Amazon HQ2 thread

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

Chicago is often referred to the Miami of the north.

chicago is widely know as "the miami of canada".

don't go around butchering simpson's quotes.

i won't have it!

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

chicago is widely know as "the miami of canada".

don't go around butchering simpson's quote.

i won't have it!

Same thing

[initiald]

Originally Posted by toddguy

I will be so glad when they finally announce it so we can all get forget about it except for the one city (likely one of the biggest ones like DC, Atlanta, etc.) that will get it.

Raleigh has this in the bag.

[Mentallect]

Originally Posted by initiald

Raleigh has this in the bag.

Why do you think Raleigh has it in the bag? The Triangle is supposed the new home for Apple C2. I do not think Raleigh has the infrastructure of talent to support both monsters. The hurricanes may also give AMZN pause as well.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

Why do you think Raleigh has it in the bag? The Triangle is supposed the new home for Apple C2. I do not think Raleigh has the infrastructure of talent to support both monsters. The hurricanes may also give AMZN pause as well.

Hurricanes aren't a threat nor a factor. The RTP, RDU - Triangle is 150 miles inland from the coast and is above the fall line. So it has terrain that can drain water down towards the coast and is not flat like the coastal plain of eastern North Carolina.

[initiald]

Originally Posted by Mentallect

Why do you think Raleigh has it in the bag? The Triangle is supposed the new home for Apple C2. I do not think Raleigh has the infrastructure of talent to support both monsters. The hurricanes may also give AMZN pause as well.

I'm mostly being facetious. Just being on the final shortlist was a major win for Raleigh which is a nice but still relatively small tech hub. Just 1 million people live in Wake county, so it's hard to compete with the giants.

We're just like a 16 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament - we're just excited to be here.

[jd3189]

Again, if it comes to Miami, it would really help with the development of the core. Bringing any big tech company down to South Florida would help the area become more diverse economically than just a place for tourism and retirement.

[DrNest]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

I'll eat my hat if it ends up going to Toronto. We put together a good package, and it would be cool to have someone immediately jumpstart the East Harbour development. That being said there are no real incentives beyond lower benefits costs from Government healthcare and easier immigration. I get the feeling most people stand by the city/province's decision to abstain from excessive corporate welfare.

I still think D.C. makes the most sense for Bezos's personal reasons. Would love to see Philly get it though.

I still believe Toronto has a very strong case to be selected. And if it were, the East Harbour area would be a great potential site.

[Centropolis]

i don’t see how this isn’t going to a major metro with mature infrastructure like a DC or Chicago.

[a very long weekend]

The cities that have had return visits by HQ2 people:
Miami
Chicago
All the DC ones
NYC/Newark

The cities that have not had follow up visits:
Denver
Philadelphia
Austin
Pittsburgh
Raleigh

The rest of the cities we don't really have a sense of except, of course, that there's no way it'll be in Toronto.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i don’t see how this isn’t going to a major metro with mature infrastructure like a DC or Chicago.

Same here. When Detroit was eliminated, Amazon emphasized that its transit issues were a primary factor for it being eliminated. Since it's a big, cheap city that offered a ton of money, Amazon must be weighting transit very heavily, and might not care as much about tax incentives and cost of living. That would knock out pretty much all but the big cities.

I am surprised to see that Miami is still in the discussion. It seems an odd fit compared to what the other cities can offer. But Bezos did spend part of his adolescence there, so maybe it's a sentimental thing.

[SIGSEGV]

Surprised Philly didn't get a followup visit. I'd think they'd be a stronger contender than Newark...

Maybe the HQ2 people just flew into EWR and that "counted" as visiting Newark :-p

[LouisVanDerWright]

They already picked Chicago, they are only doing the other site visits to a few other random cities to distract and keep it a secret. That much is obvious.

[Shawn]

The word now is, especially after the MIT $1 billion investment in AI announcement, that Amazon will be HQ'ing it's Artificial Intelligence unit in Boston, separate from HQ2.

Definitely no HQ2 in Boston.

[Mentallect]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i don’t see how this isn’t going to a major metro with mature infrastructure like a DC or Chicago.

Toronto will not get HQ2. US politics makes it a death sentence for Amazon. US regulators are already looking to break up Amazon as a monopoly. Trump has criticized Amazon. Bernie Sanders have criticized Amazon. Other US law makers have also condemned Amazon. With all the hoopla over outsourcing US jobs overseas, the most visible company in America after Apple is not placing its HQ2 in Canada. Bezos is donating millions to charity because he is ranked as the least popular CEO in America. Amazon has increased its lobby budget by over 900% in 1 year due to Bezos's unpopularity. Amazon will be in Northern VA, maybe Atlanta or Boston.

[10023]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I am surprised to see that Miami is still in the discussion. It seems an odd fit compared to what the other cities can offer. But Bezos did spend part of his adolescence there, so maybe it's a sentimental thing.

Miami is the “only fish in a reasonably large pond” option.

It’s a pretty big metro with good flight connections, plenty of wealth, and a place that talent could conceivably be attracted to (even though there is no tech industry today). But there is no business there. I can’t even name a company that’s (really) based in Miami outside of tourism and real estate.

So they could be the only game in town, and transform the economy quite significantly themselves, IF their HQ2 ends up being as big and ambitious as they claim it could be.

If HQ2 ends up being 1/4 the size and more of a regional hub than a true second headquarters, then Miami is a terrible choice because there’s no tech industry and that wouldn’t be enough to create one. That ability to change tack must be factoring into their thinking as well.

[Jawnadelphia]

I know I'm a Philly homer, but Amazon could have this ...


Next to an Amtrak station, regional rail to airport (direct line), next to two vibrant universities in Penn and Drexel, and a walk across the bridge to Center City. I honestly think from a purely location perspective (and lower cost), it would've been the best spot. The Amtrak to DC or NYC from here is nothing.

So I really don't understand the more suburban type rumors for NOVA, seems bizarre when we all know millennials/hipsters whatever you want to call them want to be in urban areas.

[skyscraperpage17]

I just have a hard timing believing Bezos, who's a strong believer of climate change, would choose a place like Miami.

It may be a sexy choice now, but is it practical for Amazon's needs (especially in the future)?

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Jawnadelphia

I know I'm a Philly homer, but Amazon could have this ...


Next to an Amtrak station, regional rail to airport (direct line), next to two vibrant universities in Penn and Drexel, and a walk across the bridge to Center City. I honestly think from a purely location perspective (and lower cost), it would've been the best spot. The Amtrak to DC or NYC from here is nothing.

So I really don't understand the more suburban type rumors for NOVA, seems bizarre when we all know millennials/hipsters whatever you want to call them want to be in urban areas.

Outside of some of the sites in Chicago, Schuylkill Yards is definitely the best site IMO.

EDIT: That being said, having the best sites doesn't necessarily equate to being the best overall candidates.

[JManc]

AMZN stock is down nearly 9% as of this post.