PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Raja]

Originally Posted by allovertown

This is objectively terrible news. However if bs like this is gonna happen at least we have a local company like Comcast that can take advantage and at least benefit us locally.

Hear hear

[mja]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

This is what he said:

“We will say we are more encouraged by our chances than we would have been the last time I was in front of you...They have been recent and we are encouraged."

The confusing part is what he meant by "They have been recent..." I'm assuming he meant contact and encouragement from Amazon but it's not clear from the tweet. But all that said, at the end of the day he's just saying "we are more encouraged by our chances." It could be that last time the chances were near 0 and now they're 10%, who knows. I don't think that's the kind of statement you give if you think you're the favorite and then find out that you're going to get it, though. But again, who knows.

That's the kind of non-statement that he has to give in that situation, but it would leave me to be more optimistic about our chances, not less, because if they've already been told they were out of it, you wouldn't think he'd editorialize about our chances like that.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by acenturi

And then there's this: https://www.heraldnet.com/business/seattle-repeals-tax-on-companies-after-amazon-fights-back/

This is a good thing, in my opinion, although as the article notes, Amazon played only a bit part in the repeal:

City leaders underestimated the frustration and anger from residents, businesses and others over not just a tax increase but also a growing sense that homelessness appears to have gotten worse, not better, despite Seattle spending millions to fight it.

It would be really good for Philadelphia to add a large corporation that might be willing to hold city leaders accountable for their insatiable appetite for levying taxes. Although I'd imagine with all the tax breaks and such, Amazon wouldn't become a hostile actor right away. But it would be great to see them team up with Comcast down the line and others to start fighting back and funding business-friendly elected officials.

[Milksteak]

In more exciting news, North America will host the 2026 World Cup!!

Philly better be on top of this!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/sports/world-cup/fifa-2026-vote-north-america-morocco.html

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

In more exciting news, North America will host the 2026 World Cup!!

Philly better be on top of this!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/sports/world-cup/fifa-2026-vote-north-america-morocco.html

Also America’s 250th birthday. If we don’t get to host games in early July, that would be a huge letdown. It would be a great opportunity to showcase our history and our newly completely West Philadelphia skyline with Amazon HQ2 in Schuylkill Yards, where people from all over the Northeast can arrive at a renovated 30th Street Station and a see a nascent capping of the railyards. Obviously

[Skintreesnail]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

In more exciting news, North America will host the 2026 World Cup!!

Philly better be on top of this!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/sports/world-cup/fifa-2026-vote-north-america-morocco.html

seems like they are:
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/united-2026-bid-book.pdf?cloudid=w3yjeu7dadt5erw26wmu

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

seems like they are:
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/united-2026-bid-book.pdf?cloudid=w3yjeu7dadt5erw26wmu

we definitely are. they have to whittle the list down a bit, but Philly is favored to make the final cut. It won't be for the opening or final matches, but we should be good for some elimination round matches.

[MyDadBuiltThat]

Originally Posted by sayitaintso

Seriously Im not going to address this anymore. Ive already explained the backstory. I dont give 2 shits if you believe me or not.

So far your info doesn't contradict with what I heard so that keeps me hopeful. I know its just hearsay but I heard that the Cushman and Wakefield rep who was pitching their center city option to Amazon was told that it was always just Philadelphia, Austin or Chicago.

[phishtown]

Comcast makes $65 billion offer to steal 21st Century Fox away from Disney

And there it is

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by MyDadBuiltThat

So far your info doesn't contradict with what I heard so that keeps me hopeful. I know its just hearsay but I heard that the Cushman and Wakefield rep who was pitching their center city option to Amazon was told that it was always just Philadelphia, Austin or Chicago.

Chicago is definitely the wildcard. Most favored an east coast location. But, I can see one big advantage from Chicago over Philly and that is direct flights to the Far East.

Amazon, let's go with the announcement. All of us aren't getting any younger.

[Knight Hospitaller]

^ As the field purportedly narrows, Chicago nabbing this is my concern. Amazon wouldn’t be the first Seattle company to go there. It has a lot to offer. Austin only has the trendy vibe and tech sector. That said, I think we are still in the drivers seat.

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

Chicago is definitely the wildcard. Most favored an east coast location. But, I can see one big advantage from Chicago over Philly and that is direct flights to the Far East.

