Amazon HQ2 thread

[bnk]

Since as far as Canada and North America is concerned Toronto seemed to meet the most check lists.

But from this new article they seem to be bowing out as of just a few mins ago.



I never really thought Mexico or Canada really had a real chance BTW at least not with Dumpt at the front.




http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/2...on-a-dear-john-letter-instead-of-a-pitch

Little Rock sends Amazon a Dear John letter instead of a pitch

"It’s not you, it’s us.”

So began a full-page ad in yesterday's Washington Post, signed with love from Little Rock, Arkansas. It was an open letter informing Amazon that the city would not be bidding for its new mega headquarters — and by the way was a great place for smaller companies to hang their hats.
Little Rock — population under 200,000 — was an unlikely candidate in the first place for Amazon’s promised workforce of 50,000. With its letter, published on the day bids were due and titled "Hey, Amazon, we need to talk,” it hopped on the Amazon hype with a little marketing. “We’re happy knowing that many great companies find our natural good looks coupled with our brains for business irresistible.”
The city is the latest of several that have publicly turned their backs on the biggest corporate headquarters bidding war in recent memory.

Others were less nice.

Little Rock sends Amazon a Dear John letter instead of a pitch







Public officials in San Jose and Toronto have also said they won’t be participating in the race to offer incentives to Amazon, with a Toronto spokesman calling it a competitive bribery.

In San Antonio, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, along with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff published an open letter last week saying they believed Amazon already knew where it would locate its new campus and was using the public bidding process to create a massive bidding war between cities and states: “Sure, we have a competitive toolkit of incentives, but blindly giving away the farm isn’t our style."


None was as sweet as Little Rock, which never had a chance with Amazon anyway and whose letter invited the company to think of it if it ever wanted to do something less big.
“If another expansion opportunity comes up and you’re ready to join the visionaries, dreamers, romantics and the idealists who know that bigger isn’t always better, give us a call,” the city’s breakup letter said. “We wish you all the success in the world."
In San Antonio, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, along with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff published an open letter last week saying they believed Amazon already knew where it would locate its new campus and was using the public bidding process to create a massive bidding war between cities and states: “Sure, we have a competitive toolkit of incentives, but blindly giving Public officials in San Jose and Toronto have also said they won’t be participating in the race to offer incentives to Amazon, with a Toronto spokesman calling it a competitive bribery.away the farm isn’t our style."

...

“If another expansion opportunity comes up...

...





I think Tornado and Canada was clued early enough in that they could not or would not be an option for HQ2.


I give them balls for standing up to Amazon though.

[skyscraperpage17]

RE: Toronto

I can understand them not offering incentives. On top of the favorable exchange rate, Canada's Single-Payer Healthcare System will allow Amazon to save billions of dollars over a huge span of time in health care costs that they would otherwise pay with a US location.

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

I would generally agree with you as far as corporate welfare, but in this case with Amazon HQ2, it's a once in a century opportunity that one should go all in for. The results speak for themselves given how it has completely transformed Seattle for the better. HQ relocations (and the benefits that come along with them) are already rare in/of themselves, but to have a HQ established with 50,000 good-paying jobs is unprecedented.

This isn't some manufacturing plant that will onl generate several hundred-odd low-paying warehouse jobs, but a corporate office where a ton of R&D will occur for a company that's the leader by a wide margin in R&D investment.

Just to be clear the 50,000 number is the extremely optimistic number in 15 years. The chance of it happening are very slim and a decade away at best.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

Just to be clear the 50,000 number is the extremely optimistic number in 15 years. The chance of it happening are very slim and a decade away at best.

Regardless of whether it's tomorrow or 15 years from now, given how quickly Amazon continues to grow (and how quickly they grew in Seattle), that number doesn't seem far fetched.

[mhays]

Incentives might be useful for winning, but I bet they're a much smaller factor than ability to recruit globally or the certainty of being able to grow a campus.

