When we discovered the 10-year lease we inherited three years ago was actually ending this year instead of next year we were faced with a consideration many of you have also faced – to move or to stay.
Staying is certainly the least costly and least disruptive decision in the short run. As long as the facility is meeting the needs of the organization and acquiring a place is still a part of the business plan yet to be realized – why not?
Then the other-than-financial considerations begin to surface. Is this location where our customers are, where they expect to find us, where we want them to find us?
We’ve all heard the real estate riddle: What are the three most important factors of a sale? Location, location, location. While a strong business plan, quality product and focused mission are essential to business success – having a location that reinforces these pieces can make a difference.
So, our decision was to find a location that would better fit with who and what the Vancouver Business Journal has become in the last three years. Our staff works diligently to create a source of news that is relevant and timely to business activities in Southwest Washington. Now it’s time for us to have a home befitting the product we create.
In 1825, Fort Vancouver became the administrative headquarters and supply depot for the Hudson’s Bay Company west of the Rocky Mountains. The influence of the HBC provided a focus for commerce and growth that has continued almost unabated for the past 182 years. While activity has waxed and waned during that period, it is safe to say Northwest commerce – let alone here in Clark County and Southwest Washington – got its start at Fort Vancouver.
It is with a strong sense of historical foundation that we are announcing our move to Officers Row at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Reserve. We can think of no more fitting location than the birthplace of commerce in the region to continue our role in documenting the activities of the businesses that continue that tradition.
We take great pride in the number of local businesses whose customers are a part of the global market. From the Port of Vancouver, who tends to ships from all over the world, to Nautilus and Columbia Machine to hundreds of other small businesses – they all are engaged in what the Hudson’s Bay Company began with their global efforts from this region nearly two centuries ago.
We’ll soon have a housewarming, but welcome any visitors and friends, starting today, at 1251 Officers Row – immediately to the west of the Marshall House. Stop by any time – it’s business, as usual.
