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Actually Honolulu, which doubles up as not only the most isolated major American city but also the most isolated major city on Earth (just edging out Perth and Auckland for top honors).
I was thinking of the mainland, but technically you'd be correct.
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I'd also suggest that Salt Lake City is more isolated than Denver. Denver at least has Colorado Springs, which has like 700,000 people or so and will grow to be over 1 million in short order. Salt Lake City is literally all by itself out there. Perhaps Boise and Spokane deserve a mention with regard to isolation as well.
True, SLC is also a candidate but it's closer to another major city (Vegas) than Denver is.
In the lower 48 El Paso is more isolated than any of those. Hell it's closer to Phoenix than it is to DFW, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.
Even though I don't consider El Paso a major city, I'd have to disagree. Juarez is right across the border and Albuquerque and Tucson are 3.5-4.5 hrs away.
I'm trying to understand the dichotomy between the city of New York and its own suburbs in the state of New Jersey.
The city of New York is not going to be doling out any incentives, other than perhaps the bare minimum valued at well less than $1 Billion. It probably wont even reach half that figure. In contrast, it's suburbs in New Jersey are just going HAM (hard as a mothertrucker) by doling out $7 Billion -- that represents the largest amount anywhere has gone public with so far (though I suspect Georgia will probably outdo even that, but we'll have to wait until that becomes public information). Last month Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey stated that the state had bipartisan support for $5 Billion. However when they made their bid official a few days ago, it ended up being $7 Billion instead of $5 Billion.
Also, if I recall, someone had quoted me a few days back saying that they cannot see Newark, New Jersey getting this. Why is that? You folks do realize that Newark, New Jersey meets as much of the criteria as an American city can meet, in addition to them having the money for this, in addition to being in Greater New York.
Not to keep piling in the advantages but Newark, New Jersey and Amazon already have a relationship as it is. Audible is a company that Amazon owns and Audible is based in Newark, New Jersey. We're talking about desk jobs, designer jobs, creative jobs not factory and/or warehousing jobs. Newark, in many ways, has a larger relationship with Amazon than the grand majority of the cities bidding for HQ2. Just to reiterate that point: those Audible jobs are corporate headquarter jobs, desk jobs, design team jobs, white collar jobs.
Also, before I forget, for those wondering what happens next, this happens (see below).
I will underline all key parts that people should definitely read (pay special attention to the content that is both underlined and emboldened):
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The pitches are in, but the work to land Amazon’s second headquarters is far from over.
All the while, words such as talent, connectivity and innovation flash on the screen.
“When everybody hears about Georgia’s proposal, you’re going to see that we left nothing on the table,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said at a city event Thursday.
The filmed handoff of Georgia’s bid at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters was a bit of a dramatic flair for a state that typically plays the economic development game with its cards close to the vest.
But such is the nature of a public bidding war unlike any major economic development project in recent memory.
Amazon unleashed an international sweepstakes last month with an online request for proposals for a second headquarters to be the equal of its Pacific Northwest base of operations — a campus totaling 8 million square feet.
Georgia’s proposal includes details for dozens of development sites around metro Atlanta. It boasts about the city’s technology talent. It touts Atlanta’s globally connected airport, the region’s transit network and plans to expand MARTA rail.
The state’s formal bid also isn’t shy about the bevy of incentives and infrastructure improvements Georgia and local officials can offer that total well more than $1 billion.
“I’m highly confident that this is the most aggressive economic attraction package that the state of Georgia has ever put forward,” said Reed, who said the city has never before offered more incentives.
“This is an Olympic moment,” he added. “This is a singular moment for Atlanta.”
Recruiters and economic development experts say the pitches from dozens of cities across North America are merely the opening volley to ensure they find a place on Amazon’s shortlist.
Amazon likely started its search with leading contenders already in mind, but people familiar with the metro Atlanta package said Georgia leaders want to deliver a “wow factor” and show Amazon that Georgia has the company firmly on its mind.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the teamwork and collaboration among our economic development partners in submitting a unified response to Amazon’s RFP,” Pat Wilson, the state’s commissioner of economic development said in a statement. “This has been a cooperative effort by the entire region, and we truly believe metro Atlanta is the “Prime” location for Amazon’s HQ2.”
There’s a reason Atlanta is laying it on the line. The city is widely believed to be a surefire finalist for the project. Moody’s Analytics, the financial services arm of the global financial firm, published a recent study ranking the top competitors for the deal on five factors. Atlanta came in second, just behind Austin, Texas.
Roger Tutterow, a Kennesaw State University economist, said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is playing his hand brilliantly. The open competition heightens the stakes.
“This just shows you another compliment to the marketing genius Jeff Bezos,” he said. “He’s got an economic development plum and he’s searching for the best deal.”
Amazon said it plans to make its pick known next year. In the weeks to come, economic development watchers expect Amazon to narrow its list to a handful of cities and make site visits. That’s when the real courtship begins.
Georgia’s pitch — not only the formal package but also in later meetings with Amazon officials if the state advances — won’t focus solely on land and incentives. Leaders will offer a vision not only of metro Atlanta today, but it’s history and future, as an innovator in technology, logistics, civil rights and marketing.
Nearly every major city in the U.S. and elsewhere in North America honed their own packages for the e-commerce giant.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upped the ante to $7 billion in incentives, from the $5 billion the state previously offered. Cities across the nation have sent emissaries to Seattle, touted their cultural treasures and even installed giant Amazon buttons around town. One tried (unsuccessfully) to ship a cactus to Bezos.
There also have been bids to grab attention among metro Atlanta communities.