Seattle doesn't offer incentives at all. In fact we've charged them way into the nine figures in development fees. Yet they're still growing at an enormous rate.

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Regardless of whether it's tomorrow or 15 years from now, given how quickly Amazon continues to grow (and how quickly they grew in Seattle), that number doesn't seem far fetched.

Yeah, but remember 1999 though.. Amazon escaped that slaughter (barely), but they still exhibit a lot of the same flaws as companies back then (namely not being able to turn a profit). Not saying the company is going to not exist in 5 years, but the current bubble is almost certainly going to burst in that time and then what happens to all these expansion plans when the stock falls 80%?

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

Yeah, but remember 1999 though.. Amazon escaped that slaughter (barely), but they still exhibit a lot of the same flaws as companies back then (namely not being able to turn a profit). Not saying the company is going to not exist in 5 years, but the current bubble is almost certainly going to burst in that time and then what happens to all these expansion plans when the stock falls 80%?

If the doom and gloom you're predicting comes to fruition, it is what it is.

Everything in life has a certain level of risk to it. That doesn't mean you don't take a gamble.

[Domer2019]

Amazon is an order of magnitude more diversified than ~2001, and stock price dropping shouldn't change the ROI on the projects and expansion they're already undertaking. If they want to issue more shares to finance things, yeah, it's a downside, but the value still exists. It's not all hot air - though they might get the rug swept out from under them, it's just as likely that they're of an exclusive cohort of businesses able to dominate this century, short anti-trust/Bell situations.

Originally Posted by Xing

Try the thinner southside pizza. It's less filling.

With all due respect to those who do, it's a myth that every Chicagoan stuffs themself with deep dish every day. 3 times out of 4 it's gonna be Chicago/South Side style thin crust, which apparently the rest of the US has no idea about amidst their mocking of our aversion to 2D pizza.

http://www.realdeepdish.com/2014/07-13-chicago-thin-crust-pizza-yes-its-a-thing/

[BVictor1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/o...ions-handicapped-20171020-htmlstory.html

Column: Chicago's Amazon HQ2 sites: Which ones are contenders?

By Ryan Ori
Chicago Tribune
Contact Reporter

October 21, 2017

The bids are in for Amazon's planned second headquarters. Now, the waiting begins.

It was just six weeks ago that Amazon sent mayors, governors and economic development directors across the country into overdrive by announcing plans to create a 50,000-employee second headquarters. Bids were accepted through Thursday.



Seattle-based Amazon hasn't said how many bids it received, or what happens next in the process to choose a second headquarters city. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he expects there to be multiple rounds of narrowing the list of contenders.

Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday revealed the 10 potential sites in Illinois' bid -- eight in the city and two in the suburbs. They have not disclosed other details, including the value of financial incentives offered to Amazon. Emanuel previously said there is a package of city, county and state incentives, without providing any figures.



Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday revealed the 10 potential sites in Illinois' bid -- eight in the city and two in the suburbs. They have not disclosed other details, including the value of financial incentives offered to Amazon. Emanuel previously said there is a package of city, county and state incentives, without providing any figures.

Lincoln Yards





THE PLAN

Sterling Bay plans to invest up to $10 billion developing as much as 100 acres of riverfront land near Lincoln Park and Bucktown, including the former A. Finkl & Sons steel plant site. The North Side project is expected to include millions of square feet of office space and other uses, including apartments and retail. The project is also expected to include parks, an extension of The 606 elevated trail, a riverfront brewery, shops and restaurants.

PROS

A huge, well-located site on the North Side is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Surrounding neighborhoods are inhabited by the young, well-educated employees that technology companies like to hire.

CONS

Significant transportation infrastructure upgrades are needed in an already densely populated area. It's outside the central business district, with no direct access to CTA trains.


