PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Gonzo the Great]

FIRST ; let me say , I think it would be a monumental success for Philly to win the " Amazon race ". and I wish the city all
the best with that endeavor .
I read John Fry's composition for the Philadelphia Inquirer and found it both intriguing and the longest " buy your new car here "
commercial , in a long time .

I didn't know Mr. Bezos had a degree from Princeton University or that he owned a home in Washington DC , or that he in fact also
owns the Washington Post ....... I'm jealous .

Also , Toronto and Ottawa may be more in the running than we know ....... but without further ado , I think the decision has already
been made ....... Good thing I'm not a betting man .

[Boku]

I don't really buy the "Amazon already knows where they're going" talk. What's the point of all this then? More financial concessions? If Amazon calls up Boston or Chicago and says "We want to build this gigantic office in your city, what can you do for us?", you don't think that city is going to bend over backwards to give them what they want? Yeah, not buying it. I think this thing is up for grabs.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Boku

I don't really buy the "Amazon already knows where they're going" talk. What's the point of all this then? More financial concessions?

Correct.
If cities feel the pressure of competition, they'll be more inclined to give better deals than they would if Amazon just met with them.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by summersm343

New bill in city council!

This has one to pass! The bill would eliminate the Business Net Income Tax for all "mega companies" who move to the city of Philadelphia. Obviously this is in response to Amazon.

This would eliminate the business income tax, on top of the already reduced taxes at Schuylkill Yards for being a KOZ zone.

Is this a wish or an actual bill being drafted by Council? If it's legit, is there a link? I don't see anything online for this.

If it's legit, what's the threshold for a mega company? It would be nice if this tax break can be used for more than just Amazon. If the city loses the Amazon sweepstakes than at least, we wind up with a nice little tax break that is actually usable down the road. A small consolation prize if you will.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Correct.
If cities feel the pressure of competition, they'll be more inclined to give better deals than they would if Amazon just met with them.

Right, which is why I think the speculation that Amazon has already picked a site is wrong.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Boku

Right, which is why I think the speculation that Amazon has already picked a site is wrong.

Think about it.
If Amazon had a city in mind, they'd want the best deal possible. They can force a city's hand by making it a competition.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Think about it.
If Amazon had a city in mind, they'd want the best deal possible. They can force a city's hand by making it a competition.

This isn't typical, though. The scope of this thing is huge. My point was that there would be no need for competition if Amazon approached a city with the numbers they're claiming because that city would give them whatever they wanted to make sure it worked.

I could be wrong though! I was surprised, when the HQ2 news broke, that it was reported that Rahm Emmanuel had already talked to Bezos about it...perhaps they approached Chicago already and didn't like what they were told.

[SEFTA]

I think they're wise to being open to all ideas. I think they probably had a handful of cities in mind but are keeping all options open. I can't think that anything like this happening before.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by McBane

Is this a wish or an actual bill being drafted by Council? If it's legit, is there a link? I don't see anything online for this.

If it's legit, what's the threshold for a mega company? It would be nice if this tax break can be used for more than just Amazon. If the city loses the Amazon sweepstakes than at least, we wind up with a nice little tax break that is actually usable down the road. A small consolation prize if you will.

It's a real bill that has been drafted by Councilman David Oh.

https://phila.legistar.com/LegislationDe...6-C82D-477A-A1FE-4AAFD13E9031&Options=ID

I'm not sure that it actually provides benefits that locating in a KOZ zone doesn't already do. As drafted, it also pretty much only applies to Amazon. But I think job and capital investment thresholds should be adjusted downwards so that they can apply to another major company that may not want to locate in a KOZ zone but still brings a tremendous amount of jobs and capital investment. Even if not quite to the level Amazon has announced here.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Think about it.
If Amazon had a city in mind, they'd want the best deal possible. They can force a city's hand by making it a competition.

I think there are arguments on both sides. If Amazon had gone to City X and privately had talks, there would no reason why Amazon couldn't have said thank you very much, but no thanks, and moved on to other cities.

But this limited time open 'contest' along with all the usual tax incentives and training programs and infrastructure deals, it gives the cities a chance to think outside of the box and get creative with ways to attract Amazon.

I hope that is what Philly is doing.

And Amazon is not bound to accept any of the proposals. After going over all the offerings they might very well take the top 3 and have private talks with all 3 of them. Who knows!

[Gonzo the Great]

Originally Posted by City Wide

I think there are arguments on both sides. If Amazon had gone to City X and privately had talks, there would no reason why Amazon couldn't have said thank you very much, but no thanks, and moved on to other cities.

But this limited time open 'contest' along with all the usual tax incentives and training programs and infrastructure deals, it gives the cities a chance to think outside of the box and get creative with ways to attract Amazon.

I hope that is what Philly is doing.

And Amazon is not bound to accept any of the proposals. After going over all the offerings they might very well take the top 3 and have private talks with all 3 of them. Who knows!

Yes , I agree . I hope that is the case and that Philly is a top choice for HQ2 .

However , I remember working for several government agencies and hated having to travel more than ten miles to satisfy both my financial and environmental
needs . Of course Bezos has a portfolio that allows him to live on the moon if he so chooses so maybe this statement does not count . BUT , when there is a
need to entertain conferences , decisions or a change in scenery .... I have to go with the Metro area of DC .

............ Only because I don't possess a portfolio that allows me private lunar property ......

[summersm343]

7 game-changing transportation projects planned for Philly

Read more here:
https://philly.curbed.com/2017/9/18/1622...p-transportation-infrastructure-projects

[diavolo]

I've walked past the Hale building twice a day for the past 7 years, this is definitely my favorite project. These pictures are from this morning.





I noticed The Lift at Juniper (automated garage to the east/southeast of the Hale building) had its entrance/exit framed with wooden studs yesterday afternoon and this morning its boarded up. http://www.theliftparking.com/default.aspx says its being renovated (that info was tricky to find, the main website redirects to brandywine.com) while Google Maps is saying "Permanently Closed". The Lift has become pretty crummy looking the past few years with repeatedly broken bollards and glass panes along Juniper so I'm hoping it is closed for renovations.

[summersm343]

How I-95 broke Philly’s waterfront (and what the city is doing to fix it)

Read more here:
https://philly.curbed.com/2017/9/19/1631...nt-penns-landing-95-philadelphia-history

[summersm343]

Beware, Philadelphia: Amazon could drive up housing prices

Read more here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...ld-drive-up-housing-prices-20170919.html

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Beware, Philadelphia: Amazon could drive up housing prices

Read more here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...ld-drive-up-housing-prices-20170919.html

I love creating fake problems to problems we wish we had.

[Knight Hospitaller]

^ The Irish expression is "borrowing trouble." Of course there's also a good side to increased housing prices for current homeowners.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

^ The Irish expression is "borrowing trouble." Of course there's also a good side to increased housing prices for current homeowners.

Yep, and also the city's tax coffers which feeds things like our first responders, ballooning pensions, the PHA, social services, QOL upgrades, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

[Knight Hospitaller]

I'd wager that salaries/wages would go up too with competition from Leviathan .. er, Amazon.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I'd wager that salaries/wages would go up too with competition from Leviathan .. er, Amazon.

Not to mention the new companies that would be attracted to the slew of new skilled employees to poach.