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Topic subjectAmazon HQ2 - the top 20 finalist
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=13226781
13226781, Amazon HQ2 - the top 20 finalist
Posted by Boogiedwn, Thu Jan-18-18 09:36 AM
Here are the top 20 finalist for it's 2nd headquarters


AMAZON’S TOP 20

Atlanta
Austin, Tex.
Boston
Chicago
Columbus, Ohio
Dallas
Denver
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montgomery County, Md.
Nashville
Newark
New York
Northern Virginia
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Raleigh, N.C.
Toronto, Canada
Washington, D.C.
13226787, Between this and the 529s the tax base of any of those cities is screwed
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 09:42 AM
13226794, Some of the printed incentives to lure them are wild
Posted by Boogiedwn, Thu Jan-18-18 09:54 AM
"$7 billion in tax incentives by New Jersey to bring Amazon to Newark. Officials in Chicago offered Amazon tax credits that would allow it to keep about $1.32 billion in income taxes that employees would ordinarily pay to the state"


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/technology/amazon-finalists-headquarters.html

13226798, Anything to further gentrify and break up unions.
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 09:59 AM
13227573, exactly.
Posted by Dr Claw, Sat Jan-20-18 04:22 PM
why I want no parts of this if I'm any of these cities. it's kind of telling how much corporations have the country by the short hairs.
13226806, My three finalists still in the hunt
Posted by B9, Thu Jan-18-18 10:05 AM
1) Atlanta
2) Austin
3) Nashville
13226807, Are economy is too centralized if they need to lure businesses like
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Thu Jan-18-18 10:06 AM
this.

Like instead of chasing amazon and apple, need to set the conditions that allow for hundreds of small companies to flourish and have the impact of one of these large companies to the area.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
13226810, Small companies don't make large campaign donations
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 10:09 AM
13226887, these monopolies are getting 'too big to fail'.
Posted by Reeq, Thu Jan-18-18 12:05 PM
at some point during an economic downturn we are gonna have the federal government bailing out tech/media giants because letting them collapse would wipe out entire industries.
13226846, I wonder how much the recruiting changes their initial top 20
Posted by mista k5, Thu Jan-18-18 11:02 AM
you know they had to have a list of cities they would want to move to before the process started and were trying to see which cities would go for it.
13226861, ATL, the DMV as a whole and Austin make the most sense
Posted by dillinjah, Thu Jan-18-18 11:29 AM
My money is on Atlanta.
13226922, I think the DMV gets it
Posted by Boogiedwn, Thu Jan-18-18 01:09 PM
ATL would get it if we had better mass transit options and highway infrastructure. A lot more tech companies (NCR which they stole from Ohio) are placing their headquarters in downtown ATL right now though.


13226866, oh wow at the Detroit-Windsor bid not making the cut
Posted by kfine, Thu Jan-18-18 11:34 AM

I was really rooting for that one :(


Toronto is still in play. I'm scared it would turn into San Francisco overnight lol, but I do think it offers specific advantages that US cities could not (eg. a buffer against fluctuating immigration policy in the US)

Interesting about the Montgomery County bid, I've heard no buzz about this one. I read recently the Discovery Channel hq is moving from DT Silver Spring to NYC, which leaves a large commercial campus vacant across the street from a busy metro station/MARC stop.. wonder if that location is being considered.

And kind of sneaky to group Montgomery County as completely seperate Washington DC. Geographically and fiscally they are, yes, but would definitely be pulling talent from the same DMV metro area, not to mention using the same transportation infrastructure..



13226878, Quite a few cities on that list have shit mass/public transit systems
Posted by flipnile, Thu Jan-18-18 11:56 AM
Basically dense suburbs. Gotta imagine the traffic increase and driving miles from living spread out are gonna really suck if they go to one of those towns, especially for the people that already live there.

Would be cool if they came here to Philly, but at the same time part of me hopes they go elsewhere. Someone else can get to deal with that cornball bro culture nonsense.
13226886, they aint coming to NC cause of the hb2 shit so strike raleigh off
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Jan-18-18 12:04 PM
13226890, perfect reason to come imo.
Posted by Reeq, Thu Jan-18-18 12:07 PM
flood the city and surrounding suburbs with more highly educated liberal voters and help turn the state blue for good.
13226925, true.
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Jan-18-18 01:12 PM
13227026, The worse is already over with HB2....
Posted by rorschach, Thu Jan-18-18 04:03 PM
and the GOP here already has to change the political districts. Amazon coming here to NC would have a ripple effect on our state's politics for the better.

