PHILADELPHIA | Schuylkill Yards Future Phases | 1,095 - 375 FT | 70 - 28 FLOORS

[Daario]

Originally Posted by Mr Saturn64

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that DC is the most likely option. Bezos owns the Washington Post, and they gave the area 3 separate bids in the top 20. That tells me that they're seriously considering DC. Still, I'm rooting for Philly all the way.

Anyone else surprised at the lack of Charlotte?

But where in DC? Over 8 million square feet in a town with strict height limits and is already pretty built out? An Amazon move there would also completely destroy the housing prices, causing even the most affordable housing to be absurdly expensive. Honestly if Amazon took housing affordability of the city they choose into consideration, Philly and Chicago would become immediate top contenders.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Londonee

As discussed - it's a technical support/call center HQ - not exactly Jonny Ives and crew. Speaking of Charlotte...

We need those jobs too. If you want to fend off gentrification the way they hope to in West Philly (or everywhere, really), you need jobs for everyone, not just the Ivies.

I'd prefer Amazon by a mile, but would be happy with either (or really, both).

[JohnIII]

I'm reading the news from Amazon and I'm noticing a few interesting things:

Of the 238 cities that submitted proposals to Amazon only 20 are on the list or only the top 8.4; so well over 91% of the proposals are now gone. The cities not on the list are Baltimore, Charlotte, Memphis, Houston, and Phoenix just to name a few. Houston had high hopes. The fact Philly is on the top 20 list says a lot.

Also, I agree, it does seem the Northeast Corridor seems to be the preferred location for Amazon; I have my views on this; but won't say them now besides there is more for all to draw from this news.

Notice other groups that are not on the list; Delaware County, Camden County, Buck (Buckingham) County, and Delaware State proposals are not on the list and even though one can say that suburban proposals automatically have no weight lets remember Montgomery County, Maryland and Northern Virginia are suburban counties of Washington DC so that fact that our beloved suburbs didn't make the list but Philadelphia did make the list may mean that Philadelphia proposal is taken serious and nearby contenders aren't included because Philadelphia is strongly being considered. Philadelphia's claim may be strengthened by the suburban proposals existing while also being strengthened by their lack of inclusion.

New York and Newark are close together. Washington, Montgomery County, Maryland; and Northern Virginia are being considered. Both have high costs of building buildings and a high cost of living to go with it; you minimize your bang for your buck; plus while I am not in the business of doing city to city comparisons the observation that I have is this; why chose one in a locale and not choose the others; I put my money on Philadelphia.

This is what I see from the data in front of me, forgive me in advance for being long winded. Philadelphia, has a low cost of living; so its easy on your workers. Philadelphia has a low cost of building so if your Amazon you can build out with room to expand because its a city with a lot of land; excellent city planning going back to 1682 and you can even build for future expansions at a cheaper cost thus saving your company money. Philadelphia is an international port and link to Trans-Atlantic Flights; he was intercontinental with its airport before New York City was; most don't know that. In Philadelphia you have top rated universities plus its the city most Millennial are moving to so as a result you don't just have a city with international acclaim an a large population but huge pools of young talent and that pool is increasing well beyond the natural population for future employment while not being under tension to leave the company because the cost of living is affordable so they are less likely to relocate. Lastly, Philadelphia is in the Northeast Megalopolis; in 5 hours you can reach from Richmond Virginia, Pittsburgh an almost to almost Boston by car; 6 out of the 20 locations. Within a 5 hour flight 18 of the 20 cities can be reached from Philadelphia; not including locations in Europe like the British Isles.

I'm trying not to be bias but when I look at this data geographically, demographically, or economically none of the cities on this list of 20 has as much profit potential as Philadelphia does.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by JohnIII

I'm reading the news from Amazon and I'm noticing a few interesting things:

Of the 238 cities that submitted proposals to Amazon only 20 are on the list or only the top 8.4; so well over 91% of the proposals are now gone. The cities not on the list are Baltimore, Charlotte, Memphis, Houston, and Phoenix just to name a few. Houston had high hopes. The fact Philly is on the top 20 list says a lot.

Also, I agree, it does seem the Northeast Corridor seems to be the preferred location for Amazon; I have my views on this; but won't say them now besides there is more for all to draw from this news.

Notice other groups that are not on the list; Delaware County, Camden County, Buck (Buckingham) County, and Delaware State proposals are not on the list and even though one can say that suburban proposals automatically have no weight lets remember Montgomery County, Maryland and Northern Virginia are suburban counties of Washington DC so that fact that our beloved suburbs didn't make the list but Philadelphia did make the list may mean that Philadelphia proposal is taken serious and nearby contenders aren't included because Philadelphia is strongly being considered. Philadelphia's claim may be strengthened by the suburban proposals existing while also being strengthened by their lack of inclusion.

New York and Newark are close together. Washington, Montgomery County, Maryland; and Northern Virginia are being considered. Both have high costs of building buildings and a high cost of living to go with it; you minimize your bang for your buck; plus while I am not in the business of doing city to city comparisons the observation that I have is this; why chose one in a locale and not choose the others; I put my money on Philadelphia.

