Opening of ICMA-RC office in Richmond expected to bring more than 200 jobs

International City Management Association – Retirement Corp. (ICMA-RC), a Washington D.C.-based  financial services firm, is expanding to Richmond.

According to the Greater Richmond Partnership and the city of Richmond, the company plans to hire about 100 employees initially and bring more than 100 employees from its D.C headquarters when it moves to Riverfront Plaza in the city’s Central Business District.

While searching for a second location, ICMA-RC narrowed the list of prospective cities to seven, including Dallas and Atlanta. Bob Schultze, president and CEO of ICMA-RC said in a statement, “After reviewing the results of our extensive search, it became clear that the city of Richmond met our needs of a low-cost, high-quality business environment, as well as a location close enough for our home office to continue a productive work flow. The synergy between our Washington, D.C., headquarters and Richmond made the most sense for our operational needs.” 

Barry Matherly, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, said, “With plans to add anywhere from 200-250 net new employees … and make more than $10 million in capital investment, ICMA-RC’s entry to the market is another excellent return on the economic development investment of the region.”

Founded in 1972 through the assistance of a Ford Foundation grant, ICMA-RC’s mission is to help public sector employees build retirement security. Today, the nonprofit serves more than a million participant accounts and about 9,000 plans across the country.

The 25,000-square-foot ICMA-RC lease in the West Tower is among several recent transactions for the downtown office building. CBRE-Richmond reports that it has seen more than 85,000 square feet in new transactions for the 20-story office tower with two towers at 901-951 East Byrd Street. Other new tenants are Vinson & Elkins LLP, a Houston-based law firm that’s opening its first office in Richmond, along with the Virginia Sheriff’s Association, Vandeventer Black LLP and AvePoint, Inc. 

Trib Sutton, Matt Anderson, and David Wilkins of CBRE-Richmond represented the landlord, Hertz Investment Group, in the transactions.