Amazon, let's go with the announcement. All of us aren't getting any younger.

I doubt that an airline flight to the Far East will be a requirement for selection. Amazon's most extensive non-North American presence is Europe, which dwarfs Asia. If Amazon's final negotiations (with the hypothetical 3) required a Far East airline flight, Philly, already a significant American Airlines international Gateway, could offer revenue guarantees for service to either China or Japan. I believe, however, the only RFP requirement is air access to Seattle, which we easily satisfy with several daily flights. I'd bet AA would jump on a partially subsidized PHL flight to Japan or China (Amazon's largest centers in that region) and route connections to support it.

[Urbanthusiat]

The easiest solution to that dilemma would be to locate any jobs pertaining to Asian markets in Seattle instead of Philly, and put the Europe-focused jobs here. Hypothetically, of course, but that would seem to make sense if Amazon chooses philly or another location along the coast.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by acenturi

I doubt that an airline flight to the Far East will be a requirement for selection. Amazon's most extensive non-North American presence is Europe, which dwarfs Asia. If Amazon's final negotiations (with the hypothetical 3) required a Far East airline flight, Philly, already a significant American Airlines international Gateway, could offer revenue guarantees for service to either China or Japan. I believe, however, the only RFP requirement is air access to Seattle, which we easily satisfy with several daily flights. I'd bet AA would jump on a partially subsidized PHL flight to Japan or China (Amazon's largest centers in that region) and route connections to support it.

If Amazon comes, the Asian flights will follow quickly.

It's not like the airport can't handle them. It can.

And it already has a Centurion Lounge for elites, so....

Not many airports do. Certainly not Austin.

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

If Amazon comes, the Asian flights will follow quickly.
And it already has a Centurion Lounge for elites, so....
Not many airports do. Certainly not Austin.

"If Amazon comes, the Asian flights will follow quickly." - Why ? There will likely be little or no directly related Amazon business travel to the Far East from PHL, it'll be from Seattle.
"It's not like the airport can't handle them. It can. -" Who on earth said it can't ??
"And it already has a Centurion Lounge for elites, so..Not many airports do. Certainly not Austin" The American Express Centurion Lounge has nothing to do with Airline "elites". All you need is a Platinum AMEX Card. AMEX selects airports for Centurion Lounges based on the number of card holders in the airport catchment.

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by MyDadBuiltThat

So far your info doesn't contradict with what I heard so that keeps me hopeful. I know its just hearsay but I heard that the Cushman and Wakefield rep who was pitching their center city option to Amazon was told that it was always just Philadelphia, Austin or Chicago.

Honestly I'd be shocked if that was true, but that's mostly based on my gut instinct that it was going to be an east coast city (i.e. not Austin or Chicago). But it also doesn't match up with the little other information I know, although that isn't really hard facts (I can't say any more unfortunately).

And while this doesn't discount your information, I think Amazon typically works with CBRE, not Cushman and Wakefield, so this person may be a little further removed from the decision making than they let on. (That said, commercial real estate is well outside my area of expertise so maybe it's common in that field to regularly work with different companies.)

[iamrobk]

Chris Brennan
@ByChrisBrennan
Philadelphia's proposed new construction tax on hold till next week for amendment to clarify that it would not apply to potential #AmazonHQ2 sites, per City Council President @Darrell_Clarke

https://twitter.com/ByChrisBrennan/status/1007257403430260736

I wouldn't read anything into this regarding our chances for HQ2, but it's clear Commerce and City Council had some discussions behind the scenes lol.

[mcgrath618]

I love the fact that Amazon could be coming here, and I think we should do all we can to ensure that they do.
However, this is just unfair. If you have to give out exceptions to the rule, it's a bad rule.

[Londonee]

I think it's amazing how tight-lipped everyone is being about this whole process. Presumably, at this point, thousands of people are in the know across dozens of entities mobilizing behind the scenes (including family and friends of those in the know). And nary a peep. This isn't exactly national security secrets here - everyone should live a little and leak!

[iheartphilly]

^
Amazon is sure having fun at our expense. In actuality, I think non-disclosure agreements that can cost you your job if you leak info before it is official is in effect. This is no different than company secrets or proprietary info that key employees must not disclose.