Ottawa's bid for Amazon HQ2

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by Arcologist

So, a LONG way to go before we are a world-class city, a city where the Amazons of the world would consider HQ'ing.

While I agree with what you wrote, my observations of "world class cities" goes beyond the physical content and exists also within the character of the city. World class cities I've visited have vibrant shopping/dinning districts that aren't so...hmmm..."conservative" in how shops & restaurants present and sell their products. Cafe's with tables and chairs ...on the sidewalk!! I know, I know...the horror! World class cities I've visited have neighbourhoods that have developed organically with all the little oddities along the way. They don't have neighbourhoods that need council approval to put up a storefront sign.

Ottawa has a lot to offer. It's not now nor will it ever be a "world class" city. Mostly because legislation always always always hinders organic growth of streets, blocks & districts.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Lakeofthewood

The waterways one is interesting. I've only lived in Ottawa for a few years and always wondered why there isn't more things near the canal/rivers in the city.

Has there ever been any big (or small) proposals to add "stuff" near our waterways? I've certainly never seen any

There was the "Destination Gatineau" proposal by the previous Gatineau council, but I feel it was more of the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LQd1isEbpo

And now Zibi on the old industrial lands near the Chaudiere Falls.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=206712

[bikegypsy]

Originally Posted by Arcologist

Ottawa has a LONG way to go to become a world-class city. Sure, we have a lot of great things to offer -- oodles of green space, national institutions, the seat of federal government, high tech, etc. -- but we lack in so many other areas.

- Aside from our national institutions, the architecture in this city is atrocious.
- We have very few international organizations headquartered in Ottawa.
- We are completely disconnected from our waterways. They are ALL greenspace; no urban waterfront, no program animation, nothing.
- Our LRT is a step in the right direction, but YEARS behind other cities of similar size. And, it will only serve from Bayview to Blair to South Keys for now...
- Sprawl is rampant and getting worse. The automobile reigns supreme.
- We are leaders in virtually nothing: not urban planning, not green tech, not future technologies, nor the arts or culture or.........

So, a LONG way to go before we are a world-class city, a city where the Amazons of the world would consider HQ'ing.

Parts of your comment make no sense. What does urban sprawl have to do with being a 'world class city'... Ever been to New York?
Paris? Seoul? In Canada, both Montreal and Toronto have monstrous sprawl. And don't kid yourself about our LRT... Ottawa is a century ahead of most cities its size in the US in terms of transportation. And I'm not sure what all of this has do to with choosing the best place for Amazon... They will be considering real hard facts, like how easy it is to get qualified staff, what is the cost of living, how easy it is to implement a transportation system for shipment and the general cost of running their business. I'm sure they'll give a pass on the quality of our decorations such as architecture. I feel like some people are actually angry that Ottawa is being considered... strange.

[eltodesukane]

When will Amazon make a decision? What's the time frame?

[daud]

I think Ottawa has alot going for it and while I think its a worthwhile endeavour to bid-for experience and insight, we won't be winning the Amazon sweepstakes. I think talent pool and education is a primary objective here and while we're pretty good, we are nowhere near boston and other cities.

Also, I think our airport would sink us if Canada is a consideration. Sorry, I have a love/hate with YOW, but its shrinking US connections is a huge issue. Their execs are going to need to move around and transferring at Pearson is not going to cut it.

As for our waterways, ask a jogger what they think of our waterway interaction. I had relatives come to Ottawa and all they wanted to do was jog the canal. They snapped selfies and everything. It was top of their list, before parliament or anything else-even visiting us.

I think there are spots on the ottawa river that could use some nice urban interaction but the gardens along the canal, to me, are a jewel and close to perfect as they are. Especially the queen Elizabeth side all the way from Dows to the NAC.

[Mikeed]

I think Ottawa has a lot going for it. More so than the average Ottawan thinks.

Most importantly this needs to be something Ottawa needs to throw itself into more!

