a conference at UNO. She actually told me she wasn't even going to go until I was in her classes and she heard me talk up the city all the time. Anyway, after he visit she said she was impressed, not just with the Old Market, which is something incredibly unique we should be proud of, but also by our parks, our involvement with our city, and with the other business districts around, like Dundee and South Omaha.

Omaha has a lot to be proud of, yes. But, I think a layer of cynicism is always healthy, because it makes us examine what's wrong with the city, and help create ways to solve those problems. That is true civic pride. Now, being two years displaced from living in Omaha, I can honestly say I love, and sometimes even miss it. And I can tell you a lot of my peers who left like I did feel the same way. In a few short hours I'll be flying over the city, and I'll be sure to take a picture to announce my temporary return to Homaha, just like many others like me have done before.

[GetUrban]

Jobbers Canyon had NO ONE willing to put their money on the line to redevelop them. Turns out that ConAgra ironically found out why. The Asarco lead plume was much worse and it was just the first found. The land where heartland park and their HQ is at was contaminated 8 feet deeper than anyone knew. The plume was larger in east-west dimension than expected and any redevelopment for residential use would have been hugely impacted by this, to the point of being no longer viable.

At risk of being accused of more boviation.... I feel inclined to respond once again on this subject. (I don't feel like anybody should ever have to apologize for stating their opinion, unless it violates the site's rules)
Even though the JC buildings are gone and are never coming back, there are still lessons to be learned from the events. NO ONE was willing to redevelop the JC buildings because they didn't get a chance. The Mckesson Robbins building (GreenHouse) is an exception and was completed in 1989. The buildings would have been redeveloped over the next 5-25 years as the occupying businesses naturally moved out to other sites better served by trucking rather than railroad and into facilities designed for newer warehouse racking technology. The contaminated soil from the Gould Battery plant, which started operating in 1940 east of 8th street, was east of the Jobbers buildings. (Asarco was operating north of Douglas St. since the late 1800s) Potential development of the Jobbers buildings would not be affected by contaminated soil east of the area and would've happened gradually as an extension of the Old Market. The soil had to be removed for the park and ConAgra's buildings because they were to occupy the former battery plant site. JC was demolished more to realize Harper's aesthetic vision for what his company's HQ should look like than any other reason. That vision didn't include JC, even after attempts were made to convince him otherwise. We could have had JC, ConAgra, and the park, had he been swayed.

After all of this, for the sake of those who work there more than anything else, I hope we don't lose their ConAgra jobs. But in the future, I also hope we don't cave too easily to corporate demands, at any cost to make them stay.

[bigredmed]

Geturban, please don't misunderstand that I don't think you have a right to an opinion, but when any opinion gets to be the unchallenged one, it becomes part of the image of the city. There are people who rave about Seattle, yet much of it looks exactly like Omaha in the area of 20th and St Mary's. Not much to call to. Yet it is the "coolest". San Fran has been an economic |expletive| fest for a long time. We went there in 1999 and studio apts out on the edge of the burb ring were $2K/month. Yet, it is just recently that the image of San Fran as a bad place to live if you work for a living is taking hold because for all this time, the main opinion heard about SF was all about how cool and hip the place was.

We have a lot of people on this forum and elsewhere that seem to react negatively to all that is here. Anything can be a reason to |expletive| about. Yesterday was a day of fabulous weather. There are people on this board that would find some reason to talk it down.

If I was ConAgra, I would hold no connection to the city either. They got bitched at when they moved down town. The fact that they coughed up for the staggering amount of contaminated soil for their place as well as the Heartland Park that had to be removed (beyond any of the engineering estimates of the JC lead risk, by a lot) never seems to get factored into the discussion. The fact that this company made it possible for the OM to go from random potheads, "artists", and the French Cafe and V Mertz to what it has been over the last two decades through simple force of putting a few hundred middle and upper middle income workers in need of pleasant places for lunch right next door never gets considered.

We need to be cognizant that others outside of Omaha listen in and when we give negative images of the city, we have a hard time moving the needle forward.

[Erik]

Geturban, please don't misunderstand that I don't think you have a right to an opinion, but when any opinion gets to be the unchallenged one, it becomes part of the image of the city. There are people who rave about Seattle, yet much of it looks exactly like Omaha in the area of 20th and St Mary's. Not much to call to. Yet it is the "coolest". San Fran has been an economic |expletive| fest for a long time. We went there in 1999 and studio apts out on the edge of the burb ring were $2K/month. Yet, it is just recently that the image of San Fran as a bad place to live if you work for a living is taking hold because for all this time, the main opinion heard about SF was all about how cool and hip the place was.

We have a lot of people on this forum and elsewhere that seem to react negatively to all that is here. Anything can be a reason to |expletive| about. Yesterday was a day of fabulous weather. There are people on this board that would find some reason to talk it down.

