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Amazon is waiting for cities in the race to the bottom, who ever gives them the biggest incentive plans wins. Looking at the criteria, for Canadian cities, I'd put MTL slightly ahead of T.O due to better transit, it'll cost less (hydro, housing, transit, etc..) they want bike lanes so we're ahead, and you have UdeM, McGill, and Concordia who are HUGE players in tech/AI, with UdeM and McGill being known worldwide for this. But if it was Amazon's choice, they'd probably pick Toronto. In the U.S, I believe in the east, Boston might have the highest chance, Atlanta could be a big player, maybe you can add Philly to the mix too? or Chi? anything is possible and it'll be a few interesting months before they choose.
Maybe off topic, but all of those house hunter shows on TV show Toronto as a city where the people end up dropping like $800k on a small duplex that needs a full renovation. Is that accurate? I would think that since Seattle has become so expensive, that COL would play somewhat of a factor.
First guess would be:
N VA/ Baltimore
Toronto
Boston
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Dark horse could be Cleveland which beat out other cities in getting the RNC in 2016
Checks off many requirements in RFP (Which has its own conflict in asking for 100 acres of 'greenfield' yet wanting multiple transit options and being pedestrian friendly). What major city of over 1 million in metro region has a 100 acre greenfield with good transit options / connectivity? Anyone know of any that are not brownfields?
1) The International Airport (once a Continental hub) is capable of easily scaling back up as it has a mothballed Regional jet terminal that Continental built. Recently began again with flights to Iceland.
2) The airport connects to the CBD in 25 minutes as well as has a Corporate Jet airport right on Lakefront which enables top execs to fly in and be in HQ within 15-20 minute taxi ride (they like that as they don't have to mingle with masses).
3) Infrastructure is built out from being a legacy industrial city. Sits on Fiber optic trunk line between NYC and Chicago (connectivity speed).
4) Existing commercial office space sitting 5-minute walk from transit hub to meet initial office phase needs and lots of contiguous surface parking infill sites (already proposed for redevelopment but stalled) nearby which could be built into a downtown campus as well as be pedestrian / bike friendly.
5) They could essentially build themselves a corporate village campus on the lakefront as part of the below project which would be connected by light rail (currently underused) to CBD transit center with entertainment district (Flats East Bank) on stops. Dick Pace, Trammell Crow tapped as Cleveland lakefront developers with big housing plans | cleveland.com
Could easily become Amazons Corporate Village on the Lake with an iconic tower modeled to Bezos desire where Progressive Insurance founder (Peter B Lewis) once wanted to put tallest building with his "Art Collection" in lower levels as focal point. Bezos could claim putting one there to 'see Canada' would help signify his unifying North American HQ.
6) Within close proximity to concentration of higher educational institutions and... thinking of Bezos as a market expanding Napoleon - may want to tap into Medical Tech which the area has strong research. Regionally centered between manufacturing robotics strong Michigan/Indiana and Western PA/ NY State due to auto and other manufacturers. Bezos could attempt to dominate the growing robotics sector.
7) Small enough 'big city' he could 'control' it and the easily bought political leaders who would bend over at command. Its a 'vote tipping' node in a 'swing state' which if he has political puppeteer ambitions would provide strong political leverage. [Think Marcus Hanna the President maker] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Hanna
Bezos is same type with a different political label.
8) Recruiting would simply need to show quality of life for the dollar. Amenities of a larger city due to past industrial might. 2nd largest theater entertainment district outside of NYC, lots of great parks and green spaces and gentrifying nearby downtown neighborhoods that appeal to the younger workers.
Plenty of affordable housing across the suburban/exurban landscape and a reviving downtown. If you pay people enough they can go on vacations when the weather is bad. Four months of bad weather is analogous to Pacific NW dreariness. Can recruit from large region (40 percent of USA population is within 500 miles) and provide recent grads a reasonable COL.
9) Good continuity of business HQ (insert disaster of choice) and not as much of 'target' as Bo-Wash Atlantic corridor.
He's referencing the part noted in the RFP regarding the below.
5. Logistics. Amazon is first and foremost a master of logistics, so it should come as no surprise that the company cares a lot about transportation. Amazon wants on-site access to mass transit—train, subway, or bus—and to be no more than one or two miles from major highways and connecting roads. It wants to be within 45 minutes of an international airport with daily direct flights to Seattle, New York, the San Francisco Bay area, and Washington DC. The company is also asking applicants to identify “all transit options, including bike lanes and pedestrian access” for the proposed site and to rank traffic congestion during peak commuting hours.