Specifically for Amazon HQ2. The Booth Street Complex is an interesting option, but also the Canadian Tire Centre. The amount of land that is out at the CTC and the fact it is moving downtown really makes that an exciting opportunity imo. As the Amazon HQ2 would become the core of Kanata, with good freeway access and a LRT terminal.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

The NCC is planning to build a linear park along the Ottawa River and animate it.

http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/our-projects/si...iverfront-park

Umm, the Ottawa River shoreline is already a "linear park".

The NCC couldn't animate a flipbook.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

He said the Confederation light-rail line will help spur new housing and economic development near transit hubs downtown and in places such as Bayview Station, where Trinity Development Group is spearheading a massive project to build three mixed-use highrises of at least 50 stories.

But Mr. Willis added his department can’t ignore the need for more economic diversity in suburban neighbourhoods such as Orleans and Barrhaven.

Ottawa planning philosophy in a nutshell:

There's the LRT corridor
There's the suburbs
The end.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Arcologist

Ottawa has a LONG way to go to become a world-class city. Sure, we have a lot of great things to offer -- oodles of green space, national institutions, the seat of federal government, high tech, etc. -- but we lack in so many other areas.

- Aside from our national institutions, the architecture in this city is atrocious.

I'll take Ottawa architecture over "world-class" garbage any day.

- We have very few international organizations headquartered in Ottawa.

Irrelevant.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The NCC couldn't animate a flipbook.

That should be their official motto.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Umm, the Ottawa River shoreline is already a "linear park"...

It's more of a landscaped transportation corridor focused around a scenic highway overrun by commuter traffic.

[J.OT13]

The lack of incentives is what might kill our bid (and that's not a bad thing). Otherwise, I think Ottawa could easily rank top 10 in this competition.

As for the airport, flights can easily be added. If the City is smart enough, they will have a discussion with the airport authority to add that to our bid.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by Mikeed

I think Ottawa has a lot going for it. More so than the average Ottawan thinks.

Most importantly this needs to be something Ottawa needs to throw itself into more!

Specifically for Amazon HQ2. The Booth Street Complex is an interesting option, but also the Canadian Tire Centre. The amount of land that is out at the CTC and the fact it is moving downtown really makes that an exciting opportunity imo. As the Amazon HQ2 would become the core of Kanata, with good freeway access and a LRT terminal.

I can't help think that if the Federal Government was ready to give Tunneys to the Ottawa Hospital, wouldn't that be on the table as potentially available land?

[Kitchissippi]

Best thing Ottawa can do to attract companies like Amazon is to enable the creative community and embrace "weirdness" like Austin TX does. Maybe it requires loosening up some regulations, or building in some policies that foster design excellence and uniqueness. Right now, even with all the public "consultation", City Hall remains a bit of a fortress when it comes to real creative input. They don't even seem to know what to do with ideas beyond the usual multiple choice/spoonfed questionnaires they generate.

We also need to be less cynical about home-grown talent, and truly appreciate and be proud of what we have by working with it instead of just wishing/copying exactly what other cities have.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Best thing Ottawa can do to attract companies like Amazon is to enable the creative community and embrace "weirdness" like Austin TX does. Maybe it requires loosening up some regulations, or building in some policies that foster design excellence and uniqueness. Right now, even with all the public "consultation", City Hall remains a bit of a fortress when it comes to real creative input. They don't even seem to know what to do with ideas beyond the usual multiple choice/spoonfed questionnaires they generate.

We also need to be less cynical about home-grown talent, and truly appreciate and be proud of what we have by working with it instead of just wishing/copying exactly what other cities have.

That's a big ask for Ottawa since City Hall only controls so much. While I agree with you on the City Hall comments, the federal government and it's highly bureaucratic mode of operation, casts a very big shadow over anything the City wants to do. Ottawa (city) may be guilty of comfortably existing under that shadow, but getting out from it requires a huge number of citizens start to think a bit differently, not just those in positions of power at City Hall.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

It's more of a landscaped transportation corridor focused around a scenic highway overrun by commuter traffic.

I hear that knock on the parkways all the time, and even though I'm not a fan of parkways at all.... what other type of traffic are they supposed to have running on them?

Little old ladies out for Sunday drives?

