Amazon HQ2 thread

[Doady]

If Amazon decides to locate HQ2 in Miami, it probably won't be because of its transit system.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Doady

If Amazon decides to locate HQ2 in Miami, it probably won't be because of its transit system.

It will undoubtedly be due to the fine-as-hell Latin babes and tasty Cuban pastelitos. Plus Pitbull, of course.

[The North One]

There are lots of great plastic surgeons in Miami, maybe Bezo's wants a hair transplant?

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

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

. . . its sales outlook missed Wall Street targets, fanning concerns that the online retailer's expansion may finally be losing steam.
The third quarter results late on Thursday was the second time running that billionaire Jeff Bezos' firm had fallen short of Wall Street's lofty sales targets, and the numbers sent a shockwave reverberating through global stock markets.

There were no rating downgrades, however, from the Wall Street analysts who have almost universally backed the company's long-term prospects.
Only three brokerages cut their price targets on the stock and four others raised their targets . . . .

The world's largest retailer is facing hurdles to boost sales in international markets as well as increased competition at home from the likes of Best Buy , Target Corp and Walmart Inc , who are stepping up digital investments.

. . . international business, which brings in 27.5 percent of total sales, rose 13.4 percent in the third quarter, missing estimates, and decelerating from a 27 percent year-on-year expansion in the previous quarter.

. . . nearly every line in the business is decelerating a tad, and we typically see another deceleration in retail in 4Q, hence are struggling to identify a catalyst,"

. . . expected sales in the holiday quarter leading up to Christmas (are expected) to rise between 10 percent and 20 percent, or up to $72.5 billion, while analysts were expecting $73.9 billion . . . .

Its operating profit forecast of between $2.1 billion and $3.6 billion also came in below consensus estimates.

https://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch...260805RTRSNEWSCOMBINED_KCN1N01L0-OUSIN_1

Incidentally, one maven expects Amazon to buy Target pretty soon (he thought by the end of the year but is now pushing that into 2019).

[Doady]

Originally Posted by Crawford

It will undoubtedly be due to the fine-as-hell Latin babes and tasty Cuban pastelitos. Plus Pitbull, of course.

If I were to choose a location based on how fine-as-hell-ness the babes are, I'd probably choose a place that is less car-dependent, that gives its residents more opportunities to live an active lifestyle. In other words, not Miami.

How to fix Miami’s obesity crisis

Miami is known for many things, among them is our svelte, sexy residents. Yes, South Beach is riddled with enough six packs to rival Anheuser-Busch. But the truth is much less attractive: Like much of the country, we are facing a health crisis.

According to the CDC, nearly two-thirds of Miami-Dade County residents are overweight or obese, and less than a quarter engaged in any physical activity within the last 30 days. While these numbers are fairly close to the national averages, they run counter to the city’s perception as a hub for fit, active people.

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article10649090.html#storylink=cpy

[Djesus777]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Miami has a brand new high speed train station, a downtown people mover, an elevated heavy rail line, a commuter train line and one of the fastest densifying downtowns in the country.

Julia Tuttle Causeway, Miami (VISIT FLORIDA) by VISIT FLORIDA

*From a Local*
Miami also has one of the least efficient transit systems, downtown is boring outside two hotspots (and no, Wynwood isn't part of downtown) they're building a lot but most apartments are still empty and dealing with floodings often in a pain in the ass.

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Miami has a brand new high speed train station, a downtown people mover, an elevated heavy rail line, a commuter train line and one of the fastest densifying downtowns in the country.

OK, can we PLEASE stop calling trains like Brightline, "high speed rail". That does a disservice to ACTUAL high speed rail which the US currently has none of and no real plans for any anytime soon.

[digitallagasse]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

OK, can we PLEASE stop calling trains like Brightline, "high speed rail". That does a disservice to ACTUAL high speed rail which the US currently has none of and no real plans for any anytime soon.

HSR is under construction in California so that is not only a plan but happening. Texas Central is also well into planning. Both systems will very much be true HSR. Acela Express does just hit HSR speeds in a limited area. It is otherwise still sadly higher speed rail for the most part.

I do agree that Brightline isn't HSR but still only higher speed rail. IMO HSR starts at 150 MPH.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by 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.

Very very good news.

Kinda win-win. Go Newark!!!

But its exciting to think that Miami might get it. A lot of promise for that city. Its come a long way and the land is already there for their HQ to rise with some wicked proposals.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by digitallagasse

HSR is under construction in California so that is not only a plan but happening. Texas Central is also well into planning. Both systems will very much be true HSR. Acela Express does just hit HSR speeds in a limited area. It is otherwise still sadly higher speed rail for the most part.

I do agree that Brightline isn't HSR but still only higher speed rail. IMO HSR starts at 150 MPH.

Much of those systems will help the coming residential boom near or around rail lines. An HQ2 here would guarantee a nice spike in demand for units. Rentals, things of that nature.

A proper transit system, even if light-rail, is a template for future growth. Miami is doing just that. Setting itself up for a much bigger vision.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Djesus777

*From a Local*
Miami also has one of the least efficient transit systems, downtown is boring outside two hotspots (and no, Wynwood isn't part of downtown) they're building a lot but most apartments are still empty and dealing with floodings often in a pain in the ass.