The negatives are the same that comes with any development of this nature: the displacement of the blue-collar working class. By 2024, the Triangle will be an extremely expensive region to stay.

---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------
13227048, The worse is far from over. They're trying to gerrymander the judiciary now
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 05:16 PM
https://twitter.com/democracync/status/951520733909475330

When I get to a computer I'll find an article
13226893, Tbh, the DC area obv has a statistical advantage since it has 3 locations
Posted by kfine, Thu Jan-18-18 12:11 PM

shortlisted for consideration.

Plus Bezos has made his home here.


If that ends up being what they were thinking all along, it'd kind of be like - why all the theatre? Lol

13226902, To see who will give the best deal: DC, VA or MD
Posted by flipnile, Thu Jan-18-18 12:31 PM
>If that ends up being what they were thinking all along, it'd
>kind of be like - why all the theatre? Lol


I'm guessing it'll be in the DC metro myself.

One big factor is COL. If Amazon makes that a major consideration then a lot of cities are immediately crossed-off, while others move to the top of the list. Mass transit is also a factor, though maybe not as much as COL.
13227111, Right, very true
Posted by kfine, Thu Jan-18-18 11:14 PM
13226901, i can't lie this whole shit has disgusted me
Posted by shygurl, Thu Jan-18-18 12:30 PM
Whichever city gets the headquarters absolutely deserves it.
13226903, why would you want it in your city?
Posted by SooperEgo, Thu Jan-18-18 12:33 PM
13226913, A lot of cities in the US aren't economic dynamos like NYC, SF or HOU
Posted by flipnile, Thu Jan-18-18 12:46 PM
A grip of well-paying, white collar jobs can have a ripple effect on the local economy with taxes, housing, retail, travel/tourism, etc.

The negatives are the same negatives that come with any growing economy, only probably much more rapidly.

Gentrification concerns aside, I was kinda hoping they'd go to Detroit for the reasons I stated above.
13226924, why wouldnt you?
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Jan-18-18 01:12 PM
im not up on this so hip me as to why it'd be a bad thing
13226928, I don't want it in Denver
Posted by sectachrome86, Thu Jan-18-18 01:15 PM
More people moving here, driving up housing costs which are already ridiculous, more traffic which already sucks. I work in the tech industry so part of me wouldn't mind having another A player to get a job at, but otherwise I'm good.
13226929, Because the tax and land give aways overwhelmingly support the company
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 01:15 PM
While people that live in those areas tend to need things like true investment in their cities from government, not just trickle down industry.
The deals some of these cities are offering are just absurd.
13226933, yup
Posted by shygurl, Thu Jan-18-18 01:24 PM
>The deals some of these cities are offering are just absurd.

I can't wait to see the hometown op-eds in ten years begging people to support whatever tax or millage or bond issuance the winning city has on the blocks because Amazon fucked over their city and they have nothing left in the coffers. I can't fucking wait.
13226936, Here's a 28 page report from Good Jobs First
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 01:27 PM
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/default/files/docs/pdf/amazon-subsidies.pdf

Here's the start

Amazon aggressively gained market share in part by long avoiding, and then minimizing, the collection of sales taxes. As it became less and less able to avoid collecting sales taxes—because it couldn’t avoid locating warehouses in more states—it learned that it could sometimes extract lucrative taxpayer subsidies for them, and methodically started doing so in 2010–2011.



Another part from the opener:

Public officials must recognize their communities’ value. They need to recognize that the prize on the bargaining table isn’t an Amazon facility: it’s more access to the local market for another aggressive retailer growing at the expense of existing retailers. To their credit, some of the public offcials we interviewed have a good sense of their bargaining power, informed by business basics, not incentives.
13226992, interesting. got some time today since were closed for snow so i'll thumb thru
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Jan-18-18 03:01 PM
13227027, it's an okey-doke, akin to building a NFL stadium for the trickle-down.
Posted by will_5198, Thu Jan-18-18 04:04 PM
13227050, promotes other tech coming in, which means mo' jobs
Posted by double negative, Thu Jan-18-18 05:28 PM
i mean, nyc tech has been bubbling for a good second but I'm ready for it to kick into over drive so I can buy a fucking house.
13227454, This. Im so glad my city didn't make the cut
Posted by ry 213, Fri Jan-19-18 06:28 PM
Amazon gets tax breaks
City gets new residents who are a strain on the infrastructure, not to mention annoying techy, beet root latte drinking, driving up the cost of living residents. No thanks.
13226935, Heard a ton of negative stuff about the effects Amazon has had in Seattle
Posted by T Reynolds, Thu Jan-18-18 01:25 PM
There is OBVIOUSLY positive brought from their expansion with dozens of offices in the city

