PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[summersm343]

All anybody has to do is show Amazon the Schuylkill Yards marketing video/film. Great video!

http://www.schuylkillyards.com/

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by summersm343

All anybody has to do is show Amazon the Schuylkill Yards marketing video/film. Great video!

http://www.schuylkillyards.com/

Honestly, if I was a potential tenant, that video would sell it to me in a heartbeat. Hopefully Bezos will watch it.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Honestly, if I was a potential tenant, that video would sell it to me in a heartbeat. Hopefully Bezos will watch it.

They should show them the Schuylkill Yards marketing video, and the 30th Street District Marketing video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpEInvJ56GE

Literally EVERYTHING they're looking for and more wrapped up into two videos.

[iheartphilly]

Can you all imagine what 50k new people from Amazon will do for University City and the surrounding areas? I sure hope that our leaders can sell this once in a lifetime partnership with Amazon (one of the most valuable market cap companies in the world).

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Londonee

It's an interesting question.

Also, doesn't Drexel own the land outright and is partnering with BRT for development? Imagine what this could mean for Drexel's bottom line?

Just a couple of days ago, distant history it seems, Brandywine purchased a building at 30th. & Market St. that is part of the plan for SY's. Who knows what legal name will be on the deed, or what arrangements have been made.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by City Wide

Just a couple of days ago, distant history it seems, Brandywine purchased a building at 30th. & Market St. that is part of the plan for SY's. Who knows what legal name will be on the deed, or what arrangements have been made.

I have a really good feeling about this.

I really do.

I feel like we're such a natural top contender. The next city is not even close, especially if you compare assets with cost of living.

It's probably getting more difficult for them to attract talent to Seattle because of cost of living. The average home price is all of a sudden close to $600K. That's where we have the other East Coast majors beat.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by skyscraper

I am not sure that 30th street district is contingent on SY being completed, but I will defer.
So if Amazon takes the bulk of Schuylkill Yards, will Vanguard join the party and take the bulk of 30th Street District? Just a thought.

My understanding is that 30th Street is contingent on the cost of land going sky high in the area, which would be largely due to high density from SY and, to a lesser degree, uCity Square. Basically the more valuable the land around 30th Street becomes, the sooner you can start building up the 30th Street plan. Amazon in SY would definitely push that along.

[pwp]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

I have a really good feeling about this.

I really do.

I feel like we're such a natural top contender. The next city is not even close, even if you compare assets with cost of living.

It's probably getting more difficult for them to attract talent to Seattle because of cost of living. The average home price is all of a sudden close to $600K. That's where we have the other East Coast majors beat.

I'd really, really, really love to agree with you. Don't think we have the industry infrastructure to attract a major corporate HQ. Yes, Comcast is here, but who else? This is dated, but check out this list of Fortune 500 locations...

Even freakin' Jacksonville has more than Philly! Yes, talent pools, tax incentives, transit connectivity, geography, etc. are all important factors... but the presence of other large corporations will be important too.

I hope I'm wrong.

[summersm343]

All we have to do is show Amazon the marketing videos for Schuylkill Yards:
Schuylkill Yards - Where Ideas Converge

And the 30th Street Station District:
• Video Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpEInvJ56GE

...literally EVERYTHING they're looking for and more, wrapped up into two videos.

Space could easily be shifted around in Schuylkill Yards. It's a 7 million square foot development, with currently only 3 million in office space. Could shift 1 million of residential to office space, and boom, there is 4 million square feet of office space which could be built in a few years...

Amazon wants a build out of 8 million square feet in 9 years. We could build 4 million in 4 years.

We could also take the Cira II site, and build a one million square foot tower. That's 5 million in 5 years.

Lastly, 5 years would be plenty of time to get everything together for the first Phase or 2 of the 30th Street Station plan. 5 years is more than enough time to get that together, cap the yards, and allow for 3 million more square feet of office space to be built out over the final 4 years to meet their 9 year deadline.

This could EASILY be done in 9 years. Amazon doesn't want suburban, they want URBAN. The RFP says urban/downtown location. With their recent urban/downtown campus built in Seattle, you can bet they're looking to do something like that. They're also looking for walkability, bike lanes, public transit access, highway access, airport access... they're looking for connectivity. They're looking for a city. They're looking for a Downtown.