Miami has a very tight housing market. Prices have increased dramatically. Even with all of the units u/c, its not enough.

By apartments, are we referring to rentals or condos? Condo's side on investments, and tend to be seasonal in terms of occupancy via clients/tenants, but the rental market is hot. Condos are also bought for full time living by many big clientele in the financial industry (the city has a big banking/investment sector).

Its one of the fastest growing U.S. cities after Austin,TX.

Its doing a lot of grand things, and we gotta give it credit. Can't just give up on the place. Its transit system is up and coming. Give it time... ridership will increase. Things like Brightline will help. Its a positive.

[SIGSEGV]

Yeah, I don't know how much it makes sense to invest in a place existentially threatened by the climate.

[jd3189]

You guys have to really give Miami a break on this. This HQ2 is probably planned to accomplish what HQ1 did to Seattle: putting it more on the map in terms of tech and some urban development.There’s a lot of potential for future growth in tech down there and it would help with the economy, making it less reliant on tourism. It ain’t a Chicago or New York, but Seattle wasn’t either.


Plus, Miami is at least trying to grow with infrastructure like Brightline and Tri-Rail expansion. The sea level thing doesn’t hold too much leverage when you consider that the whole East and Gulf coasts are targets every hurricane season. If that’s the case, NYC and DC are screwed too since they are near the ocean or on a river connected to the ocean.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by jd3189

If that’s the case, NYC and DC are screwed too since they are near the ocean or on a river connected to the ocean.

NYC, DC, Baltimore and Boston can (and likely will) build flood barriers. Miami can't. Or it could, but the water would just come up through the ground anyway.

[Djesus777]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Miami has a very tight housing market. Prices have increased dramatically. Even with all of the units u/c, its not enough.

By apartments, are we referring to rentals or condos? Condo's side on investments, and tend to be seasonal in terms of occupancy via clients/tenants, but the rental market is hot. Condos are also bought for full time living by many big clientele in the financial industry (the city has a big banking/investment sector).

Its one of the fastest growing U.S. cities after Austin,TX.

Its doing a lot of grand things, and we gotta give it credit. Can't just give up on the place. Its transit system is up and coming. Give it time... ridership will increase. Things like Brightline will help. Its a positive.

Miami is only ranked behind Austin in the WalletHub study, other studies don't have it in the top 10. Also with transit Brightline aside, has been cut dramatically. Making Miami a transit-friendly city will be difficult since people there love cars. Other than that, the city is prone to flooding and the anti-flood pumps MB built only have a 10-15 year lifespan and are dependent on a generator. If I'm Amazon and see how a city spent $600M on something that will fail, I wouldn't invest there. And of course the tech scene and high skilled job pool is very shallow in Miami.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by jd3189

Plus, Miami is at least trying to grow with infrastructure like Brightline and Tri-Rail expansion. The sea level thing doesn’t hold too much leverage when you consider that the whole East and Gulf coasts are targets every hurricane season. If that’s the case, NYC and DC are screwed too since they are near the ocean or on a river connected to the ocean.

The city is always an underdog on ssp (Miami). Unfortunate, but to those who actually follow the changes, its improved a ton. I'll say this... the city is doing more than numerous cities of a larger size. Its taking a lot of initative to improve its competitive nature, and if the executives are revisiting it... they must be doing something favorable that meets there requirements.

Often talk of climate, cocaine/drugs fueling the change, and all of that stuff tends to appear.... but the fact is... the city is organically growing fast. Business, new residents are all making a move. Not just in the city, but in the metro as well.

Competition is tight among the finalists, but hey... they made it this far.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Djesus777

Miami is only ranked behind Austin in the WalletHub study, other studies don't have it in the top 10. Also with transit Brightline aside, has been cut dramatically. Making Miami a transit-friendly city will be difficult since people there love cars. Other than that, the city is prone to flooding and the anti-flood pumps MB built only have a 10-15 year lifespan and are dependent on a generator. If I'm Amazon and see how a city spent $600M on something that will fail, I wouldn't invest there. And of course the tech scene and high skilled job pool is very shallow in Miami.

I don't think it will be Miami in the end, but we shall see. I think realistically, odds are DC/DC metro. But we shall see. Hell... for all we know, bloody Newark could get it (which would be a good thing!).

[Zapatan]

Amazon should totally move into 2WTC in NY

[chris08876]

The cost would also be 4-5 billion to finish the tower which I believe they say it'll cost 5 billion (HQ2). Now that would be the dream wouldn't it. And with the Foster design.

But thats a hell of a dream.

They would also be leasing the space. I think they want to own the building(s)... where ever it winds up in, so that would eliminate WTC2 as an option. Plus IDK if the BIG or Foster design would cater to their type of work. Does Amazon really need trading floors?

[dubu]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

NYC, DC, Baltimore and Boston can (and likely will) build flood barriers. Miami can't. Or it could, but the water would just come up through the ground anyway.

that wall will have to be real high around every big city by the ocean, that sounds crazier then what elon musk would do.