PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Parkway]

I know a handful of people who have moved to Denver and they are a combination of outdoors/artsy types and people who wanted to get into the weed business.

[Gonzo the Great]

Originally Posted by Capsule F

Sadly folks moving to the Denver type cities is just the typical trend of White "liberal" folks desiring to isolate themselves from diversity. Oh the irony.

Yeah , its a terrible place ....


Rankings
U.S. News analyzed 100 metro areas in the United States to find the best places to live based on quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people's desire to live there.

Denver, Colorado is ranked:

#2 in Best Places to Live

#50 in Best Places to Retire

7.5
Overall

SCORECARD
Desirability8.4
Value7.2
Job Market8.0
Quality of Life6.8
Net Migration 8.1
Read how we rank places
Denver, CO Quick Stats

2,703,972
METRO POPULATION

$54,450
AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARY

64.6° / 36.2°
AVG HIGH/LOW TEMPS

36.1
MEDIAN AGE

$313,823
MEDIAN HOME PRICE

14.3 inches
AVG ANNUAL RAINFALL

3.2%
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

$1,049
AVG MONTHLY RENT

27.2 minutes

[El Duderino]

I didn't mean for my comments to come off as an endorsement of Denver, just that sometimes the perception of a place can drive interest in it more so than the reality of living there. It's nice to see Philly's perception at the national level improving; Bezos is going to love it here.

[Skintreesnail]

I really don’t know anything about the logistics involved in choosing a corporate headquarters, but it just seems to me that Philly, and more specifically the Schuylkill Yards/30th street station district projects, really check off all the boxes. 20 minutes to the airport, sitting next to 76/676 and a couple miles to 95, sitting on one of the busiest Amtrak stations, SEPTA regional rail/subway/trolley and busses. Isn’t the main east coast fiber backbone also running along the tracks (access to fiber is in their RFP)? There’s district heating (mentioned in RFP), well-regarded universities across the street, an hour to NYC, less than 2 hours to DC. Hitting the square footage requirements for operations doesn’t seem like it would be an issue and the metro population is over 6 million. You get the idea.

Stuff that’s not in the RFP but seem like it would be relevant to Amazon is the rapidly expanding shipyard and proximity to csx tracks/rail infrastructure. Folks have already mentioned pharmaceutical companies being close by. Also, not sure if this makes sense, but if Amazon wanted to avoid a situation like the housing costs in Seattle, would Philadelphia’s large number of vacant properties help with that? At its peak, the city had over 2 million people. If a city like Atlanta or Denver was chosen, they would need to add 50,000 additional units eventually in accordance to their employment goals. It just seems like Philly would be able to absorb that number a lot easier than many of the front-running cities. Not saying that we won’t have issues with housing affordability that will need to be dealt with, but it might be easier to deal with that here than cities that just don’t have the infrastructure and house stock pre-existing.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

I really don’t know anything about the logistics involved in choosing a corporate headquarters, but it just seems to me that Philly, and more specifically the Schuylkill Yards/30th street station district projects, really check off all the boxes. 20 minutes to the airport, sitting next to 76/676 and a couple miles to 95, sitting on one of the busiest Amtrak stations, SEPTA regional rail/subway/trolley and busses. Isn’t the main east coast fiber backbone also running along the tracks (access to fiber is in their RFP)? There’s district heating (mentioned in RFP), well-regarded universities across the street, an hour to NYC, less than 2 hours to DC. Hitting the square footage requirements for operations doesn’t seem like it would be an issue and the metro population is over 6 million. You get the idea.