The River District





THE PLAN

Tribune Media wants to build about 15 office and residential towers, ranging from 20 to 50 stories, on land that today is used mostly for parking. Chicago's Riverside Investment & Development is Tribune Media's joint venture partner on the first phase, for the northernmost 7 acres.

PROS

The location offers the chance to create a campus near tech-centric areas of the office market including River North, the Fulton Market district and the Loop, as well as access to the North Side labor pool. The property will include an extension of the Chicago Riverwalk.

CONS

The Freedom Center, where newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times are printed, is on the site. The Tribune's parent company, Tronc, has a long-term lease for the Freedom Center.


The Burnham Lakefront





THE PLAN

A group of developers led by Farpoint Development and Draper & Kramer wants to bring residential and office towers to a sprawling parcel just south of McCormick Place and west of Lake Michigan, extending the downtown skyline south. The Bronzeville project includes the former Michael Reese Hospital site, as well as marshaling yards where trucks load materials for McCormick Place conventions.

PROS

Large sites near Lake Michigan are scarce. Some of the nation's best high-speed fiber-optic cable runs beneath the site -- a plus for technology companies.

CONS

It's in an undeveloped void between downtown and South Side neighborhoods. The development will likely require more transportation options. That includes a proposed new 31st Street station on the South Shore Line.


The Downtown Gateway District





THE PLAN

Space would be combined in several nearby buildings, including the city's tallest, Willis Tower, and another of its largest, the old main post office. The long-vacant post office at Congress Parkway and the river is being redeveloped into 2.5 million square feet of offices, plus a food hall and other retail and a 4-acre rooftop park. The Union Station redevelopment and other buildings in the area are also part of the proposal.

PROS

Unlike ground-up developments, the existing buildings would easily meet Amazon's need for an initial 500,000 square feet of office space, as well as subsequent phases of growth. CTA and Metra trains are easily accessible.


The 78





THE PLAN

Related Midwest has not disclosed specific details of its plans to bring Amazon to a 62-acre site along the river in the South Loop. In May, the firm said it wants to build more than 10 million square feet of residential, office, retail and hotel space on the vacant land. The plan includes a half-mile-long riverwalk. An early name for the project is The 78, signifying plans to create the city's future 78th community area.

PROS

A proposed University of Illinois-led innovation center on the site, called Discovery Partners Institute, could have synergies with a tech-savvy office tenant. The huge riverfront parcel offers spectacular views of the Loop skyline. The developer's parent company, Related Cos., has experience with huge projects -- including Hudson Yards in New York.

CONS

The area is currently is viewed more as a residential market than an office destination. Extensive funding could be needed for transportation upgrades, including potential CTA Red Line and Metra train stations.


Fulton Market

THE PLAN

Several sites, owned by multiple investors, would be combined to form a campus in the fast-changing Fulton Market district. Long known for meatpackers and food distributors, the area west of the Kennedy Expressway has only recently emerged as an office market. Google has its Midwest headquarters there, and McDonald's will move its headquarters there next year.

PROS

The Fulton Market district is one of the hottest real estate pockets in the city. After work, food and drink options can be found on every corner.

CONS

In an area that lacks skyscrapers, Amazon could need to spread workers out into shorter buildings on several blocks. Does Amazon want to be Google's neighbor?


City Center Campus





THE PLAN

The state-owned Thompson Center in the Loop would be added onto or redeveloped. Either scenario would likely bring a supertall building to the site.

PROS

The 3-acre site is centrally located in the heart of the Loop and is directly connected to several CTA train lines.

CONS

The state has described the existing, Helmut Jahn-designed building as inefficient and in need of extensive repairs. Demolishing and replacing the building could be complicated and costly, since it's attached to a heavily used CTA station. Emanuel and Rauner must call a political truce and cut a deal allowing greater zoning density for the site.


The Illinois Medical District



THE PLAN

Amazon could move into space in buildings planned on the southwest edge of downtown. Several developers plan big projects in the area, including a conversion of the old Cook County Hospital into a hotel and apartments.

