Amazon's new HQ in Nashville? (Cleveland, Lebanon: tech jobs, to live, shop)

[jjbradleynyc]

What is Nashville's likelihood that they will throw their hat into the ring for this Amazon announcement?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/t...h-america.html

[septimus]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

What is Nashville's likelihood that they will throw their hat into the ring for this Amazon announcement?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/t...h-america.html

it would be a huge one to land and probably they have a good shot with all the distribution centers here already

[DonCorleone]

The Tennessean just ran this article stating Nashville will apply.

Seems to me that we have a decent chance of getting it...certainly have the qualifications the company is requesting.

[jmecklenborg]

Every city has Amazon distribution centers. Cincinnati has the Prime Air Hub + Kroger + Macy's corporate headquarters. There is some speculation that Amazon could locate there with the intention of pilfering the talent of their direct competition.

[850_branded]

So, after looking at that, and specifically keying in on the "mass transit" piece...Imma just come out of left field (& way out the box) with this:

Is it possible to repurpose the Hickory Hollow mall--or just demolish it--and build it there?

I can't recall right but I seem to remember some time back that some big-name company was exploring the possibility of setting up a regional HQ on that corner. Don't know whatever came of that, but if that's off the table, I'd say Mayor Barry should explore that plot. Lord knows something needs to be done to that plot. It's in about as ideal a spot as one could hope for--direct access to the interstate (albeit by means of a jacked-up junction--but that's Tennessee in a nutshell and especially through Nashville), with plenty places right around for employees to eat at (and shop). And as far as mass transit goes, the 55 BRT (& 15 local) already runs into and terminates there at the Ice Center (which would be another plus...increased patronage into the Predators facility, which is big with as hot as the Preds are right now), and if light rail they want, well...I don't know what kind of an arrangement Metro could cook up with CSX, or if CSX would even allow it, but if they could share right-of-way on, they have tracks that run pretty right past the site. It'd be ambitious for sure, but they could build a spur line off that track into the site. (And hey, we have an ambitious Mayor in office right now, so there's that.)

Now I know many would dismiss this right off the bat because it's Antioch, and many can't/won't get past whatever stigma they have of the place. (Seriously, I used to live down there--pretty much right up the road from Hickory Hollow--and it isn't anywhere NEAR as bad as some would have others believe.) But that site is just ripe for someone to come in and invest in. (Didn't the Predators do just that in building the Ice Center out there in the first place?) Something of that magnitude would be huge for Antioch (and at the same time catapult the value of everything around there), and if it's good for Antioch, its good for Nashville, its good for Davidson County--it's good for the whole area and the region, too. (Oh, and Bell Road going north does connect up to I-40 should the need arise to get to the fulfilment center out in Lebanon.

I know all this sounds a "little" crazy. But I'm just throwing out an alternate perspective. Besides, everything doesn't always have to go inside that 3-mile radius of downtown (& is there even any space left? Lol)...sometimes its good to branch out and invest in those areas of town that seem to get so overlooked and passed over in favor of the "hot spots". Sometimes different is good!

(Alright, have at it...chew on it or rip it to shreds. Its open game.)

[HomeIsWhere...]

Well it certainly looks as if the there are more than a few cd members from more than a few states all thinking along the same lines. Amazon is a big deal for wherever they choose to go, Canadian provinces included.

Just from the face of the state c-d forum there are five states and the General U.S. with news of the search. Good luck to all!

Atlanta, Georgia
Boston, Massachusetts
St. Louis, Missouri
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nashville, Tennessee
and General U.S.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by 850_branded

So, after looking at that, and specifically keying in on the "mass transit" piece...Imma just come out of left field (& way out the box) with this:

Is it possible to repurpose the Hickory Hollow mall--or just demolish it--and build it there?

