Golden Living may move execs to Dallas

Submitted by The City Wire Staff on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 10:01pm

Golden Living is expected to publicly announce Thursday (Mar. 10) that the company will locate its corporate headquarters operation in Plano, Texas, but keep 500 —possibly more — employees at the company’s large office building in Fort Smith.

The move will effectively end an almost 21-year history of the nursing home company being based in Fort Smith.

The healthcare services company, which has more than 40,000 employees and provides nursing, rehab, hospice and other senior-care services, is owned by San Francisco-based Fillmore Capital Partners.

According to several sources, many employees were told Wednesday (Mar. 9) of a reorganization plan that will place the company’s senior management team and support staff — between 150-200 jobs — in Plano (near Dallas). The move will leave about 500 workers at the 5-story, 318,000-square foot office complex in Fort Smith to function as administrative support for the company.

Why the change?

The sources told The City Wire they are unsure how Golden Living will explain the move, but their separate remarks found three common answers.
• Inability to recruit top talent to Fort Smith
Most of the top execs do not now live in the Fort Smith area because they would only agree to work for the company if they could live and work elsewhere. The consensus among the sources is that Plano (Dallas) was acceptable as a location to bring the top execs and support staff together.

• Airport access
Flying out of Dallas-Fort Worth provides Golden Living more convenient access to its facilities nationwide.
“Out of DFW, we can take a direct flight to almost any city. In Fort Smith, you go to Dallas or Memphis and then go to where you’re traveling. That’s a time killer for us,” one source noted.

• Position to sell
Equity firms like Fillmore typically don’t buy companies to keep them — they are bought, improved and then, ideally, sold for a handsome profit.
“Fort Smith has advantages ... but there are many reasons why a company with a national footprint is more attractive if it’s being sold out of a Dallas compared to a Fort Smith,” said a source.

Paul Harvel, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he will let Golden Living speak to details of any changes, but does not believe consolidating the executive management in Dallas will result in “a large migration out of Fort Smith.” He also does not see it as hurting the Fort Smith region’s prestige.

“From a corporate standpoint and from a jobs standpoint, I don’t think we will be hurt in those areas,” Harvel said Wednesday night. “I think a few weeks down the road and you might see some positives with this.”

However, a source close to the changes expressed concern it could be the beginning of the end.

“In terms of the future planning of the company, this is taking the power out of Fort Smith,” the source said.

The Fort Smith building, completed in the late 1990s as the new corporate headquarters for Beverly Enterprises, sits on a 60-acre campus. Beverly Enterprises moved in May 1990 its corporate headquarters from Pasadena, Calif., to Fort Smith. The first building Beverly occupied in Fort Smith was part of the strip mall in the rear of Central Mall.

In 2005-2006, Fillmore Capital purchased Beverly as a friendly bidder in what began as a hostile takeover play by Alpharetta, Ga.-based Formation Capital. The deal was valued at $2.2 billion, with about $1.8 billion going to shareholders.

On July 1, 2009, the company announced it had sold all of its nursing homes in Arkansas.

Beverly Enterprises moved in May 1990 its corporate headquarters from Pasadena, Calif., to Fort Smith. The first building Beverly occupied in Fort Smith was part of the strip mall in the rear of Central Mall.

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Comments

Inability to recruit top talent

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 10:59pm.

I work for a company with a similar arrangement. The administrative and support staff work in Duluth, Minnesota, a city about the size of Fort Smith, while the execs and corporate officers work out of a small office in Minneapolis. There are some differences: my company is privately owned and the founding owner is committed to keeping jobs in Duluth, and officially Duluth is still considered the corporate headquarters. I'd make an argument about this being a prime example of the importance of "quality of place" but I don't know if in this specific example it would really make a difference. After working the last six years in the supplier community in Bentonville, I've heard every complaint imaginable from transplanted managers on up the ladder about having to spend a couple years "trapped" in Arkansas. If given a choice, many outside professionals and certainly most executives simply don't want to leave their "major league" cities for "the sticks". What this does illustrate is we must do more to create and grow local companies.

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Part of the Puzzle

Submitted by The Observer on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 10:23am.

We will never be Dallas. For that I am grateful. One commenter laments that we are putting all our eggs in the tourism basket. This is not true. The economic recruitment battle is being waged on all fronts. It is a new day and the "get the plant to move here to escape unions and high property taxes" paradigm are over. China is more attractive. Heritage tourism (our history) is big business. We already have a National Historic Site and the coming US Marshals Museum will add to this. The Fort Smith Convention Center along with the Arkansas Best Performing Arts Center are vital in this promotion to attract mid-size conventions and entertainment. The fact that we have an operating electric trolley and the river front parks are also a part of the attraction. It is a part of the puzzle that when pieced together will form the new Fort Smith. Transportation infastructure is also a piece of the puzzle. The development of improved transportation using rail, highway and the river will make business much more attractive. We need a reason people will locate their business here. The work of Mat Pitsch and that group to develop this infastructure is one of the most important initiatives presently going on. The riverfront is a tremendous asset that we have not developed anytime in the existence of our fair city. It is time that that gets done. It will take a lot of interest and public and private investment to make it happen. For any of this to happen it will take hard work. For this we need a vision. For this we need leadership. I am encouraged by the new board and mayor. We will never be Dallas but we can be Fort Smith. A forward thinking, progressive city with a sense of pride and place. Do we have the courage and fortitude? Time will tell.

