General Electric plans to leave building at The Banks, move workers to Evendale - WLWT Cincinnati

General Electric plans to leave building at The Banks, move workers to Evendale

In bidding the Banks goodbye, General Electric is leaving the lights on.

GE said Thursday that it intends to fully lease all vacant space, but its own numbers no longer fit the footprint.

"GE is now three companies. When they made this decision, it was one," Development Strategies consultant Doug Moorman said.

He has watched GE employment numbers at the Banks dwindle from more than 1,400 to about 250.

"You know, it's undeniable that we continue to see the impact of a pandemic," Moorman said. "And it's still a struggle to get people back to work, get people back full time. You know, we have people back some days, not all days, and that's affecting what businesses do."

The city has roughly 60% of its pre-Covid workforce. That's lower than the national average.

"I think this prompts a larger discussion about how is the city going to continue its growth in income tax collections, its economic growth if we don't get those workers to come back downtown," University of Cincinnati Economics Professor Michael Jones said.

Three tenants in the GE building, Mass Mutual, First Transportation and Staffmark, are leasing four floors of office space.

GE started subleasing to other tenants last year. The company expressed confidence it could lease the rest.

Asked about the market outlook, Professor Jones said, "They're looking for that prime amenity-feature real estate that that office building certainly features. So, I don't see any real significant issues with filling that particular location."

We're told the impact on bars and restaurants between the ballpark and the stadium will be negligible.

Although businessman Jim Moehring appreciates the iconic cachet GE has, there was no consistent cash register ring.

"Purely from the Holy Grail standpoint, we see it as an opportunity now to fill it in with folks who are going to work in the offices instead of working remotely," Moehring said.

In a statement Thursday, GE expressed pride in its role as a catalyst for development at The Banks these past seven years, adding, "We are committed to working proactively to secure additional new tenants who will continue to bring vitality to the heart of our headquarters region.

The city issued a statement late Thursday indicating it had been in contact with GE as it pondered the decision.

"GE staying in Ohio is a net positive and results in job retention for our region.

"GE acknowledges its considerable, outstanding financial commitment to the City of Cincinnati and is in talks with City leaders to further define that commitment moving forward. The City of Cincinnati remains dedicated to supporting the vibrancy of the Banks neighborhood, a large part of which is ensuring the economic anchors of our urban fabric remain active and bustling. We are excited about the potential for a full, dynamic quilt of businesses occupying the building and contributing to an even more active Banks."

To get GE to choose Ohio over Texas or any other state took a huge tax abatement seven years ago.

All of the incentives tied to the building's development were multi-year, performance-based packages and that GE only received incentives where it met the relevant requirements.