PROS

Amazon would be neighbors with the University of Illinois at Chicago, major hospitals and other technology and research enterprises. It's near expressways and public transportation.

CONS

The area is not known for big office tenants. Long-term expansion could require negotiating with several landlords for space.


Former Motorola Solutions campus



THE PLAN

There are plans to convert 265 acres of the former Motorola Solutions campus into an urban-style, walkable neighborhood with high-rise residential buildings, restaurants, retail, a hotel and recreational trails. Insurer Zurich North America recently built a big new headquarters on former Motorola land.

PROS

The site has excellent access to expressways and O'Hare International Airport. Real estate is cheaper than in downtown Chicago and in other large city centers.

CONS

Amazon is believed to be seeking an urban location with easy access to public transportation. An old-line tech company moved its headquarters downtown from the site, continuing a trend of big relocations to Chicago from the suburbs and smaller cities.


McDonald's Oak Brook campus



THE PLAN

The fast-food giant plans to leave its sprawling Oak Brook campus next year for a Fulton Market building that's under construction. Amazon could use some or all of the existing buildings on the 145-acre property in the western suburb, or build new towers on the land.

PROS

The site's sheer size provides plenty of room for long-term growth.

CONS

McDonald's still owns the land and would need to negotiate a sale to Amazon or a developer. It's available because another ubiquitous consumer brand decided it needs to be downtown to attract top employees.

[Domer2019]

So was there actually a proposal sent for Schaumburg? Please no, oy vey. Even without the incredibly embarrassing optics of moving into Motorola Solutions' wasteland, the area would really benefit from more dense residential near Woodfield. Not that Amazon doesn't work its own fiscal and civic magic, but come on.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

I'm pretty confident if I tried them at one place, I've tried them all.

But again, different strokes for different folks. My point is food snobbery (I.E. putting other people's taste in food down) is silly IMO.

The irony in this post is thick and dripping.

Originally Posted by Jonesy55

No, they vary quite a bit, from the deliciously succulent to the indigestibly greasy.

Indeed they do.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Do they all smell slightly of frying oil and seafood, both past their "used-by" date like Long John Silver's here (forget that they undoubtedly don't have deep-fried Twinkies like LJS)?

As an aside, the first time I went to Greece I noted the entire country smelled of over-dated olive oil and since I love oilve oil I was fine with that. To this day I prefer Greek oil.

Wut?

Originally Posted by 10023

And this conversation is pointless. I don't go crazy for fish and chips, but that's like saying that if you've had one fried chicken you've had them all.

Atlanta isn't really a food town (unless you're only concerned with quantity). That was my point.

Atlanta isn't a food town to the same extent that the American cities "graced" by Michelin are, but, for The South, it's quite foodie. Whatever you think of Alton Brown, here's had foodie influence and is from Georgia. And for Southern cooking, it is a bit of a Mecca, maybe even a challenge to New Orleans.

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Fair enough.

For the most part, I personally don't let politics dictate where I spend my money. My options for food and shopping would be very limited if I took offense at every little bad thing businesses do.

I tend to agree - after all, we know very little of the politics of most large corporations, and who wants to spend hours per week monitoring all the corporations we use as a matter of convenient necessity? I'm quite liberal in most regards but have plenty other things to do than monitor my every vendor's politics.

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Man, it must be nice to be liberal.

I would have to stop using Google, Apple, Facebook and pretty much any other modern brand.

Liberals only have to avoid Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A. I just wonder why more liberals don't avoid cars and the gas they take.

Liberals don't avoid Chick-Fil-A if they understand corporate governance, which more do than you may expect. The difference between the founder and the current corporation is significant - and I'm a gay man liberal and rather enjoy Chick-fil-a if I'm in the mood for fast food chicken. And, for the record, I've not owned a car since 1999. Not because of climate change, but because of ocean acidification.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Domer2019

So was there actually a proposal sent for Schaumburg? Please no, oy vey. Even without the incredibly embarrassing optics of moving into Motorola Solutions' wasteland, the area would really benefit from more dense residential near Woodfield. Not that Amazon doesn't work its own fiscal and civic magic, but come on.

