And as far as the
Amazon HQ2 recruitment is concerned, I know Nashville is a long shot. But then, every city in the USA and Canada is a long shot due to the sheer number of Cities eligible to compete. It's not a lock to even be on a short list for any city as they all have serious negatives regarding their ability to accommodate that size of an investment.
So I can only wonder about the format of a proposal that Nashville might submit. I would suspect that the following points would be emphasized...
- Nashville's arrow is pointing up. It is growing at a rate that puts it in the top five of just about any ranking of growing cities in America. There is no reason to believe it will slow down, barring a national economic downturn.
- Nashville is developing a culture that belies it's country and western image. It was called a 'cosmopolitan metropolis on a small scale' by the New York Times. The food, fashion, and yes, the music scenes are receiving national recognition as tops in their category.
- Nashville has a shovel ready location 1/2 mile from downtown that is a short walk or bike ride from 10's of thousands of 20th century built bungalows, condos, apartments and houses in rapidly gentrifying area. No mass transit needed here.
- And, importantly, the airport is undergoing a billion dollar, seven year plan to upgrade it to a top level airport with all service and amenities that status requires.
- Six billion dollars worth of mass transit upgrades will be subject to a public referendum next May and should pass. The plan includes light rail, trolley, more commuter rail and improved bus service.
Nashville doesn't check all the boxes just yet, but nobody does. There are some evaluations that show the city as a top 5 candidate and some that don't put it in the top 20. The only list that matters is in Jeff Bezo's head and it would be worth every penny for the city to invest in a first class presentation and behalf of America's Music City.