Really, is there anywhere better suited in the country right now for what they're looking for than Schuylkill Yards and 30th Street District here in Philadelphia? I really don't think there us.

It's time for Philadelphia to step the f**k up and show what it's got. It's time for us to play with the big dogs. We may not get this opportunity again.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by pwp

I'd really, really, really love to agree with you. Don't think we have the industry infrastructure to attract a major corporate HQ. Yes, Comcast is here, but who else? This is dated, but check out this list of Fortune 500 locations...

Even freakin' Jacksonville has more than Philly! Yes, talent pools, tax incentives, geography, etc. are all important factors... but the presence of other large corporations will be important too.

You're looking at city limits only, which is pretty pointless in today's day and age. You have to look at it from a metropolitan area viewpoint - a whole region as one.

There is nothing in the real world separating Philadelphia from Bala Cynwyd, from Conshohocken, from King of Prussia, from Malvern, from Radnor. They all work together in symbiosis as one Region.

When you look at it as a region, very few others in the US surpass Philadelphia in number of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies. Philadelphia is also at the top of the list for # of large Privately held companies. Philadelphia is also at the top of the list for top universities, and top hospitals.

All that matters is when Amazon comes to visit Philadelphia, they're going to see 30th Street Station, bike lanes, the Schuylkill River trail, 3 modern gleaming shard skyscrapers, one with an FMC logo plastered on the top. They're going to see tower cranes, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, the University City Science Center, the Penn Medicine and CHOP Medical center. They're going to see Aramarks logo across the river. They're going to see our expanding skyline, and two, shining, Comcast skyscrapers.

Who cares what we have now? We have what it takes, and more, to land Amazon HQ2.

[pwp]

Originally Posted by summersm343

All that matters is when Amazon comes to visit Philadelphia, they're going to see 30th Street Station, bike lanes, the Schuylkill River trail, 3 modern gleaming shard skyscrapers, one with an FMC logo plastered on the top. They're going to see tower cranes, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, the University City Science Center, the Penn Medicine and CHOP Medical center. They're going to see Aramarks logo across the river. They're going to see our expanding skyline, and two, shining, Comcast skyscrapers.

Yeah, it'd be great if it were that cut and dry. Re: the regional perspective, that goes without saying. If you look through the list of corporate HQ's, you'll notice many other metros with organizations located outside of the city limits too.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by pwp

Yeah, it'd be great if it were that cut and dry. Re: the regional perspective, that goes without saying. If you look through the list of corporate HQ's, you'll notice many other metros with organizations located outside of the city limits too.

Philadelphia is top 10 for both Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 in the US, easily.

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by JohnIII

Much is being made about the potential Amazon Deal so I'll weigh in.

I'm cautiously optimistic; I won't act like Philadelphia is a shoe in but this is what I see. Philadelphia has over 1.5 million people in the city; between 7 to 9 million Metropolitan wise depending on what counties you included and the more people included means we have a large talent pool. We are cosmopolitan then most cities in the nation and we are also historic; its the one of the few cities where American culture and modern cosmopolitan feel can be experienced. This isn't a city to city discussion but when we look at the assets we have here lets be honest; we have many assets.

However what I see about this Amazon Deal is also this; Philadelphia is an East Coast hub; we have all these assets for a corporation to build an at a very good low price compare to most cities; per square foot you can really dream big where in other cities it will cost a good deal more. Plus we are a gateway to Europe. If a company wants to expend a global market; Philadelphia offers a good deal. So Philadelphia gives global range; at a cheaper price and an amazing cost of living for workers; for Amazon Philadelphia can be a win/win.

For Philadelphia my thoughts don't count for much outside official policy but if Amazon came and Schuylkill Yards is built out ahead of expectation there are other benefits to this; how much buzz would Philadelphia get from an Amazon move? Quite a bit! It would be good for tourism; it would be good for the construction industry obviously; but it would also say to the world that if you are an international company who wants to be on the East Coast of the United States; Philadelphia is the place you want to be; you get bang for your buck. If Amazon comes; then I guess the focus shifts to building over the Rail Yard; and there are other projects like Delaware Valley 2040/2045 that need to get done. If Amazon comes it would be great for them; the city; and the entire region.

