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Old 09-08-2017, 04:54 AM
 
9,576 posts, read 7,323,454 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
We're now comfortably in first place. Pittsburgh is one of the most logical choices for Amazon, actually. MUCH cheaper overhead and labor costs than the typical larger coastal cities while we still have a great quality-of-life, decent mass transit, a good airport, increasing cycling infrastructure, generally low violent crime, and not prone to disruptive natural disasters. Bezos can also build a legacy for himself as being a huge part of Pittsburgh's "Comeback Story". Trump's America can more easily identify with Pittsburgh than with Seattle because our metro area is very socially conservative, so an investment here could also win over more clients who would otherwise boycott a "liberal company". I could say the same for Detroit or Cleveland but feel like we're better poised for this.
I'm not saying the 'burgh is not a logical choice, but the bigger question is, will the state/county/city be willing to give Amazon the hundreds of millions if not a billion dollars in tax breaks/credit/incentives that other places around North America will undoubtedly be willing to give them? Doesn't PA already have a $2 Billion or is it $3 Billion budget sortfall?
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Old 09-08-2017, 05:40 AM
 
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This isn't a factory or a sports stadium. 50k Amazon jobs can completely transform a city. Outside of maybe New York, Boston and Chicago, every city is going to throw tax breaks at Amazon.
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:07 AM
 
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Originally Posted by gladhands View Post
This isn't a factory or a sports stadium. 50k Amazon jobs can completely transform a city. Outside of maybe New York, Boston and Chicago, every city is going to throw tax breaks at Amazon.
True, but if Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania "only" gives them $500 million and Dallas/Texas is going to give them $1 Billion in tax breaks, where do you think Amazon will end up? My point is that the way the PA General Assembly is currently, I don't see them being able to compete with places like Texas and Georgia. I hope I'm wrong, but we'll see next year who wins the "Amazon HQ2 lottery"!
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:14 AM
 
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brilliant of amazon to pretend that they are looking for right "fit" for employees instead of going to the highest bidder. do you really think they care about walkability and bike lanes? i see this as fan service and people are eating it up.
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:16 AM
 
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Originally Posted by cjseliga View Post
True, but if Pittsburgh/Pennsylvania "only" gives them $500 million and Dallas/Texas is going to give them $1 Billion in tax breaks, where do you think Amazon will end up? My point is that the way the PA General Assembly is currently, I don't see them being able to compete with places like Texas and Georgia. I hope I'm wrong, but we'll see next year who wins the "Amazon HQ2 lottery"!
Atlanta absolutely has shot. Dallas, not so much. Some of Amazon's demands are easier to meet than others. Dallas isn't going to get top universities or mass transit overnight.
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:19 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Paul2421 View Post
brilliant of amazon to pretend that they are looking for right "fit" for employees instead of going to the highest bidder. do you really think they care about walkability and bike lanes? i see this as fan service and people are eating it up.
They're going to get it all. There's no bid Virginia Beach could make that would be sweet enough for Amazon.
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:25 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gladhands View Post
Atlanta absolutely has shot. Dallas, not so much. Some of Amazon's demands are easier to meet than others. Dallas isn't going to get top universities or mass transit overnight.
Agreed Dallas is lacking the University aspect, but they do have 93 miles of light rail, which is current the most out of any city in the US with light rail, Los Angeles will eventually pass them down the road with their current light rail expansion though. You know how many metroplexes would kill for 93 miles of light rail service? I'm sure Pittsburgh would love to have that amount!


Last edited by cjseliga; 09-08-2017 at 06:35 AM..
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:43 AM
 
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Originally Posted by cjseliga View Post
Agreed Dallas is lacking the University aspect, but they do have 93 miles of light rail, which is current the most out of any city in the US with light rail, Los Angeles will eventually pass them down the road with their current light rail expansion though. You know how many metroplexes would kill for 93 miles of light rail service? I'm sure Pittsburgh would love to have that amount!
That's cute, and really useful for getting commuters in from the suburbs, but Dallas is a car-dependent city with poor intra-city transit.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/c...iting-dart-bus
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Old 09-08-2017, 06:56 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,352 posts, read 17,012,289 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul2421 View Post
brilliant of amazon to pretend that they are looking for right "fit" for employees instead of going to the highest bidder. do you really think they care about walkability and bike lanes? i see this as fan service and people are eating it up.
Amazon will want to attract the "best talent" - meaning sadly to a great extent millennials with advanced degrees they can chew up and spit out after a few years. Like all other companies competing for this market, they know these workers are concentrated in walkable urban cores. And even though they include it as a possibility in their bid, I can't think they're seriously considering a suburban corporate campus. I can't think of anywhere other than Silicon Valley where those are being set up.

The big strike against us as a contender is more the relatively small size of our metro, necessitating a lot of people moving in from the outside to meet Amazon's demand. However, we have readily available, relatively cheap land available in spades in the Lower Hill and Almono, which could be attractive.

I don't think taxes would be a major concern. People like to **** and moan about them locally, but Pennsylvania is about average nationwide - better than most nearby states.



I don't think Pittsburgh will get this in the end, but only because there are so many other potential cities in the running.
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Old 09-08-2017, 07:01 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
6,327 posts, read 9,148,549 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fleetiebelle View Post
The WashPo headline says "North America," so don't rule out Toronto, Montreal, etc.
I saw an article that thought Toronto was the most likely place to get it. Considering the political climate and mentality in the US at the moment, I wouldn't rule out them setting up their second outpost in Canada too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga View Post
I'm not saying the 'burgh is not a logical choice, but the bigger question is, will the state/county/city be willing to give Amazon the hundreds of millions if not a billion dollars in tax breaks/credit/incentives that other places around North America will undoubtedly be willing to give them? Doesn't PA already have a $2 Billion or is it $3 Billion budget sortfall?
The state gave a lot of incentives to Shell to choose PA for their cracker plant, so they certainly would do the same again if needed for Amazon IMO.
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