Amazon HQ2

[chundercracker]

Originally Posted by deerhoof

I have a friend in town for SXSW promoting on behalf of the City of Atlanta to attract tech workers to move there. Apparently, Atlanta's lack of tech talent was a big part in why they didn't get Amazon HQ2. The reason I bring it up is because the decision obviously hasn't been made public that Atlanta didn't get HQ2 even though it was considered a strong contender, but the City of Atlanta is already working to try to remedy that problem for the city. Atlanta must already know they didn't get it.

How solid is this info? It's surprising because I'd always considered Atlanta one of the frontrunners.

[deerhoof]

Originally Posted by chundercracker

How solid is this info? It's surprising because I'd always considered Atlanta one of the frontrunners.

I wouldn't say it's solid info, it's just what a friend said and she's in more of a position of know than I am. Just passing it along, because it had been debated in the past about how much tech talent was in Atlanta vs Austin.

Personally, I think it's going to the DC area (considering 3 options from that area are on the short list), but wouldn't be surprised if they chose multiple cities to expand significantly in.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by smith_atx

Interesting article thanks.

Definitely enlightening about how tech leadership types are feeling about it and about Austin.

I also was glad to see this:

But Bellm also called Austin “a backwater when it comes to business development.” He pointed out that Mayor Steve Adler’s communication to Amazon, which is thinking about locating its second headquarters in Austin, lacked all the things Bellm felt it should have: An appeal to Amazon to come, a pitch about all the advantages, a list of things Austin would do if Amazon came. Instead, he said, Adler pointed out all the problems he didn’t know how to solve that he hoped Amazon would help him solve.

I've been frankly horrified with how he's approached the HQ2 question, and this hits it right on the head for me.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Really fascinating little article.

http://www.siliconhillsnews.com/2018...n-wants-grows/

Turns out everyone everywhere in Austin is having the same internal argument about HQ2.

Bonus point for local t3ch leader slamming Adler’s Amazon “pitch.”

Startup people see technology through a lens of startups, even though 90? (95, 99%?) of technology work isn't startups.

"But then Hawkins turned the question to whether Austin really wanted Amazon. According to reports, the Amazon culture is the polar opposite of Austin’s in that it’s dog-eat-dog whereas Austin is collaborative and generous.

A lot of big companies like Amazon and Google build campuses that are not integrated into the city and actually do not help the local economy all that much."

All these "experts" seem ignorant of the fact that Austin _already_ has Amazon. Not a headquarters, but a very significant development presence. Seems like Austin and Amazon aren't that incompatible after all.

[abigdeal]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Startup people see technology through a lens of startups, even though 90? (95, 99%?) of technology work isn't startups.

"But then Hawkins turned the question to whether Austin really wanted Amazon. According to reports, the Amazon culture is the polar opposite of Austin’s in that it’s dog-eat-dog whereas Austin is collaborative and generous.

A lot of big companies like Amazon and Google build campuses that are not integrated into the city and actually do not help the local economy all that much."

All these "experts" seem ignorant of the fact that Austin _already_ has Amazon. Not a headquarters, but a very significant development presence. Seems like Austin and Amazon aren't that incompatible after all.

And a big Google office right in the middle of downtown that's very integrated into the city.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by deerhoof

I have a friend in town for SXSW promoting on behalf of the City of Atlanta to attract tech workers to move there. Apparently, Atlanta's lack of tech talent was a big part in why they didn't get Amazon HQ2. The reason I bring it up is because the decision obviously hasn't been made public that Atlanta didn't get HQ2 even though it was considered a strong contender, but the City of Atlanta is already working to try to remedy that problem for the city. Atlanta must already know they didn't get it.

It's also cool they came to Austin to get Tech workers to move to Atlanta, which implies Austin has lots of quality tech workers. Though, many people come in for SXSW from other parts of the country and world, so I'm sure that's the biggest reason they are promoting Atlanta here.

"Today is the day! ������ We’re taking over #SXSW with the largest presence at the job fair. Come see why companies like @HomeDepot, @ManhAssocNews, and @GeorgiaPower #ChooseATL. http://www.chooseatl.com/sxsw #AtlantaIsNow – at Lester E. Palmer Events Center" - https://twitter.com/chooseATL/status/972511364991406082

ChooseATL, is run by an advertising agency for the social media campaign of attracting companies to Atlanta. There is 0% chance anyone at the advertising agency or at ChooseATL would have any insider info.

Atlanta has approximately 120K high-tech workers and Austin has approximately 50K high-tech workers. It is absolutely true Austin has a higher % of high-tech workers in your labor force than Atlanta - just to be clear.

As for Atlanta being out of the race, who knows. What I do know is Amazon was scouting sites in Atlanta as early as 2016 for HQ2 sites. This is a year prior to when they released their RFP. Does this mean Atlanta is the front runner? Absolutely not. What it does mean is Amazon believed Atlanta does have the talent to support their HQ2.

