Quote:
Originally Posted by Car(e)-Free LA
Raleigh and Austin aren't viable. Houston, Atlanta, or Dallas will be the pick if it goes to the south. Other Eastern possibilities are Boston, DC, NY, and Chicago. That's it.
I think the strongest possibilities are Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago.
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Philly will be a strong contender as that RFP is made for Philly.
1. Largest university scene outside of Boston, including 2 Ivies, one of the largest state schools in the country, and elite technology and engineering programs. One of the cities with the most Eds and Meds research development happening.
2. A centralized location between NYC and DC (1.5 to each) and surrounded also by Boston, Baltimore, Atlantic City, and Pittsburgh.
3. Shovel ready space in center city with 100+ acres (
http://schuylkillyards.com/)
4. Airport and Amtrak hubs (all running under Schuylkill Yards) -- can take the train to DC or NYC in less than a hour.
5. Affordability (one of the cheapest cities in the country)
6. One of the most culturally diverse cities in the country
7. Comcast is here so we've proven that we can be a hub for technology.
8. Can easily meet the hotel requirements in the RFP.
I'm not saying Philly will get it. But Philly will be competitive. Honestly, I think it'll come down to Chicago, Philly, and maybe a sunbelt city (but those cities are going to struggle to handle the infrastructure growth required by Amazon). I doubt they'll pick NYC, Boston, or DC because of how expensive those cities have become -- they are borderline becoming unlivable now and with an average salary of just $100k, that's going to limit the appeal of a more expensive hub than Seattle which is already straining Amazon's current staff's wallets.