But the cost of living has risen dramatically in a way that is too reminiscent of San Francisco for many locals

There is an honest to god fear of what Amazon setting foot in your city can do to the local economy

13226956, *doesn't see Baltimore on the list*
Posted by Overqualified, Thu Jan-18-18 02:07 PM
Good. No more magic beans.
13226958, Baltimore has given them 43 mil since 2015
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 02:13 PM
I imagine Baltimore could've used that tax revenue

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-10-23/business/bs-md-amazon-update-20131023_1_tax-credits-southeast-baltimore-amazon-com
13227064, Casinos, Unused City Owned Conference Hotels, Grand Prixs...
Posted by Overqualified, Thu Jan-18-18 06:29 PM
...again, more magic beans.
13227098, SO GLAD.
Posted by Castro, Thu Jan-18-18 09:35 PM
13226961, I think there should be a federal law that bans states from racing to
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Thu Jan-18-18 02:16 PM
the bottom to give away subsidies to companies and sports teams.

It seems everyone suffers when states try to out do each other to give away stuff to companies when the company should just pick the best state aside from the give aways.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
13226963, *stares states rightsingly*
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 02:24 PM
13227031, How is Raleigh not automatically the choice?
Posted by rorschach, Thu Jan-18-18 04:10 PM
I'm not just saying that because I'm from NC.....but logically speaking Raleigh makes so much sense.

Raleigh is on I-40 and is only about 20 minutes from I-95. Also, Raleigh is geographically closest to the center of the East Coast (if you're measuring from Maine to Miami).

Raleigh has more cheaper space surrounding it than many of the other cities.

Also, UNC, NC State, and Duke are here. Amazon can easily farm technical talent from these schools like other corporations in the area have done. They'll have the pick of the litter because they are Amazon.

The area just has more upside than other cities by not already being oversized.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------
13227037, not sure what Raleigh has over Atlanta
Posted by Jay Doz, Thu Jan-18-18 04:25 PM
The country's 8th largest public transit system by ridership (and 5th by mileage), world's busiest airport, tons of university inside the city limits (GT, AUC, GSU, and Emory), and we have highway access too (75, 85, and 20 all run through the city). Plus housing's affordable here as well (for now at least).

Don't get me wrong, I don't want Amazon (organic job growth is much better), but I'm not sure how Raleigh is the most competitive when you have better options, even within the region.
13227061, a couple reasons.....
Posted by rorschach, Thu Jan-18-18 06:15 PM
Raleigh's more affordable than Atlanta.

Raleigh's less crowded.....population-wise and business-wise. Amazon would immediately be the biggest fish in the pond in every way here.

I'd argue that our universities are more geared towards Amazon than Atlanta even though they great in their own right.


Sure, Atlanta is better right now but I'd argue that a lot of the problems that people from Atlanta have with the city (culture getting watered down, traffic, costs rising) would only get worse with Amazon present. If Amazon shows up in the Triangle, some of the same problems might exist but the pros would outweigh the cons because we have the room to grow.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------
13227459, amazon can build their own "public" transit infrastructure
Posted by rob, Fri Jan-19-18 07:17 PM
or use their influence to shape the city's transit growth plans.

and amazon has definitely created some spaces in seattle that are effectively company housing to shorten commutes.

i definitely don't think a sprawling city's messy public transit system is a selling point for them.
13227043, Hard to attract people when your state cedes being a democracy
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 04:36 PM
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/311690-north-carolina-is-no-longer-a-democracy-report

13227057, The state is actually 50/50 in terms of politics.
Posted by rorschach, Thu Jan-18-18 06:06 PM
Most people here (in my experience) seem to be at least willing to hear both sides and occassionally come to an agreement more often than not.

North Carolina took a turn around the same time many states did. The difference between us and them is that our turn was more pronounced because of HB2 and some other bills. We have a state where, as that article states, the GOP-led legislature did hijack our government. We are about to fix that much more sooner than people think. Our districting problem will be fixed before the 2018 elections. It's on Democrats and Progressive in the state to get the vote out in November.

Don't forget that pretty much all of our major areas go blue.

Amazon showing up here would have an immediate effect on the state.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------
13227062, You're trying to get new people though
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 06:23 PM
You're not gonna get a company HQed in Seattle to truly entertain what NC is starting to represent
13227067, NC is a little misrepresented.....
Posted by rorschach, Thu Jan-18-18 06:36 PM
NC is a purple state.