Best of luck to Austin in the race.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

As for Atlanta being out of the race, who knows. What I do know is Amazon was scouting sites in Atlanta as early as 2016 for HQ2 sites. This is a year prior to when they released their RFP. Does this mean Atlanta is the front runner? Absolutely not. What it does mean is Amazon believed Atlanta does have the talent to support their HQ2.

You made this claim before, and then totally failed to back it up.

Go any evidence yet?

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

This was published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle over a month before Amazon's RFP. Any guesses?

https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nt=firefox-b-1

Originally Posted by Novacek

Uh, not Amazon. Unless that site is next to 10 times as many empty lots (to provide the expansion required by Amazon).

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Novacek

You made this claim before, and then totally failed to back it up.

Go any evidence yet?

This is a screenshot from a development presentation from Allen Morris who is building a project in West Midtown. JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) is CRE Broker for the the project. JLL is one of the largest CRE Brokers is the US. Data from this slide came from JLL. Note the date at the bottom.

[Atlanta3000]

Link to the presentation. See page 9.

http://45wp731dyrsdlgsig1aglgih1l.wp...on-9-21-17.pdf

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Novacek

You made this claim before, and then totally failed to back it up.

Go any evidence yet?

Is that evidence Novacek?

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Is that evidence Novacek?

Since that presentation is from 9/21/2017

No, it's not.


I'm sure some of the "data" on that slide came from that source. But I guarantee you the inclusion of Amazon did not (and was added from public un-cited sources).

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Since that presentation is from 9/21/2017

No, it's not.


I'm sure some of the "data" on that slide came from that source. But I guarantee you the inclusion of Amazon did not (and was added from public un-cited sources).

OK - So Allen Morris, a prominent developer in the Southeast, was misleading their potential investors and "manufactured" research provided by JLL by including the Amazon logo? Is this what you are saying?

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by deerhoof

I have a friend in town for SXSW promoting on behalf of the City of Atlanta to attract tech workers to move there. Apparently, Atlanta's lack of tech talent was a big part in why they didn't get Amazon HQ2. The reason I bring it up is because the decision obviously hasn't been made public that Atlanta didn't get HQ2 even though it was considered a strong contender, but the City of Atlanta is already working to try to remedy that problem for the city. Atlanta must already know they didn't get it.

It's also cool they came to Austin to get Tech workers to move to Atlanta, which implies Austin has lots of quality tech workers. Though, many people come in for SXSW from other parts of the country and world, so I'm sure that's the biggest reason they are promoting Atlanta here.

"Today is the day! 🎊 We’re taking over #SXSW with the largest presence at the job fair. Come see why companies like @HomeDepot, @ManhAssocNews, and @GeorgiaPower #ChooseATL. http://www.chooseatl.com/sxsw #AtlantaIsNow – at Lester E. Palmer Events Center" - https://twitter.com/chooseATL/status/972511364991406082

can you get your friend to send me back some of that swag

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

OK - So Allen Morris, a prominent developer in the Southeast, was misleading their potential investors and "manufactured" research provided by JLL by including the Amazon logo? Is this what you are saying?

No, they made the perfectly accurate statement that Amazon (as of September 2017) was eyeing Atlanta for a HQ.

You're incorrectly inferring that Amazon's inclusion on that list is what was sourced from JLL, and not data on company relocation reasons : "favorable cost of living, quality of education, tax
benefits, and more."

Come on, it was clearly a last-minute add, hoping to ride the coattails of the HQ2 buzz. Arguably the statement "for their North American Headquarters" isn't even accurate in the case of Amazon.

Think. So JLL knew about HQ2, a massive news story, literally a year before anyone else? And the word didn't get out, even though they included it in a Q4 2016 report they distributed to a bunch of other companies?

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Novacek

No, they made the perfectly accurate statement that Amazon (as of September 2017) was eyeing Atlanta for a HQ.
/
You're incorrectly inferring that Amazon's inclusion on that list is what was sourced from JLL, and not data on company relocation reasons : "favorable cost of living, quality of education, tax
benefits, and more."

Come on, it was clearly a last-minute add, hoping to ride the coattails of the HQ2 buzz. Arguably the statement "for their North American Headquarters" isn't even accurate in the case of Amazon.

Think. So JLL knew about HQ2, a massive news story, literally a year before anyone else? And the word didn't get out, even though they included it in a Q4 2016 report they distributed to a bunch of other companies?

Based on public information, Amazon was not looking at Atlanta as of 9/21/17 (the data of the presentation). Amazon had just released the RFP on 9/7/2017 and cities had to return responses on 10/15/17. Amazon "officially" was not looking at Atlanta until they announced their Top 20 List 1/18/18.

Your analysis makes zero sense. "...clearly a last-minute add..." amounts to Allen Morris falsely making claims to potential investors because Amazon was not officially considering Atlanta until 1/18/18 when they announced their Top 20 list.