This is a HUGE part of the RFP... especially the bolded section. I would say this rules out Bay Area, DC and NYC as HQ2 considerations if they're looking for cities with flights TO these places. With these requirements in place, I would say the top 5 considerations are going to be:
Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth in no specific order. For Canada, Toronto and Montreal.
Honorable mentions but will likely not get the HQ2 will be Pittsburgh, Miami, Nashville, Baltimore, Atlanta, Memphis, Austin, Houston, Charlotte, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc. All of these cities don't offer everything Amazon is seeking. I'm also unsure if they would be able to handle the infrastructure required to accommodate adding 8 million square feet of office space, and 50,000 employees in 9 short years.
This is a HUGE part of the RFP... especially the bolded section. I would say this rules out Bay Area, DC and NYC as HQ2 considerations if they're looking for cities with flights TO these places. With these requirements in place, I would say the top 5 considerations are going to be:
Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth in no specific order. For Canada, Toronto and Montreal.
Honorable mentions but will likely not get the HQ2 will be Pittsburgh, Miami, Nashville, Baltimore, Atlanta, Memphis, Austin, Houston, Charlotte, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc. All of these cities don't offer everything Amazon is seeking. I'm also unsure if they would be able to handle the infrastructure required to accommodate adding 8 million square feet of office space, and 50,000 employees in 9 short years.
Im reading it differently I think it means IF its not SF, DC, NYC then they require direct flights/easy access to those cities along with Seattle. This doesn't disqualify those but rather give them an edge since its clear regular business interactions/trips with those cities are very important.
Either way, a win for DC, Bmore, Philly or NYC would be a win for the entire corridor.
I heard Amazon was price gouging deliveries in connection with Hurricane Irma. I don know how true that is, it was on the news today. It wouldn't surprise me though. I guess they won't be considering Fla for their headquarters.
I'm obviously pulling for Pittsburgh since it checks most of the boxes, but if Amazon chose anywhere else in the traditional Rust Belt I'd be thrilled.
NYC, SF Bay Area, DC/NoVA, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia are all THRIVING economically. They don't need Amazon. A city like Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, or Baltimore? This would be transformational. Jeff Bezos would be able to build a legacy in one of these cities as he helps to restore them to their former glory.
Pittsburgh is a city of ~305,000 in a metro area of ~2,300,000 that functions below its maximum capacity and potential. We have two large shovel-ready sites ready to house a large corporate campus (one of which is adjacent to Downtown and one of which is spitting distance from CMU and Pitt). We also have room Downtown for a signature skyscraper. Our airport is a former hub, and direct flights to Seattle would definitely come from SOME airline if they got whiff that Amazon wanted to come here because it would be a profitable route for them. We have a LOT of the types of "crunchy/bike-friendly/granola/liberal" neighborhoods that Amazon seeks. Coupled with the cloudiness we're almost the Seattle of the East the way it is!
As a personal protest if Amazon picks Tysons, VA I'm never buying a product from them again.
Valid points but Amazon is a business not a philanthropist. They are concerned about their bottom line and recruiting top A list talent. Pittsburgh conceivably could fit the bill but it faces stiff competition.
I'm obviously pulling for Pittsburgh since it checks most of the boxes, but if Amazon chose anywhere else in the traditional Rust Belt I'd be thrilled.
NYC, SF Bay Area, DC/NoVA, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia are all THRIVING economically. They don't need Amazon. A city like Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, or Baltimore? This would be transformational. Jeff Bezos would be able to build a legacy in one of these cities as he helps to restore them to their former glory.
Pittsburgh is a city of ~305,000 in a metro area of ~2,300,000 that functions below its maximum capacity and potential. We have two large shovel-ready sites ready to house a large corporate campus (one of which is adjacent to Downtown and one of which is spitting distance from CMU and Pitt). We also have room Downtown for a signature skyscraper. Our airport is a former hub, and direct flights to Seattle would definitely come from SOME airline if they got whiff that Amazon wanted to come here because it would be a profitable route for them. We have a LOT of the types of "crunchy/bike-friendly/granola/liberal" neighborhoods that Amazon seeks. Coupled with the cloudiness we're almost the Seattle of the East the way it is!
As a personal protest if Amazon picks Tysons, VA I'm never buying a product from them again.
Chicago and Philly are both post-industrial cities which have dealt with numerous struggles of their own. Logistically though they represent better options than the Rust Belt cities you mentioned. That being said, if Philly didn't get it, I would be happy to see it go to one of those you mentioned.
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