Amazon solicits bids from North American cities for a second HQ (Columbus: wedding, statistics)

[jmecklenborg]

It'll be great if anywhere in Ohio or really the Midwest gets this because it could help change the narrative of the area. Every rust belt city has tons of empty space in its downtown for a new headquarters so Cleveland isn't special in that regard. They are lucky to have the rapid system, but it's unclear how much of an advantage that is considering that St. Louis and even Buffalo have similar systems.

It's obvious that some people here didn't know that the Prime Air Hub was chosen for Cincinnati's airport and that it is already in minimal operation. They won't have the full-scale operation going with a fleet of 50+ new planes in a purpose-built facility until 2020 or a bit after. But that detail obviously means Cincinnati will get greater consideration. Cincinnati just got the GE office building (not GE Aviation) on its riverfront in large part because GE Aviation has been here for 70 years.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

They are lucky to have the rapid system, but it's unclear how much of an advantage that is considering that St. Louis and even Buffalo have similar systems.

We were comparing Cincinnati and Cleveland, and as you well know, Cleveland's mass transit system, especially its rail system, is far superior to that of Cincinnati.

BTW, Cleveland has 37 miles of rail transit, St. Louis has 62 miles, and Buffalo has 6.4 miles. Do you seriously consider Buffalo's system "similar???" If so, please stop pretending to be a transit expert.

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

It's obvious that some people here didn't know that the Prime Air Hub was chosen for Cincinnati's airport and that it is already in minimal operation. They won't have the full-scale operation going with a fleet of 50+ new planes in a purpose-built facility until 2020 or a bit after. But that detail obviously means Cincinnati will get greater consideration. Cincinnati just got the GE office building (not GE Aviation) on its riverfront in large part because GE Aviation has been here for 70 years.

I knew that Amazon picked northern Kentucky as an air hub. I don't know why that would increase Amazon's chances of picking Cincinnati. E.g., Boeing relocated its global headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, despite much more substantial manufacturing operations in Seattle and elsewhere in the U.S.

[jmecklenborg]

Buffalo has the best system, pound-for-pound, of the three. It gets very high ridership considering how deeply Buffalo has fallen. It gets approximately 3,000 daily rides per route mile, or double that of Cleveland's rapid network.

If Cleveland had built the Euclid Ave. subway, it would have very high ridership and there wouldn't be the vast vacant lots that remain along the Health Line.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Buffalo has the best system, pound-for-pound, of the three. It gets very high ridership considering how deeply Buffalo has fallen. It gets approximately 3,000 daily rides per route mile, or double that of Cleveland's rapid network.

If Cleveland had built the Euclid Ave. subway, it would have very high ridership and there wouldn't be the vast vacant lots that remain along the Health Line.

So the champion of the low ridership Cincinnati rail trolley, and advocate for more rail in Cincinnati, champions a tiny rail system in the most dense corridor in Buffalo, and refuses to admit that it is not "similar" to the much larger rail systems in Cleveland and St. Louis.

Pathetic.

Instead of a relatively expensive subway system, Cleveland built a 24/7 bus rapid system on Euclid Ave. that is ranked among the best in the U.S., with a great economic return on investment. As a dense, reinvigorated corridor develops along the Healthline, perhaps eventually it will justify a subway route.

HealthLine named 'Best BRT in USA' | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

It's amazing how Cincinnati homers cry foul when anyone disagrees with their hubris, but then they go into other forums to spread absolute malarkey.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Right, I know making the point is useless. I was around some CIN people in CLE last year for the 1st time. I guess they were expecting some small town dump. The Rapid Transit system blew them away...we were on a Blue Line train...commenting that they ''didn't think CLE was this big''....no comparison.

You guys are being a little too sensitive. Cleveland has some advantages over the other two for sure, but it also has some disadvantages. Each of the 3-Cs has their own strengths that the others do not. None of them are getting the HQ, though. That's the point. I would actually love to see it go somewhere in Ohio, regardless of the location, because by itself it could seriously help change the long-term fortunes of the state. I just don't think a strong-enough case can be made for it, but who knows. Maybe Bezos will surprise us, but my money is on a much larger metro/city.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by motorman

If you really believe that Cleveland would be a good candidate for HQ2 and that the city has a solid chance of winning it, then present your best supporting argument on the "City-vs-City/General-US" Amazon HQ2 thread already in progress. However, be fully prepared to defend your position in ways you haven't had to before, namely because here you have a built in home-field advantage. For all purposes, this is merely a Municipal Court while over there it's Common-Pleas.

Originally Posted by WRnative

BTW, I don't see any Amazon headquarters thread in the city vs.city forum. If you know of one, please provide a link.