Stuff that’s not in the RFP but seem like it would be relevant to Amazon is the rapidly expanding shipyard and proximity to csx tracks/rail infrastructure. Folks have already mentioned pharmaceutical companies being close by. Also, not sure if this makes sense, but if Amazon wanted to avoid a situation like the housing costs in Seattle, would Philadelphia’s large number of vacant properties help with that? At its peak, the city had over 2 million people. If a city like Atlanta or Denver was chosen, they would need to add 50,000 additional units eventually in accordance to their employment goals. It just seems like Philly would be able to absorb that number a lot easier than many of the front-running cities. Not saying that we won’t have issues with housing affordability that will need to be dealt with, but it might be easier to deal with that here than cities that just don’t have the infrastructure and house stock pre-existing.

^
Playing devi's advocate. What about our human capital that specializes in technology? Will Amazon be able to fill up the positions here with local talent or will it have to be imported from other states? Most people factor where they live based on their relationships with others if they are deciding to leave a current job to a new job/new city. If you don't have a job or looking for a new opportunity, that's a different story. I'm sure a number of position that Amazon is looking to hire will require experience. So, there's a breakdown of these groups that Amazon needs to consider too. What good is a locale if you can't run the organization without the human capital. Other cities might have an advantage over us on this. And, I'm sure Amazon is putting this up high in its priority in selecting its next HQ city.

[TempleGuy1000]

Brookings picks Philadelphia for global identity project - Philadelphia Business Journal

Philadelphia may soon have a better chance at pitching itself to compete for businesses — including the much-anticipated Amazon HQ2 — and spur investment and trade, and attract talent.

Philadelphia is among four U.S. regions selected by the Brookings Institution for a project in which city officials will test how to define and communicate a global identity by "increasing international visibility of its economic assets and competitive strengths," city officials announced Monday.

“Global identity is about how a large or small city-region can achieve more differentiation, visibility and recognition to compete for business and talent,” said Marek Gootman, Brookings fellow and director of strategic partnerships and global initiatives.

It's a major milestone in an initiative first reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal in June 2017 meant to pitch the city as a place for business and talent attraction, John Grady, president of PIDC, said in an earlier interview.

Through the pilot project, a group of Philadelphia-area business, government and civic organizations will undertake a shared strategy to distinguish the region in the global marketplace — with the end goal of spurring trade, investment, talent and economic relationships, according to city officials.

The program will serve as the next step in developing a cohesive brand for the city and region.

City officials said they've heard Philadelphia needed to do a "better job" at its branding to ensure organizations use similar language around the city's value proposition and how it's pitched, Sylvie Gallier Howard, chief of staff at the commerce department, previously told the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The commerce department last year convened a number of local organizations to identify what Philadelphia's key themes and messages should be, and to create and adopt a consistent brand.

“This isn’t a logo, slogan or sales campaign," Gootman said. "Greater Philadelphia will coalesce diverse stakeholders to project an integrated image telling the story of its purpose, value and opportunity at home and on the global stage.”

The branding is beyond tourism purposes; the global identity project is meant to be used in conjunction with tourism campaigns, targeted at employees and employers.

Nearly 40 percent of all global GDP now comes from cross-border transactions in goods, services and capital, according to city officials.

“Philadelphia’s continued participation in the Global Cities Initiative will allow the region to examine our existing strengths and opportunities in order to develop a compelling message about who we are that we can share with the world," Mayor Jim Kenney said.

International cities Lyon, France; Atlanta; Amsterdam; and the North West of Ireland Cities have become models of effective and unified marketing for business development.

A cohesive brand and value proposition would make it easier to pitch Philadelphia in its bids for businesses, including major conventions and corporation headquarters — most notably Amazon's HQ2 announced last year that sent U.S. and global cities into a frenzy of wooing the e-commerce giant.

Philadelphia's odds of landing Amazon's second headquarters improved in the last two-and-a-half months, but it's still a long shot, according to betting site PaddyPower, which gave Pittsburgh better odds at winning Amazon's second headquarters.

A cohesive brand and value proposition would supplement Philadelphia officials' efforts in strengthening business ties to foreign cities, including China:

The Chester County Economic Development Council in October 2017 broke ground on a China-based mushroom facility.