The newly-formed suburb of Stonecrest, in a publicity stunt, offered the tech giant hundreds of acres of land that could be incorporated into its own city of Amazon, Ga. Stonecrest’s mayor even promised a legislative push to allow Bezos to be the area’s unelected mayor.
And metro Atlanta wasn’t the only place in Georgia to give it a shot.
LaGrange gave it a go, too, independent of the state, even though the west Georgia city lacks the population, transportation infrastructure and other essentials on Amazon’s wish-list. T. Scott Malone, who heads the city’s development authority, tweeted a picture of LaGrange leaders locked arm-to-arm.
Like I mentioned nearly a month ago, Amazon and Jeff Bezos played this perfectly and intelligently.
Look at all the free stuff Amazon has already received by doing this. All of these analytic firms like Moody's, CNBC, AEG, Bisnow, commercial real-estate experts, and the like have offered a free data crunch and compilation of attributes each place has. All done for free, Amazon didn't pay any of these people or agencies for any of that work, they got it for free. The publicity? For free. The open field competition where places go against one another and heighten the incentive packages? For free.
All that and they probably still knew before they opened the competition on September 7th where they wanted to put HQ2. They did all that for the free stuff, the perks, and the competition level that would wield Amazon a heightened sense of leverage over anywhere and everywhere.
I wish I could say that I feel sympathetic towards the places that have exhausted resources and put so much time into their bids, in the end 130 places looked into submitting a bid and only 1 of them will be happy with the outcome. A lot of people, especially those that have been advocating for HQ2 as a potential shot in the arm are likely going to be extremely disappointed with the results when it comes out next year. That is what is sad in all of this.
I wish I could say that I feel sympathetic towards the places that have exhausted resources and put so much time into their bids, in the end 130 places looked into submitting a bid and only 1 of them will be happy with the outcome. A lot of people, especially those that have been advocating for HQ2 as a potential shot in the arm are likely going to be extremely disappointed with the results when it comes out next year. That is what is sad in all of this.
I think this has been an excellent showcase in the bias of homerism on here. Almost unfailingly every post advocating where this was going to go was tied to where the poster lives. I'm not going to lie I would be stoked if my little city would get something like this. I am aware I have a better chance at winning the powerball than Amazon coming anywhere near here. Not my style to be unrealistic even as a homer. Still our local and regional economic development arms submitted a 108 page proposal. I think it would be stupid not for a city not to participate in the exercise, at least they gain experience in what it might take to attract a bigger fish like this. I'm just glad they took it seriously and didn't do anything gimicky to get attention.
I think it would be stupid not for a city not to participate in the exercise, at least they gain experience in what it might take to attract a bigger fish like this.
It would be stupid for a city that meets absolutely none of the criteria to submit a bid, especially if it diverts resources and time away from working on economic development deals that said city actually has realistic chances of landing.
It would be stupid for a city that meets absolutely none of the criteria to submit a bid, especially if it diverts resources and time away from working on economic development deals that said city actually has realistic chances of landing.
Perhaps it is stupid for a city that meets none of the criteria yes. I was namely referring to the cities that meet some but not all.
I think it would be stupid not for a city not to participate in the exercise, at least they gain experience in what it might take to attract a bigger fish like this.
I would say that it depends wholly on the situation itself.
For a lot of cities that don't stand a chance at getting HQ2 either because they aren't a traditional tech market, loosely fit the RFP criteria (or don't fit at all), or have much bigger issues to deal with that this entire scheme for HQ2 has been a bust.
However, for certain cities, like Detroit, this has the potential to help their cause whether they get HQ2 or not. For Detroit, this is a prime opportunity (no pun intended) to showcase how far the city has come and all that it has to offer. The videos these cities are making aren't just viewed by Amazon but by viewers spread across the planet.
I saw the Detroit video yesterday, was pretty impressed with it and the city is really making a strong core-based resurgence with or without Amazon's HQ2:
Irregardless of HQ2, Detroit begins site preparation and construction for its new tallest building in downtown this December. The city's core has energized and its prosperity has started to spill over to adjacent neighborhoods like a seeping virus (in a good way) and the city is remaking its ascent. For Detroit, this HQ2 ordeal is a positive presser regardless of whether the city lands it or not.
For a lot of the other cities, I would not say the same thing. I remember Amazon releasing its HQ2 RFP on September 7th and the days following was a madhouse. Some city stated it wants to de-annex land and rename it Amazon and create its own city. Another place put up Amazon boxes all over town. Another place ordered 1,000 Amazon packages and wrote reason for why they deserve HQ2 on the reviews. Needless to say, a lot of these stunts have been a waste of resources and a waste of time, for some of these cities, they have piles of issues that they really should be working on cracking down on but instead their time and resources have gone into HQ2. The only problem with all of that is that 130 cities want it but only 1 will get it. That's 129 disappointments. The only places that actually lose but wont really lose are those that are trying to stage a comeback and generate positive press for themselves as a major city and business center IMO. So somewhere like a Detroit or a Pittsburgh, this application process will be good to both of them.
I think it is commendable that Little Rock, San Antonio, and San Jose all recognized that this is a zero-sum game and pulled out of it, as to no longer waste anymore time or resources on this thing.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 10-20-2017 at 01:50 PM..
I think it is commendable that Little Rock, San Antonio, and San Jose all recognized that this is a zero-sum game and pulled out of it, as to no longer waste anymore time or resources on this thing.
Last night there were hundreds of angry, raucous protestors at a public hearing in San Jose for Google's huge 6 million sq ft downtown expansion there which promises 20,000 more high paying jobs.
The biggest complaint was the displacement of poor and middle class people due to this project.
I think if Amazon tried to come to SJ and build an 8-mln sq ft plex with 50,000 workers, there'd be rioting in the streets.
LOL
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