Amazon HQ2 bid

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by 908kiddo

Those grades are atrocious. A random generator could have done better than that.

Pittsburgh PA population - 300k = A+
New York City population - 8.6M = A+

Columbus OH location - B+
Atlanta GA location - C+

Laughable

Yeah, the article makes NO sense whatsoever....

[ATLswede]

Originally Posted by Metrophile

What's the height restriction for Amazon (not that they probably can't get an exception approved) for building in the Gulch vs say Midtown?

There is no height restriction downtown. There techincally isn't a height restriction in Midtown, either, but the Floor Area Ratio will cap you at around 20-30 for most lots.

[nmadsen]

Originally Posted by ATLswede

There is no height restriction downtown. There techincally isn't a height restriction in Midtown, either, but the Floor Area Ratio will cap you at around 20-30 for most lots.

Do you have any reference material on the height restriction/ floor area ration as it relates to Atlanta? I've always been curious to learn about ATL's official laws on building height but I can never seem to find anything I understand.

[Atlanta3000]

Probably Nothing, but Interesting

Integral, the developer of Assembly Yards and Eviva, visited Amazon's campus in Seattle last month.

[jwbab]

Originally Posted by nmadsen

Do you have any reference material on the height restriction/ floor area ration as it relates to Atlanta? I've always been curious to learn about ATL's official laws on building height but I can never seem to find anything I understand.

The best source is the Atlanta zoning code:

https://library.municode.com/ga/atlanta/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIICOORANDECO_PT16ZO

The most pertinent information for our discussions on this board is under the SPI districts - so you have to scroll down towards the bottom and choose the appropriate district (ex. SPI-1 Downtown or SPI-9 Buckhead Village). The height restrictions are usually in a subsection entitled "Development Controls". Here is the one for Downtown: (Scroll to the bottom of the table to see "Maximum Building Height: None")

https://library.municode.com/ga/atlanta/...ZO_CH16-18ASDOSPPUINDIRE_S16-18A.008DECO

[nmadsen]

Originally Posted by jwbab

The best source is the Atlanta zoning code:

https://library.municode.com/ga/atlanta/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIICOORANDECO_PT16ZO

The most pertinent information for our discussions on this board is under the SPI districts - so you have to scroll down towards the bottom and choose the appropriate district (ex. SPI-1 Downtown or SPI-9 Buckhead Village). The height restrictions are usually in a subsection entitled "Development Controls". Here is the one for Downtown: (Scroll to the bottom of the table to see "Maximum Building Height: None")

https://library.municode.com/ga/atlanta/...ZO_CH16-18ASDOSPPUINDIRE_S16-18A.008DECO

Thank you! Very interesting. I wish this was in some sort of map that would allow you to turn layers on/off.... sounds like I have a project idea haha.

[Metrophile]

Originally Posted by ATLswede

There techincally isn't a height restriction in Midtown, either, but the Floor Area Ratio will cap you at around 20-30 for most lots.

Thanks for the info. That explains a lot. Lame.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by nmadsen

Thank you! Very interesting. I wish this was in some sort of map that would allow you to turn layers on/off.... sounds like I have a project idea haha.

You may already be familiar with this, but the Planning Viewer on the city's GIS page may help with that.

https://gis.atlantaga.gov/planview/

[(four 0 four)]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Probably Nothing, but Interesting

Integral, the developer of Assembly Yards and Eviva, visited Amazon's campus in Seattle last month.

My best friend went to Seattle a couple of weeks ago and walked by one of the Amazon buildings. He's been pretty tight-lipped about the whole experience but I'll be sure to let everyone know if I can get any information out of him.

Until then, I'm enjoying sitting back and watching all the wild speculation about any shred of information that may or may not be worthy of speculation.

[montydawg]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Probably Nothing, but Interesting

Integral, the developer of Assembly Yards and Eviva, visited Amazon's campus in Seattle last month.

Haha, that is as close to Bezos as they got.

[skyscraperpage17]

Although the below article mainly discusses how small town-like suburbs on the edge of big cities are seeing the biggest influx of Millennials, they also go into how far-reaching the effects of HQ2 could be and how those same small town-like suburbs could be the biggest benefactors from Amazon HQ2.

I say bring it! Let's do it! I'm ready!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alyyale/201...re-moving-and-where-hq2-might-send-them/

"In the event HQ2 lands in Atlanta, nearby Carrollton might see Millennial-spurred growth. The city has an average home price of just $139,000. It might be 45 minutes away, but Chen calls it “a refuge for young city dwellers.”