The Chester County Board of Commissioners in October 2017 formally approved a sister agreement with Funan County, Anhui Province, in China where the mushroom facility broke ground.

City officials last year went on a three-week trade mission to Asia, including the chief executive of the Philadelphia International Airport (link).

A five-person delegation in November last year went to South Korea to represent Philadelphia as a World Heritage City; Philadelphia was among eight cities selected to present at the 14th World Congress of the Organization of the World Heritage Cities.

It would also help in winning international airline carriers in launching nonstop flights to and from Philadelphia, which airport officials continue to do on a regular basis, pitching the Philadelphia region and its offerings.

The Greater Philadelphia global identity project will be led by the city of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, with Select Greater Philadelphia Council, Visit Philadelphia, PIDC and Campus Philly serving as project partners.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Playing devi's advocate. What about our human capital that specializes in technology? Will Amazon be able to fill up the positions here with local talent or will it have to be imported from other states? Most people factor where they live based on their relationships with others if they are deciding to leave a current job to a new job/new city. If you don't have a job or looking for a new opportunity, that's a different story. I'm sure a number of position that Amazon is looking to hire will require experience. So, there's a breakdown of these groups that Amazon needs to consider too. What good is a locale if you can't run the organization without the human capital. Other cities might have an advantage over us on this. And, I'm sure Amazon is putting this up high in its priority in selecting its next HQ city.

It boils down to politics and money. On paper, Philly is a no-brainer. Factor in the other BS, not so much.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Playing devi's advocate. What about our human capital that specializes in technology? Will Amazon be able to fill up the positions here with local talent or will it have to be imported from other states? Most people factor where they live based on their relationships with others if they are deciding to leave a current job to a new job/new city. If you don't have a job or looking for a new opportunity, that's a different story. I'm sure a number of position that Amazon is looking to hire will require experience. So, there's a breakdown of these groups that Amazon needs to consider too. What good is a locale if you can't run the organization without the human capital. Other cities might have an advantage over us on this. And, I'm sure Amazon is putting this up high in its priority in selecting its next HQ city.

Atlanta has better human capital? Austin?

Even if on average those cities have say, a higher attainment of masters degrees, they're much smaller metros. Thus, in absolute terms, the local talent pool is no more accessible.

If Austin is a metro of 2 million people and has a bachelors degree attainment rate of 40% (making this up) relative to us at 35% in a metro of 6 million (again, making this up), that means there are 800,000 people in the Austin metro with Bachelors Degrees and 2.1 million bachelor degree holders here.

On paper, you could argue Austin has a "more educated" workforce. What's the fucking point if net net, we still have 1.3 million more relevant people accessible nearby already?

For a "more educated" city like Austin, given the size differential, they would have to be 40 or 50 points ahead of us in any given metric related to education (which we would all agree is impossible) to have an equivalent number of captive people in situ.

[ePlanningPhila]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Playing devi's advocate. What about our human capital that specializes in technology? Will Amazon be able to fill up the positions here with local talent or will it have to be imported from other states? Most people factor where they live based on their relationships with others if they are deciding to leave a current job to a new job/new city. If you don't have a job or looking for a new opportunity, that's a different story. I'm sure a number of position that Amazon is looking to hire will require experience. So, there's a breakdown of these groups that Amazon needs to consider too. What good is a locale if you can't run the organization without the human capital. Other cities might have an advantage over us on this. And, I'm sure Amazon is putting this up high in its priority in selecting its next HQ city.

To be fair; Philadelphia has been ranked by the U.S Chamber of Commerce as the 3rd best start up community in the nation.

1) Bay Area
2) Boston
3) Philadelphia

Comcast is THE largest corporate start up investor in the East (no NYC corporation could match) and the 4th largest in the world. There is a lot brewing in Philadelphia. We surely outrank Denver. Denver and Austin I think are my two biggest *roll my eyes moments whenever they are mentioned.

https://40uy5g2te0h53zha643shzzp-wpengin...17/10/Innovation-that-Matters-2017-2.pdf

http://www.phillymag.com/business/2017/06/19/comcast-ventures-startup-investment/

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Redddog

It boils down to politics and money. On paper, Philly is a no-brainer. Factor in the other BS, not so much.

