Amazon HQ2 thread

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

Not to jump the gun or jinx anything, but I predicted Chicago the very first day H2Q was announced. Makes so much sense - great transportation, loads of great amenities for workers and managers, affordable cost of living, loads of space to grow, a pliable mayor/governor willing to give up the store, a deep talent pool, easy to attract people to, nation's best air connections, and just a certain energy about the place.

Please, don't stop

[Omaharocks]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

Amazon people recently seen touring the massive Finkl Steel site in Chicago.

Chicago should certainly be a front runner, but it's been publicly known that Amazon is touring a number of cities that submitted proposals through the end of the year.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Another thing I was wondering was flight distance to Seattle. Given that there's going to be so much flying between this HQ2 city and Seattle, wouldn't it make sense to have a city that's only, like, maybe 3 hours or less flying time? If so, cities in the central, mountain and pacific time zones might be a bit of an advantage.

[the urban politician]

I heard from a really reliable source that the front runner is East St Louis.

That source says that Bezos once saw the St Louis Arch from across the Mississippi River while the sun was setting and it made him cry. Powerful stuff, that Arch...

[Mister F]

I heard from a reliable source that an Amazon package was delivered to an address in Shoshone, Idaho just this afternoon. I predicted right from the start that it would be Shoshone. It's only 20 miles from the interstate, it has the best burritos in all of Lincoln County and there's just a certain energy about the place.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I heard from a really reliable source that the front runner is East St Louis.

That source says that Bezos once saw the St Louis Arch from across the Mississippi River while the sun was setting and it made him cry. Powerful stuff, that Arch...

In all honesty, the St. Louis arch is magnificent. Wish it were in grant park over Buckingham Fountain. Would have required the destruction of 100% less historic industrial districts to boot. Wouldn't blame Amazon for picking St Louis over Chicago if their justification was "well they have the arch..." My only response would be "correct".

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Omaharocks

Chicago should certainly be a front runner, but it's been publicly known that Amazon is touring a number of cities that submitted proposals through the end of the year.

Do you have links to any articles about anywhere other than Chicago that they have visited? They've probably visited a lot of places, but I haven't found any articles about it yet.

[10023]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Do you have links to any articles about anywhere other than Chicago that they have visited? They've probably visited a lot of places, but I haven't found any articles about it yet.

My guess is that Chicago locals and press are just more on top of it than elsewhere.

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by 10023

My guess is that Chicago locals and press are just more on top of it than elsewhere.

or chicago might just be their first stop on a tour of the cities on the short list.

[C.]

Originally Posted by skyscraper

or chicago might just be their first stop on a tour of the cities on the short list.

That's my guess. Maybe a combination of both. I still don't see how Chicago and Illinois can overcome the fiscal health component of the RFP...

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by skyscraper

or chicago might just be their first stop on a tour of the cities on the short list.

Amazon reportedly had people touring sites prior to releasing the RFP.
So, they likely had a short list before any city submitted a response.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Don't Be That Guy

Amazon reportedly had people touring sites prior to releasing the RFP.
So, they likely had a short list before any city submitted a response.

Of course they did.

This whole exercise is what my industry would call a “market check”.

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by 10023

Of course they did.

This whole exercise is what my industry would call a “market check”.

In my industry we would call that, "You didn't honestly believe I was going to read all of those did you?"

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Don't Be That Guy

In my industry we would call that, "You didn't honestly believe I was going to read all of those did you?"

In my industry we are the ones who will read all of these for a client that hires us to help with the site selection process.

[mhays]

They would have had ideas, obviously. But the ball can still move.

Creative yet hurdle-free idea that's compelling enough?

Giant incentive package?

Changing market?

Changing internal preferences?

[Centropolis]

i'm really liking that chicago site on the river.


cdn.vox-cdn.com

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by mhays

They would have had ideas, obviously. But the ball can still move.

Creative yet hurdle-free idea that's compelling enough?

Giant incentive package?

Changing market?

Changing internal preferences?

Antitrust concerns could move the ball. The acquisition of Whole Foods, a brick and mortar grocery store sparked concerns this summer. Drug distributors are probably next.

What happens to the city or state that offers billions in incentives to lure HQ2 if the government declares it to be a monopoly? Does Amazon consolidate back to Seattle? Is the host city of HQ2 left out to dry?

[bnk]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i'm really liking that chicago site on the river.


cdn.vox-cdn.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...121-story.html

Check out the video in this link, pretty hard to top this,.

[bnk]

Since everyone loves lists. From Atlanta based Site Selection magazine


From Site Selection magazine, November 2017


https://siteselection.com/issues/201...-dominates.cfm



Central US Metros Dominate 2017 Top Competitive Cities


Chicago tops the US list.
Photo: Getty Images

by ADAM BRUNS

Even as Site Selection publisher Conway Inc. and partners gear up for the 2018 edition of The World’s Most Competitive Cities, we have examined the results of the 2017 edition all year long, looking at top cities in each of six world regions across multiple industry sectors. But what if all those regional leaders competed straight up across all sectors?
We re-racked the project numbers and found an All-American Top 10 led by Chicago, the mighty Texas duo of Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, then No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 5 Atlanta. Detroit, Columbus, New York, Kansas City and Charlotte round out the Top 10.
Among the most competitive metros outside the US for the same multi-year period, four of the top five are in the Asia Pacific, led by No. 1 Singapore, No. 2 Suzhou and No. 3 Shanghai, followed by No. 4 Budapest and No. 5 Ho Chi Minh City. Toronto, Dublin, Birmingham (UK), Quebec City and Pune, India, round out the top 10.

Top 10 Competitive Cities in the US

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
IL-IN-WI

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
TX

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
TX

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
GA

Cincinnati
OH-KY-IN

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
MI

Columbus
OH

Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin
TN

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale
AZ

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
NC-SC


Context Means Everything

Going beyond simple project totals, it’s also worth remembering that comparisons are not always apples-to-apples: A certain country or state’s critical mass of companies and communities is naturally going to mean a higher tally of discrete company projects. So it’s a worthwhile exercise to look at which metro areas most frequently made our top five across the 12 industry sectors, based first on corporate site selection projects over a multi-year time frame, then evaluated afterward against a matrix of economic indicators and location quotients


Top 10 Competitive Cities Abroad
Singapore
Suzhou, China
Shanghai, China
Budapest, Hungary
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dublin, Ireland
Birmingham, UK
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
San Jose, Costa Rica

...

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by bnk

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...121-story.html

Check out the video in this link, pretty hard to top this,.