This is what I see from the data in front of me, forgive me in advance for being long winded. Philadelphia, has a low cost of living; so its easy on your workers. Philadelphia has a low cost of building so if your Amazon you can build out with room to expand because its a city with a lot of land; excellent city planning going back to 1682 and you can even build for future expansions at a cheaper cost thus saving your company money. Philadelphia is an international port and link to Trans-Atlantic Flights; he was intercontinental with its airport before New York City was; most don't know that. In Philadelphia you have top rated universities plus its the city most Millennial are moving to so as a result you don't just have a city with international acclaim an a large population but huge pools of young talent and that pool is increasing well beyond the natural population for future employment while not being under tension to leave the company because the cost of living is affordable so they are less likely to relocate. Lastly, Philadelphia is in the Northeast Megalopolis; in 5 hours you can reach from Richmond Virginia, Pittsburgh an almost to almost Boston by car; 6 out of the 20 locations. Within a 5 hour flight 18 of the 20 cities can be reached from Philadelphia; not including locations in Europe like the British Isles.

I'm trying not to be bias but when I look at this data geographically, demographically, or economically none of the cities on this list of 20 has as much profit potential as Philadelphia does.

Love the enthusiasm and agree with a lot. My one question is, are we really that much cheaper to build than other places? Cost of living is lower, yes, but I thought cost to build is fairly on par with the competition on the east coast, especially with the complexities included in the location they're looking at (over the rail yards). Otherwise, go Philly. We should definitely make the top 10 (assuming that's the next cut). After that, I think it'll be between us and whatever state around DC gives the best tax incentives.

[AbortedWalrus]

The single thing that has me most excited by Philadelphia's prospects of landing HQ2 is how much the rumors and talk of Amazon getting into the Pharma sector have heated up. It's been a huge portion of business/financial news for the last two months. They seem really set to gear up to push into life sciences and Pharma in particular and that, I think, zooms Philadelphia toward the top of the short list.

[TechTalkGuy]

The Schuylkill Yards project is such a perfect opportunity for Amazon for a variety of reasons:

• Transportation Hub
• Drexel U
• Proximity to Downtown amenities
• Rich culture
• Growth potential to further grow initial investment

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Love the enthusiasm and agree with a lot. My one question is, are we really that much cheaper to build than other places? Cost of living is lower, yes, but I thought cost to build is fairly on par with the competition on the east coast, especially with the complexities included in the location they're looking at (over the rail yards). Otherwise, go Philly. We should definitely make the top 10 (assuming that's the next cut). After that, I think it'll be between us and whatever state around DC gives the best tax incentives.

small but important point, building over the rail yards (30th St. District) was not one of the three sites presented to Amazon in the City's official package.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by JohnIII

I'm reading the news from Amazon and I'm noticing a few interesting things:

Of the 238 cities that submitted proposals to Amazon only 20 are on the list or only the top 8.4; so well over 91% of the proposals are now gone. The cities not on the list are Baltimore, Charlotte, Memphis, Houston, and Phoenix just to name a few. Houston had high hopes. The fact Philly is on the top 20 list says a lot.

Multiple people in Philadelphia told me they were convinced it was going to Baltimore.

I will never understand some Philadelphians' infatuation with Baltimore. It is a gnat of a city with a mall on the water. Do they really care that much about malls on the water to overlook every other aspect of urbanity which is superior in Philadelphia? Meaning, literally, everything else.

[Mark in Mount Airy]

The inclusion of both Montgomery County, MD and Northern Virginia was a head-scratcher for me. So many people have been assuming that Amazon wanted to be in an urban environment swaddled in mass transit and next door to top-flight universities. Neither MontCo nor NoVa fits that description, other than having better-than-average mass transit for a suburb. These are rich suburban locales with excellent schools and high home prices, populated by highly educated people with a good work ethic but who completely lack entrepreneurial zeal. There are universities there, true, but they are mediocre (as compared to Penn) and not particularly STEM-related (as compared to Drexel) --and I say that as a a graduate of one of those mediocre universities. If either suburb gets chosen by Amazon, then either we misread what they wanted or this was a big head-fake and while they talk like a tech company, they act like Vanguard. And it means what they really probably wanted was something like King of Prussia.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by City Wide

small but important point, building over the rail yards (30th St. District) was not one of the three sites presented to Amazon in the City's official package.

Very important detail - thank you for pointing that out. Surprised that wasn't part of the pitch to show how much downtown space is truly available. It is obviously a candidate for future expansion beyond the initial move, assuming they picked us.

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

I will never understand some Philadelphians' infatuation with Baltimore. It is a gnat of a city with a mall on the water. Do they really care that much about malls on the water to overlook every other aspect of urbanity which is superior in Philadelphia? Meaning, literally, everything else.

Of anywhere on the east coast, Baltimore is a very similar city to Philly. From it's City Hall to the general proportion of housing stock. We've shared generally the same patterns of economic prosperity much more closely than other east coast cities have. It's "blue collar" attitude, city of neighborhood mentality and the chip on it's shoulder from being overshadowed by it's neighbors, they're kindred spirits.