The amount of coverage we received over HB2 really colors how people see the state.

Also, I'm not sold that Bezos wouldn't give us the nod still. Nothing leads me to believe that he (or any of the deciding executives at Amazon) are so far left that they would be absolutely against putting their second HQ in NC.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------
13227073, Your people are hit or miss. Your legislature is batshit & unethical.
Posted by MEAT, Thu Jan-18-18 06:56 PM
Corporatations don't need bad press or bad government.

And scotus just said they have a stay and don't have to redraw maos for the midterms.

https://twitter.com/scotusreporter/status/954132667087323137
13227116, our traffic is fucked up enough, already. if part of the incentives equal
Posted by poetx, Thu Jan-18-18 11:33 PM
forcing the area to invest in public transpo, that could be a win, b/c we been trying to pull that off for years.

raleigh tech scene is booming. plus biomedical (if amazon has aspirations in that area, and why not?).

they know about the area because they built a distribution hub in zebulon just a couple years ago.

i'm against public financing of stadiums and stuff like that. the relo incentives game is not new to NC, that's a big part of how Research Triangle Park blew up (that and big companies like ibm fleeing the north to shift jobs to a 'right-to-work' state). nonetheless, sometimes the incentives game can work for you.

what i've read, however, about the impacts around amazon's current hq, w/ the skyrocketing housing prices and homelessness doesn't have me thrilled.

peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad
13227252, GOP in NC are some gangsters
Posted by legsdiamond, Fri Jan-19-18 12:34 PM
13227257, straight up said fuck democracy.
Posted by Reeq, Fri Jan-19-18 12:43 PM
13266293, RE: NC is a little misrepresented.....
Posted by MEAT, Wed Jun-13-18 03:17 PM
https://twitter.com/politicswolf/status/1006990733436309505?s=21
13227094, Raleigh made the cut, but transportation and freebies are an issue
Posted by B9, Thu Jan-18-18 08:58 PM
RDU as an airport is a small-potatoes operation and not a hub. Public transit is poor and I don't see the entire triangle getting behind the sort of tax breaks Amazon will be after to get this done. The biggest thing they have going is the abundance of well educated people and pipelines to lots of good schools, but they are still behind the DC candidates, Atlanta and Austin.
13227096, dc is too much of a clusterf*ck
Posted by Crash Bandacoot, Thu Jan-18-18 09:21 PM
but i could see it in rockville, maryland.
13227110, Right.I was wondering,where would a campus even fit in DC? lol. But
Posted by kfine, Thu Jan-18-18 11:07 PM
I feel like if they went Montgomery County for DMV,

Silver Spring or Bethesda would be more of a draw because the Purple Line would enable folks living in PG County to get to the HQ easily, too. The Purple Line won't connect to Rockville (though, I guess it'd be a super quick transfer from Bethesda)

But honestly, knowing that the Discovery campus is about to be vacant?? DT Silver Spring would probably be the best possible spot they could choose to put a flagship in the whole county, since Bethesda's as crowded as DC.

With DT Silver Spring they'd get contiguity to DC, insane amount of dining/leisure/community/wellness/festivals in surrounding streets, insane amount of brand new apartment buildings/condos that just went up in neighboring streets, THREE different rail systems converging at that location (WMATA, MARC, and soon Purple Line) which would connect people from neighboring counties like PG, Frederick plus DC proper and VA.

And I love Rockville. But just seems they're going for more of a bustling urban vibe.


13227206, lol, i'm biased :)
Posted by Crash Bandacoot, Fri Jan-19-18 11:15 AM

>And I love Rockville. But just seems they're going for more of
>a bustling urban vibe.
>
>
>
13227243, Downtown Silver Spring ain't happenin' captain.
Posted by WarriorPoet415, Fri Jan-19-18 12:23 PM
As a former resident of that particular area, there's just not enough room for what Amazon is looking for. The Discovery building isn't big enough or on enough land. Amazon's HQ2 is supposed to be a campus with like 8 million square feet.

Best area for that in Moco right now would be the former site of White Flint Mall. Vacant, spacious, near metro and main arteries to get around the county.