And "landscaped transportation corridor" is almost a textbook definition of a linear park.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

That's a big ask for Ottawa since City Hall only controls so much. While I agree with you on the City Hall comments, the federal government and it's highly bureaucratic mode of operation, casts a very big shadow over anything the City wants to do. Ottawa (city) may be guilty of comfortably existing under that shadow, but getting out from it requires a huge number of citizens start to think a bit differently, not just those in positions of power at City Hall.

The federal government has very little control of our local culture, it's just that we let it. Sure they control a lot of what is iconic in the region, but Ottawa-the-city hasn't been that assertive in creating or nurturing our own. We're taxed the same or more than Montrealers and Torontonians are and they seem to do better — what the feds do should merely be gravy on top of what we can do for ourselves. The our main streets, and city parks, how we anally zone food trucks or funky businesses, how we select public art, allow festivals, etc. those are all under the control of city hall. I bet if we loosen up a bit it would actually influence the mentality of those working for the public service. Austin is a good example, it's the capital of conservative Texas but it manages to exert its liberal weirdness.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I hear that knock on the parkways all the time, and even though I'm not a fan of parkways at all.... what other type of traffic are they supposed to have running on them?

Little old ladies out for Sunday drives?

And "landscaped transportation corridor" is almost a textbook definition of a linear park.

Lots of cities have waterfront parks or waterfronts with significant public usage without primarily using them as freeways. Adelaide, Brisbane, Edmonton, Montreal, Copenhagen, even Washington.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by Arcologist

- We are completely disconnected from our waterways. They are ALL greenspace; no urban waterfront, no program animation, nothing.

Depends on your point of view. As someone who paddles the river regularly, I feel very connected to the waterways. We have several beaches (Westboro, Britannia, Petrie Island, Mooney's Bay) and I see a lot of people swimming and immersing themselves in it. I would say our riverfront is more engaging and accessible than Calgary's or Edmonton's. Most cities on big rivers inside North America don't have much of a waterfront or reserve shores for greenspace because they are flood zones, most urban waterfronts are in port cities. Our downtown waterfront also has an issue with geography, it's a hundred foot drop to the water's edge.

To me rivers are elements of nature, most so called activities or animation often have very little to do with the river other than capitalizing on the view.

By the way, this was Westboro Beach a couple of hours ago. It's a perfect evening weather-wise; there's beer, food and live music but there's empty tables to be had. There's even free parking and it's within 300 metres of the Dominion Transitway stop. If we want more stuff on the waterfront we better patronize the businesses trying to make it livelier. They're remaining open until this weekend so show some love

[1overcosc]

I doubt Ottawa has much of a chance.. I think the city is simply too small, in the sense that finding 50,000 workers and 8 million square feet of office space is not going to be easy in a city like Ottawa.

Plus let's be real.. Ottawa would put up a suburban business park concept in Orleans or Barrhaven, whereas Amazon has made it very clear it wants an urban site.

Really the only Canadian city that has a chance is Toronto. There's enough large development sites along the waterfront that Amazon could easily find a nice urban spot (which is what they really want), the Unilever site in particular would be a perfect fit. Toronto would offer comparable amenities and talent base to Chicago and Boston at considerably less cost.

Montreal has a lot of attractive qualities (low cost of labour and low cost of real estate) but language likely makes it a non starter, unless Quebec was willing to make an exception in Bill 101 allowing Amazon to use English as its internal language which I doubt would ever be on the table. Calgary and Edmonton like Ottawa are too small and neither city has much of a tech sector, and Vancouver is probably too expensive and too close to Seattle.

Most lists you see around the internet put Toronto near the top of the contender list along with cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.

Of course there's some that question whether any Canadian city really has a shot, but the fact that Amazon stressed this is a North America competition numerous times, and explicitly said it wants to accept offers from cities, states, and provinces means Canada is definitely in the running. Lower health care costs and lower business taxes are definitely attractive. Of course it would piss of Trump, but given where Bezos stands I feel he would like that.

There's also the possibility that Amazon has no intention of considering any Canadian city, but added Canada into the mix just to leverage the promise of lower costs into more corporate welfare from American cities. Some have speculated that Amazon has already secretly picked its site, and is just using this exercise to drum up more corporate welfare money from its first choice.