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Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

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Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#111

Post by bradleyjg »

nsx147 wrote: post #10

Ask for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area to build better transportation, and that's the pick

That's a multi-decade project. They should get started now and will be competitive for whatever the Amazon of 2040 is.

The first step is a backbone rail line that starts in Chapel Hill, runs up to Duke, then through Durham to RTP, to the Airport, and from there to and through Raleigh. Then add spurs and spokes to cover the region and funnel people to the backbone.

Good luck getting the legislature to authorize, much less fund that.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#114

Post by joekrill »

phkahler wrote: post #57
jasode wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is that Amazon isn't _seriously_ considering all 20 cities equally. Instead, they privately already have 2 or 3 particular cities in mind and the other 18 cities are just there for negotiating leverage for the 2 they really want. The problem is that the cities themselves don't know if they're "really in contention" or just "disposable chess pieces". Again, that's just my guess.

Yeah, there's funny concentration of options right by - and including - Washington D.C.

That's just because the DC area is so spread out. You don't really have to be in DC "proper" to get the benefits of the area. Which I think is different than a lot of other major metro areas. You see the same thing with New York paired with Newark.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#115

Post by arcanus »

larrydag wrote: post #97
chollida1 wrote: post #3

Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…

I'm in Dallas. - Currently has a large Amazon distribution center in the suburbs - Strong tech workforce and universities in the area. Other Tech companies in the area Dell(formerly EDS), ATT. Regional centers of Verizon, IBM, Microsoft, Alcatel/Lucent - Low property values and favorable tax structures. Plenty of areas to lease locations or to build in the suburbs or downtown. - International airport that is the hub…

> Google HQ2 is rumored to be looking at Dallas.

Do you mean Apple?

Dallas should be a very credible option, even if it might be #2 in Texas, behind Austin.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#117

Post by ghaff »

maxerickson wrote: post #41
wafflesraccoon wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume Detroit has a lot of the same problems that St Louis has, they are both great little cities with an up and coming tech industry but hiring skilled talent and conniving them to move to the area is a nightmare.

Oakland county to the north of Detroit and Washtenaw county to the west of Detroit are two of the wealthiest, most highly educated counties in the country. And the cities surrounding Detroit have a lot less problems than the city itself.

I think the parent's point still probably stands. Wherever they end up, assuming there really is a 50K HQ2 in the end, they have to convince a lot of people to relocate. And a lot of people would be: 1.) Detroit, no thanks or 2.) I can live with Detroit but when I end up leaving Amazon after 2 years like so many people do, I'd have to find a job in a different location. I imagine the talent question at least factored in--schools in the general area notwithstanding.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#118

Post by Steltek »

freehunter wrote: post #13
rb808 wrote: post #4

Its basically most of the major metro areas in North America >500 miles away from Seattle. Doesn't seem to be cutting it down much.

I agree it's a massive list to have said they've whittled it down much, but I can see some misses. St Louis isn't there, Detroit isn't there, Tampa and Orlando aren't there, Milwaukee isn't there, Phoenix isn't there, Houston isn't there, Minneapolis isn't there, Baltimore isn't there. They put out far too big of a list of candidates, but they have apparently ruled out just as many major metro areas.

> Houston isn't there,

I had that somber realization too. Houston has more problems on its mind than bankrolling Amazon's real estate deals.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#119

Post by bradleyjg »

melling wrote: post #102
mholmes680 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Newark set the bar on the financial discounts: $7B [1] so far, but we just changed Governors, so we'll see. I think it meets all the other requirements you mentioned, but I think we got knocked on Infrastructure on some list a month or two ago. [1] http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2017/12/10_reasons_for_ama...

Maybe they can finish the PATH connection to the airport. 2.4 miles: http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2017/12/a_timeline_chartin...

You can already get from Newark Penn to the airport using NJ Transit. It isn't a terrible idea to bring the PATH there so there's a single seat ride from places that PATH services but NJ transit doesn't, but that doesn't apply to Newark.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#120

Post by matt4077 »

rcchen wrote: post #5

Oof unfortunate that Detroit missed the cut, wonder why that happened; they seemed reasonably competitive from an outsider's perspective.

That is sad, indeed. Amazon has the scale where they could have essentially created the social infrastructure they want.
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