This is the link you're looking for: //www.city-data.com/forum/gener...their-new.html

You won't exactly be getting in on the ground floor there, but at least you'll able to present Cleveland's case in front of a nationwide assembly of city advocates also seeking HQ2. Because none of the "3-C's" were listed in the poll, it's understandable why none of them have garnered attention. However, one person has spoken up for Cleveland in Post #144.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by motorman

This is the link you're looking for: //www.city-data.com/forum/gener...their-new.html

You won't exactly be getting in on the ground floor there, but at least you'll able to present Cleveland's case in front of a nationwide assembly of city advocates also seeking HQ2. Because none of the "3-C's" were listed in the poll, it's understandable why none of them have garnered attention. However, one person has spoken up for Cleveland in Post #144.

Thanks.

This thread is not in the city vs. city forum.

Cleveland and Cincinnati aren't even listed as options in the poll, accompanying the thread. Nor is Denver, which reportedly is the logical pick, according to the New York Times. Note that Denver has an international airport.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...e.html?mcubz=3

I wonder if Amazon wants to deal with potential water shortages and ongoing wildfires that are denuding Colorado's once beautifully forested mountains.

https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/com...s-water-supply

https://www.yaleclimateconnections.o...orest-decline/

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

You guys are being a little too sensitive. Cleveland has some advantages over the other two for sure, but it also has some disadvantages. Each of the 3-Cs has their own strengths that the others do not. None of them are getting the HQ, though. That's the point. I would actually love to see it go somewhere in Ohio, regardless of the location, because by itself it could seriously help change the long-term fortunes of the state. I just don't think a strong-enough case can be made for it, but who knows. Maybe Bezos will surprise us, but my money is on a much larger metro/city.

Yawn...and this is like the pot calling the kettle black.

Posters on here are way too sensitive about CLE even having an Amazon discussion.

Again, for the nth time...no one in CLE actually think Amazon is going there; not even sure if the city is making a bid. Wouldn't that be the basis for a freak-out here: CLE even committed to making a bid; oddly, CIN is, yet no one is even opening a thread there. Why?

CIN does not like Columbus either, and well we know what the deal is down there about CLE. So your attempted Kumbaya peace pipe smoking is baloney.

The best proposal and the metro saving Amazon the most $ (taxes) will get this.

It is funny though how cities in Ohio are obsessed with rails transit systems. One poster in urbanohio.com thinks having the 3C high speed line Amazon would seal the deal for OH.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

It's obvious that some people here didn't know that the Prime Air Hub was chosen for Cincinnati's airport and that it is already in minimal operation. They won't have the full-scale operation going with a fleet of 50+ new planes in a purpose-built facility until 2020 or a bit after. But that detail obviously means Cincinnati will get greater consideration. Cincinnati just got the GE office building (not GE Aviation) on its riverfront in large part because GE Aviation has been here for 70 years.

As you mentioned on another site, the combined presence of Amazon and DHL will position CVG among the top freight airports in the world...

"The loss of the Delta Hub at CVG could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Cincinnati. The enormous unused capacity of the airport first landed it the DHL hub and now Amazon Prime. Freight operations will soon dwarf the combined UPS and FedEx hubs in Memphis and Louisville. In 10-20 years we could end up with much more e-commerce in Cincinnati than any other metro -- totally by chance."

With both Amazon and DHL in full swing, it's highly probably that CVG will become the world's busiest cargo airport; a brief analysis of the stats below will suggest why I say this. What's important is that Jeff Bezos also knows this. Everyone can draw their own conclusions how this will affect Cincinnati; it's pretty obvious to me.

Top 10 Busiest Cargo Airports in the World 2017 Statistics & Reports | AirlinesBox.com

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Yawn...and this is like the pot calling the kettle black.

Posters on here are way too sensitive about CLE even having an Amazon discussion.

Again, for the nth time...no one in CLE actually think Amazon is going there; not even sure if the city is making a bid. Wouldn't that be the basis for a freak-out here: CLE even committed to making a bid; oddly, CIN is, yet no one is even opening a thread there. Why?

CIN does not like Columbus either, and well we know what the deal is down there about CLE. So your attempted Kumbaya peace pipe smoking is baloney.

The best proposal and the metro saving Amazon the most $ (taxes) will get this.

It is funny though how cities in Ohio are obsessed with rails transit systems. One poster in urbanohio.com thinks having the 3C high speed line Amazon would seal the deal for OH.

I've long been under the impression that Clevelanders don't much like Columbus, either, at least on this forum- and in Cleveland.com articles.


There's little doubt that Cleveland is drafting a proposal for the project. There are going to be few cities that don't. They'd be kind of crazy not to, however unlikely being awarded it.