White Oak would have worked, but FDA has that federal research center site sewn up. Gaithersburg could work as I hear Lake Forest mall is going belly up. There is some room over around Rt. 29 that could work as well.
______________________________________________________________________________

cscpov.blogspot.com

"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..."
-unknown

"To Each His Reach"
13227254, RFK is vacant now. Tear that sucker down and that might do it.
Posted by WarriorPoet415, Fri Jan-19-18 12:39 PM
Gonna have to rename that metro station though. From Stadium Armory to Prime Free Shipping Station.
______________________________________________________________________________

cscpov.blogspot.com

"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..."
-unknown

"To Each His Reach"
13227097, Newark or Philly gwan get it because of the port and rail.
Posted by Castro, Thu Jan-18-18 09:34 PM
and proximity to NY and DC.
13227223, yep. i think it's going to come down to Newark or somewhere in DMV.
Posted by dapitts08, Fri Jan-19-18 11:56 AM
.
13227458, RE: Newark or Philly gwan get it because of the port and rail.
Posted by double 0, Fri Jan-19-18 07:10 PM
Biggest port in the country is long beach though.. LA could also house it easily..
13227572, thank the Matrix it ain't coming to Cleveland.
Posted by Dr Claw, Sat Jan-20-18 04:18 PM
I want no parts of that bullshit in my (host) city; everyone who ain't an executive of Amazon are gonna get FUCKED in the deal.
13227576, I dont think its going to be downtown Toronto
Posted by Heinz, Sat Jan-20-18 04:37 PM
Its gong to be Mississauga/Brampton area I believe


----------

IG @h_n_z
13266377, RE: I dont think its going to be downtown Toronto
Posted by upUPNorth, Thu Jun-14-18 08:08 AM
I've been seeing the signs for 'Possible Home of Amazon HQ2' in the City signs going into York Region/Markham lately. The funniest part is they make 'Possible' really hard to see.
13228700, 10% of Amazon employees in Ohio on food stamps
Posted by MEAT, Tue Jan-23-18 02:39 PM
700/6000

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2018/01/08/amazon-employees-food-stamps-poverty-snap.html
13228784, SMH. the desperation for 'jobs' without labor protection
Posted by Dr Claw, Tue Jan-23-18 04:53 PM
will kill MURRICA
13266544, yes but this is not for *THOSE* amazon employees
Posted by double negative, Thu Jun-14-18 01:14 PM
amazon is kind of a horrible place to work for however no matter the level

they want your blood and soul

however, its kinda like google, once you go through that you can go anywhere
13228702, First checkout free store doesn't accept food stamps "currently"
Posted by MEAT, Tue Jan-23-18 02:42 PM
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/paq48y/amazons-first-checkout-free-store-wont-accept-food-stamps

Need an account, a new smart phone, and app

Digital redlining.
13266421, Supposedly down to RDU and ATL
Posted by B9, Thu Jun-14-18 09:41 AM
13266424, top 5 according to Bloomberg
Posted by Boogiedwn, Thu Jun-14-18 09:50 AM
Raleigh
Atlanta
Pittsburgh
Nashville
Austin

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-30/attention-jeff-bezos-raleigh-tops-amazon-com-hq2-ranking

13266541, they about to win that good 'OJ Prize'
Posted by Dr Claw, Thu Jun-14-18 01:09 PM
13266670, they'll probably pick Austin and it'll be the nail in the coffin
Posted by J_Stew, Fri Jun-15-18 01:06 AM
for it being a livable city
13266680, I think it will be RDU, but likely waiting till after midterms
Posted by B9, Fri Jun-15-18 08:01 AM
Raleigh is turning into the new Austin. Quickly.
13266687, gosh, i hope not
Posted by shamus, Fri Jun-15-18 09:02 AM
i still fantasize about moving there
13266699, Unless you own a time machine, that goose is cooked
Posted by B9, Fri Jun-15-18 09:29 AM
13266718, My money is on Austin has a heavy tech presence
Posted by Case_One, Fri Jun-15-18 10:20 AM
Austin includes 3M, Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Google, Facebook, AMD, Applied Materials, Cirrus Logic, Cisco Systems, eBay/PayPal, Bioware, Blizzard Entertainment, Hoover's, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Samsung Group, Silicon Laboratories, Oracle Corporation, Hostgator, and United Devices as some of the ...
.
.
Current Favorite Song: https://youtu.be/8v_KFHnPImY

"I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that. ~ Francis Collins
13296192, damn bloomberg lol
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Wed Nov-07-18 10:08 AM
13266658, I really hope they don't pick Los Angeles
Posted by Kahlema, Thu Jun-14-18 09:47 PM
probably on the list for fuckery but the cost of living way too high, not enough affordable/non-luxury housing, and its already crowded AF. Tech companies in large metropolitan areas are more detrimental than beneficial.