I'm not just looking at Amazon; I'm looking at the benefits; what Indian companies want to go global; what Chinese companies want an American Headquarters to?

People, friends; we mostly love Philadelphia; but what more can we do to help this deal get done? Views are good and we all have them but now I wonder; what more can we do; for I prefer work and action.

Well stated; great measured analysis on the positive ripple effects of Amazon choosing Philly.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by summersm343

You're looking at city limits only, which is pretty pointless in today's day and age. You have to look at it from a metropolitan area viewpoint - a whole region as one.

There is nothing in the real world separating Philadelphia from Bala Cynwyd, from Conshohocken, from King of Prussia, from Malvern, from Radnor. They all work together in symbiosis as one Region.

When you look at it as a region, very few others in the US surpass Philadelphia in number of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies. Philadelphia is also at the top of the list for # of large Privately held companies. Philadelphia is also at the top of the list for top universities, and top hospitals.

All that matters is when Amazon comes to visit Philadelphia, they're going to see 30th Street Station, bike lanes, the Schuylkill River trail, 3 modern gleaming shard skyscrapers, one with an FMC logo plastered on the top. They're going to see tower cranes, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, the University City Science Center, the Penn Medicine and CHOP Medical center. They're going to see Aramarks logo across the river. They're going to see our expanding skyline, and two, shining, Comcast skyscrapers.

Who cares what we have now? We have what it takes, and more, to land Amazon HQ2.

And Swarthmore. And Haverford. And Villanova. And Bryn Mawr. And University of Delaware. And Princeton.

All of these schools are within an hour of Philadelphia and would provide significant access to additional talent. Perhaps with the exception of Boston, Philadelphia is unrivaled in university talent. My gut tells me that Boston is too disconnected from the rest of the East Coast to be the top contender.

[iheartphilly]

Re: Amazon HQ2. Boom! Well said.

http://www.phillymag.com/business/2017/0...philadelphia-reasons-business-community/

[iheartphilly]

Re: Amazon HQ2. Boom! Well said.

http://www.phillymag.com/business/2017/0...philadelphia-reasons-business-community/

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by pwp

Yeah, it'd be great if it were that cut and dry. Re: the regional perspective, that goes without saying.

I'm confused, how does it go without saying? You just used Jacksonville - a city that's 875square miles (read that again) as an example of why Philly may not be qualified to land an HQ?

If Philly incorporated it's surrounding areas like Houston, Dallas, Jacksonvile, etc. - and swelled to 600+ square miles, the we too would have plenty of national (SAP) and global HQs (Vanguard).

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Londonee

I'm confused, how does it go without saying? You just used Jacksonville - a city that's 875square miles (read that again) as an example of why Philly may not be qualified to land an HQ?

If Philly incorporated it's surrounding areas like Houston, Dallas, Jacksonvile, etc. - and swelled to 600+ square miles, the we too would have plenty of national (SAP) and global HQs (Vanguard).

Very good point. In addition, due to its small size, Philly is a lot more dense than cities like Jacksonville, Dallas, or Houston, which gives it a unique urban feel.

[JohnIII]

Originally Posted by jjv007

Well stated; great measured analysis on the positive ripple effects of Amazon choosing Philly.

Oh wow, thanks!

I love this city; and I think we all do.

So often here in America we feel like cities are young should be the most dynamic; and even though this is not a city to city discussion the truth is that most countries in the world do not work on this premise; older cities tend to attract the most dynamism. Paris and London are about 2000 years old; Mumbai is a bit older then that; and Beijing is over 3000 years old. Of course no American cities are this old but my point is that we have more advantages then we often see people speak of.

We are an older city in American terms but we have so much going for us and I believe that if we play our cards right we can position Philadelphia to be a very good spot for our generation and the next 2 or 3.

[sayitaintso]

Good Article..http://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazons-second-headquarters-expect-the-unexpected/

But read the comments. The liberal city govt was actually trying to blame Amazon for many of the city's ills..from high housing & cost of living to homeless. I think a red state has the early advantage.