Isn't that the big question, how much will the BS factor into the decision. If Amazon chooses "X" instead of Philly, we'll probably really never know why.

[Capsule F]

Originally Posted by Gonzo the Great

Yeah , its a terrible place ....


Rankings
U.S. News analyzed 100 metro areas in the United States to find the best places to live based on quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people's desire to live there.

Denver, Colorado is ranked:

#2 in Best Places to Live

#50 in Best Places to Retire

7.5
Overall

SCORECARD
Desirability8.4
Value7.2
Job Market8.0
Quality of Life6.8
Net Migration 8.1
Read how we rank places
Denver, CO Quick Stats

2,703,972
METRO POPULATION

$54,450
AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARY

64.6° / 36.2°
AVG HIGH/LOW TEMPS

36.1
MEDIAN AGE

$313,823
MEDIAN HOME PRICE

14.3 inches
AVG ANNUAL RAINFALL

3.2%
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

$1,049
AVG MONTHLY RENT

27.2 minutes

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/search/best-cities/

You're wrong see, the best places to live are:

Ann Arbor

Naperville

Arlington

Columbia

Berkeley


Duh...

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
Playing devi's advocate. What about our human capital that specializes in technology? Will Amazon be able to fill up the positions here with local talent or will it have to be imported from other states? Most people factor where they live based on their relationships with others if they are deciding to leave a current job to a new job/new city. If you don't have a job or looking for a new opportunity, that's a different story. I'm sure a number of position that Amazon is looking to hire will require experience. So, there's a breakdown of these groups that Amazon needs to consider too. What good is a locale if you can't run the organization without the human capital. Other cities might have an advantage over us on this. And, I'm sure Amazon is putting this up high in its priority in selecting its next HQ city.

It's also worth pointing out that Amazon has thrived in a region without a Top-50 University pumping young, relatively inexpensive, tech talent into their workforce for 20 years now. Sure, you can poach a 35 year old programmer from Microsoft but that's way more expensive than recruiting a 22 year old graduate of an elite tech school in your own backyard. Most of their talent has to be imported from the Bay Area or other tech-hubs. Penn and Drexel sharing the same neighborhood as them would give them a front row seat to a large region's future best and brightest.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by Londonee

It's also worth pointing out that Amazon has thrived in a region without a Top-50 University pumping young, relatively inexpensive, tech talent into their workforce for 20 years now. Sure, you can poach a 35 year old programmer from Microsoft but that's way more expensive than recruiting a 22 year old graduate of an elite tech school in your own backyard. Most of their talent has to be imported from the Bay Area or other tech-hubs. Penn and Drexel sharing the same neighborhood as them would give them a front row seat to a large region's future best and brightest.

Right, and importing new talent into the city isn't a bad thing anyways. It means more people, more tax revenue and more development...which in turn leads to more outside business wanting to get a piece of that Amazon tech talent down the line.

[Parkway]

There are many reasons we may not get HQ2 but lack of talent isn't one of them. In addition to being in the same city as Penn, Temple, and Drexel Philadelphia is also able to recruit heavily from Penn State and Rutgers. Our talent pool includes an Ivy, 3 major public research institutions and a large, tech heavy, private school.

[McBane]

Transit, location, and cost of living are Philly's top strengths. Our biggest cons are the tax structure, overall business climate (this is where laws such as the one that forbids employers to ask about salary history come into play), and quality of life (crime, cleanliness, political inefficiency, etc.).