Unless, JLL did have an inside track that Amazon was looking at Atlanta as early as Q4 2016 noted at the bottom of the presentation. And whether you can't connect the dots, it ties into the Atlanta Business Chronicle story published a month before Amazon's RFP about a corporate relocation looking a Atlanta for 500K sqft (which just happens to be the same amount of office space Amazon noted in their RFP for Phase I).
https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nt=firefox-b-1

Lastly, anyone with an ounce of sense believes Amazon already knew a short list of cities they were interested in prior to the RFP and this whole shit show is a major PR stunt. I hope you realize when companies move headquarters or have major expansions this is a multi year process. So to think Atlanta, JLL or whoever did not have any insider info prior to the RFP is a major "miscalculation" on your part.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Based on public information, Amazon was not looking at Atlanta as of 9/21/17 (the data of the presentation). Amazon had just released the RFP on 9/7/2017 and cities had to return responses on 10/15/17. Amazon "officially" was not looking at Atlanta until they announced their Top 20 List 1/18/18.

Your analysis makes zero sense. "...clearly a last-minute add..." amounts to Allen Morris falsely making claims to potential investors because Amazon was not officially considering Atlanta until 1/18/18 when they announced their Top 20 list.

It was "considering" Atlanta as much as it was considering other applicants. It had put out a RFC, was communicating clarifications and requirements back and forth, etc.

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Amazon was not officially considering Atlanta until 1/18/18 when they announced their Top 20 list.

That statement makes no sense, unless you believe they constructed a top 20 list without reading the prior submissions.

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

And whether you can't connect the dots, it ties into the Atlanta Business Chronicle story published a month before Amazon's RFP about a corporate relocation looking a Atlanta for 500K sqft (which just happens to be the same amount of office space Amazon noted in their RFP for Phase I).
https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nt=firefox-b-1

Again, no it doesn't. We know that's completely unrelated.

Originally Posted by Novacek

Uh, not Amazon. Unless that site is next to 10 times as many empty lots (to provide the expansion required by Amazon).

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

I hope you realize when companies move headquarters or have major expansions this is a multi year process.

Uh, yeah. A multi-year process that kicked off in 2017.

Originally Posted by Novacek

So to think Atlanta, JLL or whoever did not have any insider info prior to the RFP is a major "miscalculation" on your part.

So both JLL and Allen Morris (and however many other companies get JLL's quarterly analysis) had literally the business story of the year. For an entire year and sat on it and nothing leaked.

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by Novacek

It was "considering" Atlanta as much as it was considering other applicants. It had put out a RFC, was communicating clarifications and requirements back and forth, etc.



That statement makes no sense, unless you believe they constructed a top 20 list without reading the prior submissions.





Again, no it doesn't. We know that's completely unrelated.






Uh, yeah. A multi-year process that kicked off in 2017.



So both JLL and Allen Morris (and however many other companies get JLL's quarterly analysis) had literally the business story of the year. For an entire year and sat on it and nothing leaked.

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000
And whether you can't connect the dots, it ties into the Atlanta Business Chronicle story published a month before Amazon's RFP about a corporate relocation looking a Atlanta for 500K sqft (which just happens to be the same amount of office space Amazon noted in their RFP for Phase I).
https://webcache.googleusercontent.c...nt=firefox-b-1

Again, no it doesn't. We know that's completely unrelated.

Let me ask you the same question you asked me, "show me evidence" were/why the subject of the Article and Amazon HQ2 are not related. You need to state with verifiable proof the name of the company the Atlanta Business Chronicle was referencing or you are again making false claims. I look forward to you proving me wrong.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

Let me ask you the same question you asked me, "show me evidence" were/why the subject of the Article and Amazon HQ2 are not related.

Because the rumor in the article was for 500k square foot.

We _know_ that Amazon eventually wants 8M square foot. Contiguous.

They're not going to put out requests/searches for just 500k, because they'd get inundated with false positives that don't fit their needs.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Now that we have districts each member is incentivized to cater to their district. The bane of progress in Austin has been the Neighborhood association groups that want their hood mothballed and kept static forever. Similarly, 10-1 now incentivizes each council member to treat their district like a neighborhood association. All that matters to them is representing the district at the expense of the broader city. As a result districts can't align to a cohesive vision for the city. Before 10-1 we saw coalitions form between members. Strong Mayors could lead with vision. The days of Watson and Wynn gave us our vision for downtown, great streets and a number of other big steps for Austin. Now we just have 10 leaders each going their own direction. No Bueno.

We need a hybrid system in this city. I never understood why the ballot was set up the way that it was. It was confusing to many voters. Should have been a straight two choice vote, I think 8:3 would have won had it been.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

We need a hybrid system in this city. I never understood why the ballot was set up the way that it was. It was confusing to many voters. Should have been a straight two choice vote, I think 8:3 would have won had it been.

You mean 8-2-1. It would have been a far better option. We would have been able to keep Chris Riley and possibly avoid the Uber/Lyft fiasco. We would have less squabbling between districts that share the same communities and interests. You wouldn't have candidates that can win office with 3,000 votes.

I think there is still a chance for 10-1 in the 2nd generation but we have to do something about the loophole for term limits. Tovo is going 3rd term and Pool could as well in 2 years.