Yes, Philly has more cultural assets and is much larger with a significantly more developed downtown, but, traditionally, people typically focus on two things that could draw business to Philly (and they're not wrong, but there really is so much more):

1. Strategic location on the East Coast between NYC and DC
2. Cost of living

Baltimore can basically match us on the first point and beat us on the second. I'm not saying I expected Amazon to go to Baltimore, but if you think Philly has a shot and don't focus on transportation or talent pool (which Baltimore doesn't lack), I can see how people could come to the conclusion that Bmore could beat us.

[ebuilder]

Originally Posted by Mark in Mount Airy

The inclusion of both Montgomery County, MD and Northern Virginia was a head-scratcher for me. So many people have been assuming that Amazon wanted to be in an urban environment swaddled in mass transit and next door to top-flight universities. Neither MontCo nor NoVa fits that description, other than having better-than-average mass transit for a suburb. These are rich suburban locales with excellent schools and high home prices, populated by highly educated people with a good work ethic but who completely lack entrepreneurial zeal. There are universities there, true, but they are mediocre (as compared to Penn) and not particularly STEM-related (as compared to Drexel) --and I say that as a a graduate of one of those mediocre universities. If either suburb gets chosen by Amazon, then either we misread what they wanted or this was a big head-fake and while they talk like a tech company, they act like Vanguard. And it means what they really probably wanted was something like King of Prussia.

In spite of the Metro the suburbs of DC are traffic choked and getting around is a nightmare almost any time of the day. I cannot see a huge suburban campus in that metro area as being what young people are looking for and I presume Amazon (like others) wants to attract lots of young talent. Granted there are edge cities down there that have some urban qualities, but a small bubble of urbanity in the midst of a traffic choked suburban county isn't really the same as a CBD area in a major city.

[Gonzo the Great]

[QUOTE=Mr Saturn64;8051235]You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that DC is the most likely option. Bezos owns the Washington Post, and they gave the area 3 separate bids in the top 20. That tells me that they're seriously considering DC. Still, I'm rooting for Philly all the way.



YUP ..... No one remembers , or cares a month ago I had mentioned Bezos owns a home in DC , owns the Washington Post and most
convenient location for his personal needs .... we will pretend we are not talking about political connections ....

It just made sense that DC would be at the top of the list . The only other locations on my list were Toronto and NYC .... everywhere
else finished fourth .

Oh , and by the way , they all made the cut ...... Sorry but I think Philly will miss the boat ....

[Boku]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Very important detail - thank you for pointing that out. Surprised that wasn't part of the pitch to show how much downtown space is truly available. It is obviously a candidate for future expansion beyond the initial move, assuming they picked us.

We don't know what Philadelphia's true pitch was, that's still in the dark. Also, we do know that Brandywine was granted a private presentation to Amazon where they pitched their Philly and Austin sites, and I'd be shocked if the 30th St. District plan was not brought up.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Boku

We don't know what Philadelphia's true pitch was, that's still in the dark. Also, we do know that Brandywine was granted a private presentation to Amazon where they pitched their Philly and Austin sites, and I'd be shocked if the 30th St. District plan was not brought up.

And didn't they just buy an assload of property in that area for what was considered well above market value?

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Gonzo the Great

YUP ..... No one remembers , or cares a month ago I had mentioned Bezos owns a home in DC , owns the Washington Post and most
convenient location for his personal needs .... we will pretend we are not talking about political connections .... :

Everyone knows Bezos owns a home in DC and owns the Post - therefore no one commented on it b/c it was pointless. Did you think you broke the news to everyone and solved the mystery Columbo?

[Skintreesnail]

Originally Posted by City Wide

small but important point, building over the rail yards (30th St. District) was not one of the three sites presented to Amazon in the City's official package.

Actually, it looks like it was (at least the first phase, see page 29) in the response as one of the sites, but probably was meant as part of Amazon's future build-out. I would think if they choose Philly, they'd start with SY and expand into the 30th street district plan when the time came.

https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...ublic-Opt.html

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Everyone knows Bezos owns a home in DC and owns the Post - therefore no one commented on it b/c it was pointless. Did you think you broke the news to everyone and solved the mystery Columbo?

haha. You are such a peach.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Redddog

And didn't they just buy an assload of property in that area for what was considered well above market value?

Brandywine bought the SW corner property at 30th & Market for a pile of cash. It has been reported that Drexel already owns or controls the rest of what is included in Schuylkill Yards.

[Gonzo the Great]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Everyone knows Bezos owns a home in DC and owns the Post - therefore no one commented on it b/c it was pointless. Did you think you broke the news to everyone and solved the mystery Columbo?

Does everyone else include you and all the powers that be in 236 other locations bidding for a win ..... snarky .....

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Gonzo the Great

Does everyone else include you and all the powers that be in 236 other locations bidding for a win ..... snarky .....

Actually, most everyone knew that, Gonzo.