“With prices high and competition fierce, Millennials are willing to compromise and commute a little bit further for the quality of life they’re looking for: the high priority items being proximity to friends, family, and important hobbies and passions,” he said."

[jayden]

I think if Amazon does choose Atlanta those that don't end up living in the city will from word of mouth flock to the usual northern suburbs for its good schools and better quality of life.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by jayden

I think if Amazon does choose Atlanta those that don't end up living in the city will from word of mouth flock to the usual northern suburbs for its good schools and better quality of life.

It depends.

If Amazon selects The Gulch, the northern suburbs simply won't seem all that attractive with the horrible traffic, especially since housing isn't nearly as inexpensive.

Coweta / Fayette Counties would most likely get second looks.

[ThrashATL]

Why don't you think that the bulk of the employees wouldn't be people that already live here? If Amazon is smart, and they are, they move a few thousand people to Atlanta and hire as many as they can that already live here.

[atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Probably Nothing, but Interesting

Integral, the developer of Assembly Yards and Eviva, visited Amazon's campus in Seattle last month.

More likely nothing since Intergral is good at announcing big projects for Atlanta, but only seems to complete apartment projects.

[Calidreaming01]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Although the below article mainly discusses how small town-like suburbs on the edge of big cities are seeing the biggest influx of Millennials, they also go into how far-reaching the effects of HQ2 could be and how those same small town-like suburbs could be the biggest benefactors from Amazon HQ2.

I say bring it! Let's do it! I'm ready!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alyyale/201...re-moving-and-where-hq2-might-send-them/

"In the event HQ2 lands in Atlanta, nearby Carrollton might see Millennial-spurred growth. The city has an average home price of just $139,000. It might be 45 minutes away, but Chen calls it “a refuge for young city dwellers.”

“With prices high and competition fierce, Millennials are willing to compromise and commute a little bit further for the quality of life they’re looking for: the high priority items being proximity to friends, family, and important hobbies and passions,” he said."

Carrollton is kind of a stretch, but I see what Chen's point is. It takes a little over 45 minutes to downtown from Carrollton even with zero traffic. I would not want to be doing that commute everyday. Maybe places like Douglasville, Austell or Villa Rica.

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

It depends.

If Amazon selects The Gulch, the northern suburbs simply won't seem all that attractive with the horrible traffic, especially since housing isn't nearly as inexpensive.

Coweta / Fayette Counties would most likely get second looks.

I agree Coweta and Fayette would probably see explosive growth if Amazon settles in the Gulch. The commute from Fayette County especially is a breeze. For instance, from Tyrone to the Gulch would be an easy 20-25 minute commute on a normal traffic day and even less to the airport.

I think a good number of Amazon's employees would wind up on the north side but I think the laws of supply and demand would mean people would start taking a closer look at communities on the south side.

[jayden]

Sure the housing is more expensive and the traffic sucks, but people are willing to take those cons of the area is desireable. I just dont see the thousands of new professionals coming into the city if Amazon comes flocking to the South suburbs. I'm sure they'll do tons of research on school systems, quality of life etc. which is undeniably superior in the northern suburbs.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by jayden

Sure the housing is more expensive and the traffic sucks, but people are willing to take those cons of the area is desireable. I just dont see the thousands of new professionals coming into the city if Amazon comes flocking to the South suburbs. I'm sure they'll do tons of research on school systems, quality of life etc. which is undeniably superior in tthe northern suburbs.

The schools in Coweta and Fayette Counties at least are competitve with the schools in a lot of the highly sought after Northern suburbs (granted, probably not so much the case in Henry, Clayton and South Fulton). Coweta's Northgate High cluster in particular is arguably the best kept secret in alll of Metro Atlanta.

As far as crime, Newnan and Peachtree City were recently ranked amongst the top 10 safest cities in the state.

The main reason they get overlooked and ruled out is because all of the tech / finance jobs are in Cumberland / Sandy Springs / Alpharetta / Buckhead (basically way north). But if you build up a large enough concentration of those jobs in places like South Downtown or Aerotropolis
that changes things.

[skyscraperpage17]

Today's hearing on the incentives for The Gulch has gotten the attention of the Chicago Tribune...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-amazon-atlanta-20180821-story.html

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Today's hearing on the incentives for The Gulch has gotten the attention of the Chicago Tribune...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-amazon-atlanta-20180821-story.html

I told everyone this would not be going on if behind the scenes there was not actions by Amazon to merit it. It looks like the Chicago Tribune is connecting the dots too!