If I was ConAgra, I would hold no connection to the city either. They got bitched at when they moved down town. The fact that they coughed up for the staggering amount of contaminated soil for their place as well as the Heartland Park that had to be removed (beyond any of the engineering estimates of the JC lead risk, by a lot) never seems to get factored into the discussion. The fact that this company made it possible for the OM to go from random potheads, "artists", and the French Cafe and V Mertz to what it has been over the last two decades through simple force of putting a few hundred middle and upper middle income workers in need of pleasant places for lunch right next door never gets considered.

We need to be cognizant that others outside of Omaha listen in and when we give negative images of the city, we have a hard time moving the needle forward.

I agree with this. That may surprise people here. However, people are so negative here (albeit in less strength and numbers on this board) that I basically gave up and joined the crowd.

[mr. omaha]

I agree with this. That may surprise people here. However, people are so negative here (albeit in less strength and numbers on this board) that I basically gave up and joined the crowd.

This is why I'm so negative:

[iamjacobm]

I think the campus v. canyon debate is almost impossible to have. It is really easy to see the potential that an area like Jobber's could have if it were still standing DT right now, but 2015 DTO is vastly different than 1990. What we can't go back and calculate though is the impact that an investment like ConAgra did for DTO. If they don't build there and Jobber's stands who is to say we are still on the trajectory that we are now? Do the vacant buildings and vagrants that inhabited them scare people away from The Old Market and slow its rise? If ConAgra never makes an investment in DT does the Landmark Center still get built? Does a building burn down like Butternut and we are stuck in a sticky no win situation? Looking forward a decade if development is slower is there the same support for a DT arena/convention center? Does UP look elsewhere b/c DTO is still struggling to find its way?

It is so hard to separate the events from 25 years ago and the domino effect it started. There is no telling what happens to the rest of downtown if we don't get ConAgra's investment 25 years ago.

[RNcyanide]

I had no idea UP had their corporate HQ in any other place than Omaha, and historically speaking, that move was recent too!!

[daveoma]

I think the campus v. canyon debate is almost impossible to have. It is really easy to see the potential that an area like Jobber's could have if it were still standing DT right now, but 2015 DTO is vastly different than 1990. What we can't go back and calculate though is the impact that an investment like ConAgra did for DTO. If they don't build there and Jobber's stands who is to say we are still on the trajectory that we are now? Do the vacant buildings and vagrants that inhabited them scare people away from The Old Market and slow its rise? If ConAgra never makes an investment in DT does the Landmark Center still get built? Does a building burn down like Butternut and we are stuck in a sticky no win situation? Looking forward a decade if development is slower is there the same support for a DT arena/convention center? Does UP look elsewhere b/c DTO is still struggling to find its way?

It is so hard to separate the events from 25 years ago and the domino effect it started. There is no telling what happens to the rest of downtown if we don't get ConAgra's investment 25 years ago.

I agree, the progressives won their urban renewal and the preservationists won two generations (and counting) of people extolling the value of redevelopment of existing historical buildings in eastern Omaha. Both sides lost and both won. Omaha is better now so let's keep preserving existing districts (Vinton street and south Omaha) and let's knock down shabby old buildings so beautiful new ones can take their place.

[Erik]

I had no idea UP had their corporate HQ in any other place than Omaha, and historically speaking, that move was recent too!!

Yeah. They started here and left for a short time. I waz very happy to take back what was taken. Still. We've never taken a company that started elsewhere and are 0fer in that regard.

[Erik]

I had no idea UP had their corporate HQ in any other place than Omaha, and historically speaking, that move was recent too!!

Yeah. They started here and left for a short time. I waz very happy to take back what was taken. Still. We've never taken a fortune 1000 or better company that started elsewhere and are 0fer in that regard.

[GetUrban]

Other than the area east of 10th, between Jackson and Farnam, I don't think I've said much if anything negative about what has been accomplished in Omaha... only what could not be accomplished because of what I thought were bad decisions and the loss of things I believe should have been saved. It's up to each individual to experience life for themselves to decide what they like about where they live. The development over the last 25-30 years has been phenomenal and something every Omahan should be proud of. There was momentum building to start revitalizing the JC buildings before ConAgra entered the picture. In the mid 1980s people noticed what was happening in the Old Market. Amongst the city planners, architects, artists and business people there were meetings and design charrettes to discuss how downtown could be revitalized, including 16th street and JC. I agree its impossible to know exactly where we'd be today if the events had gone differently. Sometimes paths diverge and sometimes they end up in the same place. It's fun to imagine though, and sometimes painful.

[Omababe]

So? Is there any real substance to this rumo(u)r?

[RNcyanide]

It's hard to say, for now. There are many guarded variables at play here. I have a gut feeling that they'll downsize, but they'll stay. It's based on absolutely nothing, but as far as gut feelings go...

[Guest36]

Hearing rumors of potentially a Great Wolf Lodge moving in, can anyone confirm?

[Linkin5]

Hearing rumors of potentially a Great Wolf Lodge moving in, can anyone confirm?

[iamjacobm]

Haha WOW.

[Erik]

Wouldnt this lot be big enough for a theme park as large as world's of fun?