We don't really need another West Coast HQ, logistically would be better in midwest, south or east coast. Some of the midwest cities, could really benefit & grow with Amazon's presence.
13266672, gift/curse. just google "seattle + amazon" to see all of the drama.
Posted by PROMO, Fri Jun-15-18 02:42 AM
13266685, Curse for small or already expensive cities, gift for big cities
Posted by flipnile, Fri Jun-15-18 08:55 AM
Amazon's effect on Austin, Raleigh or Atlanta would be much more catastrophic than in Chicago or Philly, and the effects would be barely noticeable in NYC.

There are only a few truly big cities on that list, the rest are medium cities or large suburbs surrounding a business district.
13266689, You know Philly and Atlanta have the same size metro populations
Posted by B9, Fri Jun-15-18 09:07 AM
and that Philly is like 4 million people less than Chicago?
13266717, Atlanta population: 470k. Philly: 1,580k.
Posted by flipnile, Fri Jun-15-18 10:16 AM
Atlanta peak population (1970): 495,039
Philly peak population (1950): 2,071,605

For Chi:

Chicago: 2,705
Chicago's peak (1950): 3,621,000


As you can see, the actual CITIES are miles apart, and both Chicago and Philly have room to grow, while Atlanta appears to be close to its' all-time peak population currently.


I'm talking cities because "urban campus" was clearly on the Amazon RFP.

Most of the complaints I see in this post all relate to suburban areas like the Atlanta or Austin metros ("where will everyone live! It's too expensive already!" & "what about the traffic")



Edit: Also, there's the actual size of the metro areas:

Atlanta metro: 8,377 square miles
Philly metro: 4,630 square miles

Not quite half, but far less dense.

Also, where Philly's metro area ends, the NYC & Baltimore/DC metros begin. No gaps. Rail infrastructure between them (especially Philly & NYC).



Anyway, I don't think Amazon is coming to Chi or Philly, but I'm just pointing out that the problems of lack of urban space, lack of mass transit and lack of affordable housing are issues that affect smaller cities and super-sized suburbs much more than some off the bigger cities with infrastructure to handle a lot of people.

The population densities are really interesting to look at as well. Seattle is seen as crowded and expensive with a population density of 4721.6 people per square mile, while Philly feels somewhat empty at over twice that: 11,233.6 people per square mile.
13266725, ATL metro population: 5.8M; Philly: 6.1M; CHI: 9.5M
Posted by B9, Fri Jun-15-18 10:35 AM
The RFP vaguely defined what they were looking for in an urban campus. Chicago is sprawly as hell if you want to make the complaint about Atlanta being spread out, and Seattle isn't a beacon of mass transit or affordable housing, as is. I think it's going to a smaller city like Raleigh, personally. The talent pool thing is going to heavily influence their decision and The Triangle is just a hot bed of ready talent.
13266754, Seattle IS a big city for purposes of this situation...
Posted by PROMO, Fri Jun-15-18 11:34 AM
and Amazon has been more of a problem here than a blessing if you ask me.

i mean, if your thing is Amazon displacing local businesses, building homogenous high-rise buildings which sucks out your city's natural character and culture and making it too expensive for anyone but those that work at Amazon to live in those buildings, then Amazon might be right for you.

that's all i've really seen it do here.
13313781, Big cities like NYC are already like this.
Posted by flipnile, Thu Feb-14-19 03:59 PM
>and Amazon has been more of a problem here than a blessing if
>you ask me.
>
>i mean, if your thing is Amazon displacing local businesses,
>building homogenous high-rise buildings which sucks out your
>city's natural character and culture and making it too
>expensive for anyone but those that work at Amazon to live in
>those buildings, then Amazon might be right for you.
>
>that's all i've really seen it do here.


Displacing local businesses? Check/
Cookie-cutter residential and commercial high rises? Check.
Too expensive? Check.
Natural character and culture? Been moving out.


