Amazon bringing 5,000 jobs to downtown (Decatur, Charlotte: college, floors, airport)

[PHofKS]

The 'towers'. Two at 20 + stories over 300 ft. tall.



In the Nashville Yards development...

[JMT]

More about Amazon's surprise decision to bring 5,000 jobs to Nashville in today's NBJ:

Brian Huseman (vice president of public policy at Amazon.com Inc.) gushes about Nashville. His words have the weight of 5,000 jobs behind them.

"We decided fairly late in the process that it would be best to split the headquarters into two locations. As part of that discussion, we also realized what an attractive place Nashville would be to our company," Huseman said. "It's the prefect fit for this operations group. This will be a long-term partnership for us."

Nashville made such an impact on Amazon that it motivated the company to create the operations hub.

"There's just so much to like about Nashville. It's the right amount of [office] space, the right city size, the right talent, the right ability to attract more talent that our operations team needs. It seemed like the perfect fit for the size of this operations team and really the place where we could centralize our East Coast operations."

Read more here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/nashvill..._news_headline

[Johnhw2]

Thanks for posting this. An incredible story, more positive than one could imagine. They decided to create this business unit out of wanting to be in Nashville. I have not heard a more compelling business compliment for any city.

[mj7543]

Originally Posted by PHofKS

The 'towers'. Two at 20 + stories over 300 ft. tall.



In the Nashville Yards development...

I know it’s vanity and really doesn’t make a lot of difference at the end of the day. However, why does it seem that developers for downtown office buildings in Nashville are afraid to build anything taller than 20-30 stories? One billion dollar Nashville Yards developer will construct two 300 foot office towers for Amazon. Whoopty Do. Charlotte, Austin, Columbus, Indianapolis aren’t afraid to construct impressive downtown skyscrapers. Nashville settles for a stubby short skyline. Maybe that’s Amazon’s specific request? Sorry, Correct me. I didn’t read the post from above from Amazon’s representative.

[shinestx]

Don't worry about height. Nashville has far more street activation than those cities. How many on that list have over 45 buildings of at least 20 stories in the core? Height will come. There's already a real and serious proposal for a 700' building. Companies want to be in Nashville and unlike in the past, when they all wanted to be in Williamson County, they now want to be downtown. Developers are being smart. They are not overbuilding despite what some want to know.

Regarding Amazon, their first tower will be 350' and the second one will be determined soon. As things stand right now, that one will rise to over 400'. In addition to that, another $10 billion company, Asurion, is building a very large office complex right next door to the Amazon towers. In the past, a company like Asurion would likely have bolted for the suburbs. As downtown land gets developed, the only way for companies seeking downtown presence will be to go up.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by mj7543

I know it’s vanity and really doesn’t make a lot of difference at the end of the day. However, why does it seem that developers for downtown office buildings in Nashville are afraid to build anything taller than 20-30 stories? One billion dollar Nashville Yards developer will construct two 300 foot office towers for Amazon. Whoopty Do. Charlotte, Austin, Columbus, Indianapolis aren’t afraid to construct impressive downtown skyscrapers. Nashville settles for a stubby short skyline. Maybe that’s Amazon’s specific request? Sorry, Correct me. I didn’t read the post from above from Amazon’s representative.

The tallest building in Nashville today is the AT&T, BellSouth, known as the Batman Building. AFAIK nothing can be built taller than the state capitol. Not sure if there is also restriction for the 31/13 runway at BNA that is the longest of the 4. Maybe in the future there will be a skyline with the Batman Building & the box it came in.

[shinestx]

Neither is the case. There are few restrictions, state or local, against building taller than the capitol. Several buildings rise above it. There are certain downtown blocks that currently are not zoned for buildings that rival the capitol.

As a matter of practice, the FAA needs to know the height of buildings in the paths of flights to/from BNA as you've noted Nashville's downtown is. But there are several towers 500' and taller in paths of closer proximity to other airports around the country. First comes to mind is Newark, and San Diego as well. Several other airports have lower height around them, but the buildings are even closer to the runways. Orange County, Reagan National and LaGuardia.

[Hey_Hey]

The FAA doesn't have the ability to prevent a building from being built. Land use is a state issue that is delegated to the cities or counties. However, the FAA have the ability to say that a building encroaches on a flight path and isn't safe being built there. If they don't certify that a building can be safely built then developers may find it more difficult to insure. This is what happened when the original Signature Tower was proposed. The FAA only agreed to put their stamp of approval on a building up to 750 ft.

That being said, the FAA's concern for downtown Nashville seems to be misplaced. There are numerous places in the US that have traffic fly much closer to buildings than they do in Nashville. In addition to those mentioned above, Miami comes to mind as does west bound traffic out of Las Vegas as it flies directly over Palazzo, Venetian, Wynn, and Treasure Island.

[mj7543]

Originally Posted by Hey_Hey

The FAA doesn't have the ability to prevent a building from being built. Land use is a state issue that is delegated to the cities or counties. However, the FAA have the ability to say that a building encroaches on a flight path and isn't safe being built there. If they don't certify that a building can be safely built then developers may find it more difficult to insure. This is what happened when the original Signature Tower was proposed. The FAA only agreed to put their stamp of approval on a building up to 750 ft.

That being said, the FAA's concern for downtown Nashville seems to be misplaced. There are numerous places in the US that have traffic fly much closer to buildings than they do in Nashville. In addition to those mentioned above, Miami comes to mind as does west bound traffic out of Las Vegas as it flies directly over Palazzo, Venetian, Wynn, and Treasure Island.

Good Points. By the way it doesn’t seem like Atlanta Hartsfield us any further from downtown Atlanta than Nashville International is from downtown Nashville. Maybe a couple of miles more at most.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by Hey_Hey

The FAA doesn't have the ability to prevent a building from being built. Land use is a state issue that is delegated to the cities or counties. However, the FAA have the ability to say that a building encroaches on a flight path and isn't safe being built there. If they don't certify that a building can be safely built then developers may find it more difficult to insure. This is what happened when the original Signature Tower was proposed. The FAA only agreed to put their stamp of approval on a building up to 750 ft.

That being said, the FAA's concern for downtown Nashville seems to be misplaced. There are numerous places in the US that have traffic fly much closer to buildings than they do in Nashville. In addition to those mentioned above, Miami comes to mind as does west bound traffic out of Las Vegas as it flies directly over Palazzo, Venetian, Wynn, and Treasure Island.

Also, LaGuardia (9 miles or so) and Newark (15 miles or so) are very close to Manhattan.

As a comparison, Nashville International is 8 miles to downtown Nashville.

Other airports I can think of that are very close to downtowns are Phoenix Skyharbor (4 miles) and Washington Reagan National airport (5 miles).