[NovakOmaha]

I had no idea UP had their corporate HQ in any other place than Omaha, and historically speaking, that move was recent too!!

Yeah. They started here and left for a short time. I waz very happy to take back what was taken. Still. We've never taken a company that started elsewhere and are 0fer in that regard.

There was a time when it was in PA. The CEO lived there. I believe it was in the 80s. Small HQ but OPS never left.

[Garrett]

I had no idea UP had their corporate HQ in any other place than Omaha, and historically speaking, that move was recent too!!

Yeah. They started here and left for a short time. I waz very happy to take back what was taken. Still. We've never taken a company that started elsewhere and are 0fer in that regard.

There was a time when it was in PA. The CEO lived there. I believe it was in the 80s. Small HQ but OPS never left.

Wasn't it in St. Louis too at one point?

[daveoma]

Hearing rumors of potentially a Great Wolf Lodge moving in, can anyone confirm?

That's an ingenious idea if it comes to fruition. Can you imagine how busy those downtown hotels would be?

[jessep28]

Maybe it'll have an European village theme.

[RNcyanide]

Hearing rumors of potentially a Great Wolf Lodge moving in, can anyone confirm?

That's an ingenious idea if it comes to fruition. Can you imagine how busy those downtown hotels would be?

Terrible idea. No one wants to be here!

[Guest]

Another ConAgran here. I can confirm that layoffs are likely to exceed 1,000 based on similar layoffs at Sara Lee/Hillshire and based on current downsizing trends in the CPG industry. A quick search for Sara Lee or Hillshire and outsourcing can provide a ton of information on the "playbook". Both IT and Business Process Outsourcing are on the way. The resulting layoffs will certainly mean consolidation of facilities. While target headcounts have not yet been decided, there are targets for budget reductions.

I personally believe the HQ will move to Chicago, but many jobs will remain in Omaha. I would guess IT, RQI, some Sales and Finance functions would be among those staying. Meanwhile, marketing would presumably become more important, placing greater emphasis on the Chicago market, where brand/marketing functions are already stationed.

One thing I would caution. Many of these changes will likely be phased, and they will be subject to both company and market performance. If outsourcing suddenly doesn't work financially for Kraft/Heinz, ConAgra could always change its plans.

[Joe_Sovereign]

There is a ton of green space and surface lots on the ConAgra campus that could be sold. It would bring in a lot of revenue for Con Agra and be prime real estate for new projects. The City could restore Howard, Harney, and 9th streets in the Con Agra Front Lawn and open up two full City blocks in the Old Market for new development.

The current Con Agra surface lots and low rise parking lots could be consolidated into a taller parking structure with ground level retail and apartments on top. There is basically six full city blocks of surface parking and low rise (2 story) parking on the Con Agra Campus.

The City could make a deal with Con Agra to build two new City run multi-use parking structures that Con Agra employees can park at for free on the Con Agra land and restore the street grid as much as possible. Then Con Agra could sell 6 complete city blocks of land to developers and the city could put 6 full blocks of Downtown Omaha back on the tax rolls.

[guy4omaha]

I had no idea UP had their corporate HQ in any other place than Omaha, and historically speaking, that move was recent too!!

Yeah. They started here and left for a short time. I waz very happy to take back what was taken. Still. We've never taken a company that started elsewhere and are 0fer in that regard.

There was a time when it was in PA. The CEO lived there. I believe it was in the 80s. Small HQ but OPS never left.

Wasn't it in St. Louis too at one point?

Feel free to correct me if my memory isn't serving me correctly but here is my take,

UP, the railroad operating division, has always been headquartered in Omaha. Before UP acquired the Missouri Pacific Railroad, that railroad's headquarters had been in St. Louis. For a period of several years, the Union Pacific Holding Company had its headquarters in Bethlehem, PA with perhaps as many as a hundred employees but I think it was more like 25. That railroad itself, however, has always been headquartered in Omaha.

[Garrett]

From wikipedia:

The corporate headquarters of the Union Pacific Corporation were located in New York City from its initial founding in the 1860s until Drew Lewis became CEO in the mid-1980s. He relocated it to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Later the headquarters was shifted to Dallas, Texas, before relocating to Omaha to join the operating headquarters.

[Brad]

Feel free to correct me if my memory isn't serving me correctly but here is my take,

UP, the railroad operating division, has always been headquartered in Omaha. Before UP acquired the Missouri Pacific Railroad, that railroad's headquarters had been in St. Louis. For a period of several years, the Union Pacific Holding Company had its headquarters in Bethlehem, PA with perhaps as many as a hundred employees but I think it was more like 25. That railroad itself, however, has always been headquartered in Omaha.

I have heard some of that before. I know as recently as 10 years ago, the UP still had offices in St Louis. Knew some people that were transferred to Omaha back then and they were not happy when UP finally closed up that office.

Not sure, but I thought they had some sort of corporate office in St Lake City still to this day?

[RNcyanide]

Google says there is.

[bmt]

I have always liked this former Union Pacific depot in SLC.