I can't recall right but I seem to remember some time back that some big-name company was exploring the possibility of setting up a regional HQ on that corner. Don't know whatever came of that, but if that's off the table, I'd say Mayor Barry should explore that plot. Lord knows something needs to be done to that plot. It's in about as ideal a spot as one could hope for--direct access to the interstate (albeit by means of a jacked-up junction--but that's Tennessee in a nutshell and especially through Nashville), with plenty places right around for employees to eat at (and shop). And as far as mass transit goes, the 55 BRT (& 15 local) already runs into and terminates there at the Ice Center (which would be another plus...increased patronage into the Predators facility, which is big with as hot as the Preds are right now), and if light rail they want, well...I don't know what kind of an arrangement Metro could cook up with CSX, or if CSX would even allow it, but if they could share right-of-way on, they have tracks that run pretty right past the site. It'd be ambitious for sure, but they could build a spur line off that track into the site. (And hey, we have an ambitious Mayor in office right now, so there's that.)

Now I know many would dismiss this right off the bat because it's Antioch, and many can't/won't get past whatever stigma they have of the place. (Seriously, I used to live down there--pretty much right up the road from Hickory Hollow--and it isn't anywhere NEAR as bad as some would have others believe.) But that site is just ripe for someone to come in and invest in. (Didn't the Predators do just that in building the Ice Center out there in the first place?) Something of that magnitude would be huge for Antioch (and at the same time catapult the value of everything around there), and if it's good for Antioch, its good for Nashville, its good for Davidson County--it's good for the whole area and the region, too. (Oh, and Bell Road going north does connect up to I-40 should the need arise to get to the fulfilment center out in Lebanon.

I know all this sounds a "little" crazy. But I'm just throwing out an alternate perspective. Besides, everything doesn't always have to go inside that 3-mile radius of downtown (& is there even any space left? Lol)...sometimes its good to branch out and invest in those areas of town that seem to get so overlooked and passed over in favor of the "hot spots". Sometimes different is good!

(Alright, have at it...chew on it or rip it to shreds. Its open game.)

This is not a crazy idea at all, and is exactly the kind of smart development and forward-thinking ideas companies like Amazon leap into.

This happened -- or is apparently happening -- in Cleveland, Ohio with a former massive mall there. Amazon is turning it into a distribution center. World's Largest Mall, Now Abandoned, Might Become New Amazon Fulfillment Center | HuffPost

Granted, the 2nd Amazon HQ--if they chose that Antioch site in Nashville--would demolish the mall, but it sounds super promising.

I really sort of think Nashville will make the short list for this--unless Bezos has his heart already set on a city, and is just going through the motions for this "bid process" thing.

I think it could be between Nashville, Atlanta, Austin (although it is seeming more like a long shot), Chicago, and NYC.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

The Tennessean just ran this article stating Nashville will apply.

Seems to me that we have a decent chance of getting it...certainly have the qualifications the company is requesting.

Yeah, Nashville is probably a strong contender. The only "iffy" piece I see is the mass transit--since Nashville does not have a subway/rapid rail. However, I think Nashville would scramble to change that really fast if Amazon came knocking with 50,000 new high paying tech jobs and investments of billions of dollars....

[Hey_Hey]

If this were to come to Nashville (which is a big, big "if") then it will go downtown. They listed mass transit as a requirement which means they want their employees to be able to use it to get to and from work. The only place in Nashville that could even remotely offer mass transit as an option for employees is downtown. Most headquarters would also consider Williamson County, but since mass transit is a requirement I don't see that happening.

All that being said, I think Nashville is on the outside looking in because of the mass transit component. I just don't see Amazon listing that as one of their important pieces and then choosing Nashville which has minimal mass transit.

[Jzer21]

Originally Posted by Hey_Hey

All that being said, I think Nashville is on the outside looking in because of the mass transit component. I just don't see Amazon listing that as one of their important pieces and then choosing Nashville which has minimal mass transit.

Agreed. I think Nashville is a bit lacking in the international airport requirement as well. They have a world-wide presence and I'm sure would prefer an airport with direct flights to those locations.