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Time will tell?

Submitted by Honest Abener on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 2:34pm.

Looking at the demographics of voters,most of us don't have much time left and those who do have been leaving for years. The trolley is quaint and an active "piece" of history rather then a static relic. Still the amount of money for expansion of the trolley tracks could be better spent on,among other things, more "trolley buses" to transport more residents as well as tourists around downtown,between hotels,motels and the Convention Center. Make those vehicles less polluting while we are at it and advertise it as such to show 21st Century progress(hybrid, natural gas or electric power rather than dirty diesel) engendered in an historic theme. I have been behind the cute trolley bus when it accelerates. The exhaust is historically smokey like the "sooty good old days". Let's advance, at least give it an injector tune up and lighten the driver's lead foot. C'mon people pay attention to details with a simple fix, then take credit for the thoughtfulness. Tourist and residents alike will enjoy clean fun and clean air.

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The cute trolley bus you mention

Submitted by Bradley Martin on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 3:16pm.

The cute trolley bus you mention is nothing more than a dressed up diesel bus. No manufacturer makes the vehicle you say the city should buy. The historic trolley Track expansion will greatly benefit downtown by moving people from the convention center and hotel area to the west end and museum district. It might also be pointed out the bus cost tax $s to buy, operate and maintain. The historic trolley operated by the Fort Smith Trolley Museum is a 501c3 not for profit volunteer organization with volunteer operators that does not run on tax Dollars or pollute the air.. As a side note many folks come from all over the word to ride the historic trolley and to date I haven't heard of anybody going anywhere with a goal to ride a cute rubber tired trolley bus.

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here comes the trolley

Submitted by happy times on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 3:42pm.

the trolley is a great addition to our downtown and thank you for your effort to make downtown special with your volunteer organization. great job!

Sign of larger issues

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 8:19am.

The move may not "hurt from a corporate and jobs standpoint" Mr. Harvel, but it's a sign of larger issues. Strategically, Fort Smith has disadvantaged itself of growth by making sure certain "measures" are put in place. By focusing the growth of Fort Smith solely on a convention center and "old west tourism". While those things can co-exist with progress, basing the entire existence of the Fort Smith Region on that is nonsense. This area has been here for what, almost 200 years in some way or another? You're telling me that in 200 years we have been unable and/or unwilling to develop any riverfront area at any point in the city? We have two areas (Garrison and I-540 riverfront entry points) that could be fully developed into bustling commercial and corporate zones along with incorporating apartments and condo's as well. And I'm not talking about red brick, white trim, 40 ft limitation-type developments either. The problem is the area is too full of and being run by traditionalists while generation's X and Y are becoming leaders and executives and passing up Fort Smith left and right. It's going to take some innovation and initiative to keep Fort Smith from becoming a ghost town. Traditionally these are two of the weakest qualities and traits in the entire Fort Smith region.

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"Sign" is right

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 10:54am.

I agree completely with "Sign of larger issues." This person has hit the nail on the head. Even downtown Fayetteville/Dickson St. went through a revitalization and the city is now attracting people and businesses from all over the country - not chasing them away. - Gen X-er who has moved from FS to Fay

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“Traditionalist”

Submitted by kdmoran on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 10:28am.

I strongly disagree with the “Traditionalist” viewpoint. In addition to the incredible growth at Chaffee Crossing, we have Sykes moving into the Phoenix Expo Center and HMA purchasing Sparks Health System in 2009. None of this growth would have occurred without these companies believing that gen Xer’s and Y’s would be in supply to fill high skill/high wage jobs. A lot of this growth has happened during the worst depression since the 1930’s. Yes, we have lost jobs and our regional economy has contracted however, the River Valley Region is in a much better position to grow and take advantage of emerging opportunities than other place in the United States and around the world. I believe we are leveraging our assets in a responsible manner and we have many talented people marketing our region everyday. From my perspective, we are doing much more than selling a convention and center and building a museum. In the memory of former Mayor Baker, “Life is worth living in Fort Smith”. I believe to see this happening each day you cannot stand on the sidelines! Kevin Douglas Moran

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Half-Agree

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:14pm.

Kevin, I half-agree with you. I think there has been a much better attempt, recently, to grow the area. I believe great strides have been made. However, we have still lacked at moving in the same innovative direction as other areas, whether you compare that to Dallas or NWA. However, there are still barriers between generations causing conflict of vision and leading to a stalemate. Take us for example. I believe we're similar in thinking but we still can't agree on whether or not we're (Fort Smith) moving in the right direction. Given we've had one conversation in typing on here but you have one vision of what we could be (and where we're heading) and I have another. Chances are my vision and boundaries of expectancy of growth to accomodate incoming professionals are a little more loose than yours. Is that a bad thing? Not neccesarily, it's just an indication of separate generations conflicting. I'm a Gen XY'er (in that "void" of what is or is not classified as gen x or y) and, from my research on you, you're early X or in the Baby Boomer era (or in the transition). I think that's a good example of the existence of the disconnect.

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