Amazon wanted one bid per state, so the "Illinois" bid was Chicagoland, with eight City locations and also the former Motorola and McDonald's campuses. I don't see that as any problem. It would still be phenomenal for the state and the City proper, if not quite as great as a city location. But if Amazon goes with Illinois, I have no doubt they'll choose a city location.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

Yeah, but remember 1999 though.. Amazon escaped that slaughter (barely), but they still exhibit a lot of the same flaws as companies back then (namely not being able to turn a profit). Not saying the company is going to not exist in 5 years, but the current bubble is almost certainly going to burst in that time and then what happens to all these expansion plans when the stock falls 80%?

Are they "not able" to turn a profit, or judiciously choosing not to so they can reinvest and avoid taxes? Honest question, I haven't dug into their financials, but I just have the sense that if they wanted to show paper profits today, they could, and easily.

[Parkway]

I'm not sure where that statement came from. Amazon's profit last year was $2.71 billion. Sure some modern companies like Twitter and Snapchat haven't figured out how to be profitable yet but Amazon is not one of those companies.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by emathias

Are they "not able" to turn a profit, or judiciously choosing not to so they can reinvest and avoid taxes? Honest question, I haven't dug into their financials, but I just have the sense that if they wanted to show paper profits today, they could, and easily.

Amazon's business strategy until now has been to sell their products either at a lost or with the slimmest profit margin in order to crush their brick & mortar competition who can't afford to do the same (basically, the Walmart strategy via. the internet x1000).

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Parkway

I'm not sure where that statement came from. Amazon's profit last year was $2.71 billion. Sure some modern companies like Twitter and Snapchat haven't figured out how to be profitable yet but Amazon is not one of those companies.

However, to the point others are making, that's not really an impressive profit relative to their market capitalization.

BTW, stock prices are based on future growth potential, not what's happening today. Investors like the moves that Amazon's making now in order to become a force to be reckon with in the long term.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

However, to the point others are making, that's not really an impressive profit relative to their market capitalization.

BTW, stock prices are based on future growth potential, not what's happening today. Investors like the moves that Amazon's making now in order to become a force to be reckon with in the long term.

I did a little more reading on that after my post and the reason seems to be that they have been plowing a ton of revenue back into expansion and R&D. It's a similar track to what Ford did in the 1910s.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Parkway

I'm not sure where that statement came from. Amazon's profit last year was $2.71 billion. Sure some modern companies like Twitter and Snapchat haven't figured out how to be profitable yet but Amazon is not one of those companies.

Amazon is propped up by AWS, not the online retail portion which does lose money.

[bnk]

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/art...eived-238-proposals-for-2nd-headquarters

Amazon says it received 238 proposals from cities and regions hoping to be the home of the company's second headquarters.

Oct. 23, 2017, at 11:51 a.m.




By JOSEPH PISANI, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Monday that it received 238 proposals from cities and regions in the United States, Canada and Mexico hoping to be the home of the company's second headquarters.
The online retailer kicked off its hunt for a second home base in September, promising to bring 50,000 new jobs and spend more than $5 billion on construction. Proposals were due last week, and Amazon made clear that tax breaks and grants would be a big deciding factor on where it chooses to land.
Amazon.com Inc. said the proposals came from 43 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, three Mexican states and six Canadian provinces. In a tweet, the company said it was "excited to review each of them."
...

The seven U.S. states that Amazon said did not apply were: Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by JManc

Amazon is propped up by AWS, not the online retail portion which does lose money.

Very true, my point was only that they are different from other companies in .com boom 2.0 like Snap and Twitter that haven't figured out how to make money at all.