Business

Charlotte loses out on another major corporate expansion, report says

By Katherine Peralta

May 01, 2018 05:56 PM

AllianceBernstein, the New York investment firm, had considered Charlotte for its new headquarters, which would have added over 1,000 jobs over four years here that paid an average salary of $105,000 a year, according to emails obtained by the Observer.
AllianceBernstein, the New York investment firm, had considered Charlotte for its new headquarters, which would have added over 1,000 jobs over four years here that paid an average salary of $105,000 a year, according to emails obtained by the Observer. TODD SUMLIN Observer Archive Photo
AllianceBernstein, the New York investment firm, had considered Charlotte for its new headquarters, which would have added over 1,000 jobs over four years here that paid an average salary of $105,000 a year, according to emails obtained by the Observer. TODD SUMLIN Observer Archive Photo

Charlotte has missed out on another business' major expansion.

The New York investment firm AllianceBernstein, which had considered Charlotte for a massive new office, has instead selected Nashville, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a memo sent to employees Tuesday.

The firm referenced the lower state, city and property taxes in Nashville compared with the New York metro area as some of the reasons it is relocating its headquarters, the Journal reported.

AllianceBernstein, which is looking to cut costs, will start moving employees to Nashville this year. Its money managers and private client business will remain in New York, while most other functions and top executives will relocate to Nashville, according to the Journal.

The number of jobs heading to Nashville wasn't clear, but AllianceBernstein could fit over 1,000 employees in the amount of office space the firm was said to be looking for, the Nashville Business Journal reported recently.

Along with Charlotte, AllianceBernstein had considered San Antonio, Texas, where the firm already has an office.

Charlotte, a financial services hub that's home to Bank of America and Wells Fargo's largest employee base, was on AllianceBernstein's short list because its parent company, the insurer AXA, has been growing its footprint here, the Wall Street Journal first reported last October. Last August, AXA announced plans to spend $18 million to hire 550 new workers in Charlotte over the next five years.

In AllianceBernstein's first-quarter earnings call last week, Chief Financial Officer John Weisenseel said the company should "be able to make an announcement soon" regarding the new office location.

Representatives from AllianceBernstein, the city, the Charlotte Regional Partnership and the Charlotte Chamber could not immediately be reached for comment.

AllianceBernstein is the latest corporate expansion Charlotte has missed out on.

Earlier this year, Amazon didn't include Charlotte on its narrowed-down list of 20 cities as it searches for a second headquarters, for instance. In 2016, over opposition to the controversial House Bill 2, Washington, D.C-based real estate research firm Costar chose Richmond, Va., over Charlotte for a large new office despite the fact that North Carolina offered more in incentives.

Also over opposition to HB2, Paypal canceled its plans for an expansion in Charlotte in 2016. Neither Charlotte nor Raleigh landed a Major League Soccer expansion team last year, either.

North Carolina repealed HB2 in 2017 but left intact some of its provisions. But with Charlotte’s reputation tainted, the city is still paying to market itself to visitors.

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Katherine Peralta: 704-358-5079, @katieperalta


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