Moot point now, but what Amazon turned Seattle into, New York City already was a long time ago.
13296076, Long Island and Arlington win
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Tue Nov-06-18 06:18 PM
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1059619527556771840
13296080, Well my rental property value is going up
Posted by tomjohn29, Tue Nov-06-18 06:39 PM
Thanks Amazon
13296086, Coincidentally, Bezos already owns homes in NYC & DC
Posted by flipnile, Tue Nov-06-18 07:10 PM
https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-owns-five-massive-homes-across-the-united-states-2017-10#manhattan-7

I'm sure it's a coincidence tho.
13296106, He has so much going on with the feds in terms of contracts, no surprise.
Posted by Castro, Tue Nov-06-18 09:02 PM
13296127, I saw Long Island and was hella confused.
Posted by soulpsychodelicyde, Tue Nov-06-18 10:54 PM
BIIIIIIG difference between Long Island and Long Island City (which makes tons more sense).
13296194, whup tee do...
Posted by FLUIDJ, Wed Nov-07-18 10:13 AM
now my schools are gonna be even MORE crowded
13296196, Bezos played all these cities like idiots
Posted by Marauder21, Wed Nov-07-18 10:17 AM
And in the end didn't even give one city the benefits they thought they were getting.
13296607, yup.
Posted by shygurl, Thu Nov-08-18 01:34 PM
If I was a resident of any city that catered to his outrageous demands, I would be *pissed* if we got it. None of these businesses need to be coddled, we have a free market remember?
13296637, ^
Posted by flipnile, Thu Nov-08-18 02:40 PM
13296233, peace be upon those cities... they are about to take HUGE Ls off this
Posted by Dr Claw, Wed Nov-07-18 10:56 AM
13296586, Fuck, am I gonna have to quit my job?
Posted by Walleye, Thu Nov-08-18 01:03 PM
I already spend about 13-14 hours a week in my car. This... isn't gonna help.
13297172, Lol. What a cock tease to the rest of America.
Posted by Teknontheou, Tue Nov-13-18 10:06 AM
I bet he was never really serious about having it be anywhere else.
13296552, Not for 10 years, but RIP G Train, 7 Train & L Train...
Posted by Cam, Thu Nov-08-18 11:33 AM
And any kind of housing affordability in LIC & North BK.
Unless you grab one of those illegal sailboats in Newton Creek https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/boa/d/28-foot-sailboat-working/6743133775.html
13296639, NYC is already expensive and crowded.
Posted by flipnile, Thu Nov-08-18 02:42 PM
Don't think 25k more people spread out over years will really cause much turbulence in a city of nearly 9 million.
13296812, Have you ridden the G or the L during rush hours?
Posted by Cam, Fri Nov-09-18 12:57 PM
or tried to find affordable housing in LIC or North BK?
13297046, The L during rush hour is what mid-America thinks the Mexican border
Posted by J_Stew, Mon Nov-12-18 02:16 PM
is like.
13297164, LOL & LMAO @ "affordable housing" in NYC
Posted by flipnile, Tue Nov-13-18 09:39 AM
>or tried to find affordable housing in LIC or North BK?

Yes, back in the late 90s / early 00s. Housing costs were spiraling up way back then.

I'm basically saying that NYC is just gonna be slightly more NYC with Amazon. It's already crowded and expensive:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/27/most-expensive-places-to-buy-a-home-in-the-us.html

13296995, still holding out hope for moco nm
Posted by Binlahab, Mon Nov-12-18 01:04 PM

on sabbatical.

does it really matter?

wonder what bin's doing?
http://i.imgur.com/phECCMp.jpg
13297157, current employers will feel the heat in DMV
Posted by Crash Bandacoot, Tue Nov-13-18 09:22 AM
i wouldn't touch that sh*t with a ten-foot pole. rumor has it that
amazon is one of the worst places to work for (IT) folks...demanding
and high stress but, will look good on a resume though. lol. who is
going to work there? H1Bs? this is why these institutions need to
treat good employees well. will people leave their current gig in
droves? metro is poor, the area is overcrowded, real estate
will likely boom though.
13297160, my renters are scared...they called me soon as they heard this
Posted by tomjohn29, Tue Nov-13-18 09:27 AM
I have property in Old Town Alexandria
they asked is rent going up
not now..but soon
13297163, it's going to f*cking skyrocket
Posted by Crash Bandacoot, Tue Nov-13-18 09:34 AM
maybe a recession will slow it down lol
13297174, LMAO, NY and VA are giving a combined $2 billion
Posted by Marauder21, Tue Nov-13-18 10:11 AM
to one of the wealthiest companies on Earth so they can price a bunch of people out of their homes.
13313684, NYC dropped. No replacement. Proceeding w/ NoVA and Nashville.
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Feb-14-19 11:52 AM
https://twitter.com/AP/status/1096088907517698048

https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1096088995417804800
13313697, Grand opening, grand closing.
Posted by Teknontheou, Thu Feb-14-19 12:29 PM
13313700, Nashville
Posted by Boogiedwn, Thu Feb-14-19 12:33 PM
Nice little city - at least it was
13313727, ^^^
Posted by Dstl1, Thu Feb-14-19 01:24 PM
.
13313704, lol
Posted by flipnile, Thu Feb-14-19 12:38 PM
13313706, thats pretty funny
Posted by mista k5, Thu Feb-14-19 12:39 PM
13313719, Wait, did NY actually refuse them any money?
Posted by Marauder21, Thu Feb-14-19 01:15 PM
Or was this really about the possibility they may have to allow union labor on at least something related to Amazon?