Talent is mixed. Yes, we have great universities and a large student body, so there is a large pool of young talent that Amazon can pull from. But a significant proportion of students tend to leave, especially those that come from outside the region (and esp Penn students). Technology is not a major part our economy, and while that's changing, we still lag behind other metros in that regard. Amazon however can change that and help stem the tide of students who leave the region after graduation.

I wouldn't call talent a strength or a liability.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by McBane

Transit, location, and cost of living are Philly's top strengths. Our biggest cons are the tax structure, overall business climate (this is where laws such as the one that forbids employers to ask about salary history come into play), and quality of life (crime, cleanliness, political inefficiency, etc.).

Talent is mixed. Yes, we have great universities and a large student body, so there is a large pool of young talent that Amazon can pull from. But a significant proportion of students tend to leave, especially those that come from outside the region (and esp Penn students). Technology is not a major part our economy, and while that's changing, we still lag behind other metros in that regard. Amazon however can change that and help stem the tide of students who leave the region after graduation.

I wouldn't call talent a strength or a liability.

This. For the money that Amazon will pay-previous article said lots 6 figure salaries, they are going to look to a city that can offer this and have a reputation of proven leadership and performance in technology and innovation relating to their business models and x number of years of real world experience to boot-I see that more of a liability than strength for us at the moment

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

This. For the money that Amazon will pay-previous article said lots 6 figure salaries, they are going to look to a city that can offer this and have a reputation of proven leadership and performance in technology and innovation relating to their business models and x number of years of real world experience to boot-I see that more of a liability than strength for us at the moment

+2.

Austin, while behind Philly on all other RFP bullet-points, has the leg-up on this. Texas' whatever-you-want business climate and non-issue political conditions puts them ahead in all the things that really matter to amazon (imo); money and power. Philly, in comparison, is awash is political corruption, non-accomodative business policy and stifling gridlock. I'm afraid that these things will be the deal-breaker for Philly. I, of course, pray I'm wrong.

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

This. For the money that Amazon will pay-previous article said lots 6 figure salaries, they are going to look to a city that can offer this and have a reputation of proven leadership and performance in technology and innovation relating to their business models and x number of years of real world experience to boot-I see that more of a liability than strength for us at the moment

though one aspect we are strong in is healthcare, pharma and pharma/healthcare distribution a large part of Amazon's growth plan so on that we are about as strong as anyplace for the combination in that segment including logistics and technology on the pharma side

that said I don't believe Philly will land this but it would great for a building jump start and believe would catapult more development in the city from a residential standpoint

[ebuilder]

Originally Posted by McBane

Transit, location, and cost of living are Philly's top strengths. Our biggest cons are the tax structure, overall business climate (this is where laws such as the one that forbids employers to ask about salary history come into play), and quality of life (crime, cleanliness, political inefficiency, etc.).

Talent is mixed. Yes, we have great universities and a large student body, so there is a large pool of young talent that Amazon can pull from. But a significant proportion of students tend to leave, especially those that come from outside the region (and esp Penn students). Technology is not a major part our economy, and while that's changing, we still lag behind other metros in that regard. Amazon however can change that and help stem the tide of students who leave the region after graduation.

I wouldn't call talent a strength or a liability.

when Amazon lands a sweetheart deal and picks a locale they will care less about the overall tax structure or "political efficiency" of the city or region. They will get what they want and then open up shop. What the city they chose does outside of that is probably not all that concerning. These companies are not interested in being involved in the evolution of a particular city or being great corporate citizens. If life isn't great for folks outside of the Amazon bubble in Philly (or wherever) I don't think they care. Aside from building a new HQ these companies don't really have to tangle with the local government all that much and aren't too affected by most matters debated on that level. I don't think they are doing much analysis on how efficient each city's political operations might be- if you can even quantify that. In fact, a large company might prefer an environment where favorable laws are passed on a transactional basis because they will feel they have a better chance of using their influence to sway legislation easily.

[Capsule F]

Tech talent is not even remotely an issue compared to others. There will be no lack of tech talent available.