If it's the former, lol.
If it's the latter, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
13313739, Governor Cuomo and Mayor DiBlasio both wanted them here
Posted by Numba_33, Thu Feb-14-19 01:55 PM
and were more than likely to give them the tax brakes they wanted, but it was local City Council members and activists that grilled Amazon reps. The City Council members specifically grilled them over the union issues.
13313742, Ahhh, gotcha
Posted by Marauder21, Thu Feb-14-19 01:57 PM
Makes sense this would scare them, Seattle more or less lets them do whatever they want unquestioned and I assume they don't want to put it anywhere that won't cooperate on their terms. But also, if there's one city in America where you're most likely to NOT be able to bully/manipulate most of the city council, it should be NYC. They really should've talked to people beyond the mayor's office.
13313763, Shouldn't that have been a part of the selection process?
Posted by Marbles, Thu Feb-14-19 02:58 PM
>and were more than likely to give them the tax brakes they
>wanted, but it was local City Council members and activists
>that grilled Amazon reps. The City Council members
>specifically grilled them over the union issues.

I didn't follow it super closely but shouldn't Amazon have narrowed their list to cities that had already nailed down the specifics? Or is that just not how these types of things are done?
13313764, I could be wrong
Posted by Numba_33, Thu Feb-14-19 03:03 PM
but from that I've read, it appears DiBlasio and Cuomo tried to win the proposal with limited initial input from the local City Council. The two of them must of foolishly thought everyone below them would fall in line when Amazon announced NYC was one of the spots for development.
13313765, Yeah, it seems like Amazon is scared at the possibility of
Posted by Marauder21, Thu Feb-14-19 03:07 PM
any pushback from the city council.

Deblasio seems confident it could still ultimately pass the council, but Amazon's not sticking around to find out.

Again, how did they not see this coming, OF COURSE some people were going to object.
13313768, Does it seem like NYers weren't thrilled about Amazon opening up shop?
Posted by Marbles, Thu Feb-14-19 03:17 PM

I don't know anything about VA or TN but I could see them being excited about it in a way that NY wouldn't be.
13313770, My group text was pretty happy, but there are always a couple dummies
Posted by T Reynolds, Thu Feb-14-19 03:19 PM
like "well now we get zero jobs as opposed to 25,000" or "they ain't using LIC for nothing now anyway"

These people (and they're my boys) don't have any fucking common sense
13313723, I know I called Nashville as a finalist, but, my god, the traffic. RIP.
Posted by B9, Thu Feb-14-19 01:18 PM
They've been trying for nearly two decades to unravel their interstate mess and still can't figure it out.
13313766, K.I.M., Amazon!
Posted by T Reynolds, Thu Feb-14-19 03:07 PM
13313772, I'm split.
Posted by double negative, Thu Feb-14-19 03:33 PM
on one hand...the coastline of brooklyn is becoming more and more tech-ish
have you seen industry city lately? Have you seen the plans to connect north and south shoreline with the BQX light rail?

I also work in tech so I appreciate the growing possibility of industry and jobs


on the other hand...I lived in SF up until 2014 so I know exactly what sort of fuckshit this would do the cultural landscape - people like Michael Che joke that white women took over brooklyn. If you think the rate of gentrification that has hit BK is some shit to behold...its childs play compared to the way SF got flipped.

So, I'm not so sure, like I said, I'm split.
13313814, Nashville doesn't have great or decent public transit, does it?
Posted by BlakStaar, Thu Feb-14-19 05:34 PM
I thought this was an asset Amazon was looking for in prospective cities?
I am confused.
13313816, Nashville is getting an "Operations Hub" which isn't an HQ
Posted by flipnile, Thu Feb-14-19 05:37 PM
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/11/16/amazon-nashville-yards-gov-bill-haslam-mayor-david-briley/2006460002/

That was announced before the HQ2 "search" was over, so that hub was going to Nashville regardless of where the HQ2 went.