ATLANTA | Development Thread VI

[tdawg]

""Prestige factor of being in New York" ?
Back in the day, yes. Today, not so much. Tomorrow, likely even less."

Care to explain?

[mademan404]

Originally Posted by West Peachtree

"Prestige factor of being in New York" ?
Back in the day, yes. Today, not so much. Tomorrow, likely even less.

Amazon is nothing if not super forward thinking

This is a bit of a closed minded statement to make considering just how important New York City is on the world stage. Of course Atlanta has it's merits and we all want to see the city prosper, but to try to discredit an undefeated heavyweight champion is an ineffective argument. Outside of NYC and Los Angeles there are very few US metros that match the prestige and notoriety of London, Paris, and Hong Kong.

We should probably focus on Atlanta's merits rather that kick at the ankles of the largest and most influential town in the US, considering the fact that development in NYC still outpaces most major metros in the US. I think we can all agree that Atlanta deserves this shot now that the entire metro has adopted the idea that smart growth is good growth. I still drink PBR's though. What do I know?

[Atlanta3000]

Originally Posted by tdawg

""Prestige factor of being in New York" ?
Back in the day, yes. Today, not so much. Tomorrow, likely even less."

Care to explain?

Artificial Intelligence and Big Data is going to decimate jobs in the financial sector over the next 5 - 10 - 15 years. The OP statement is not as over the top as you might think.

http://www.businessinsider.com/autom...eeters-2017-10

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/17/jobs...re-summit.html

[BunkyWay]

Amazon is obsessed with cost -- that's why it's in Seattle instead of Silicon Valley. This is a huge strike against New York. Plus, 45 min. to an airport - would that be LaGuardia

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by BunkyWay

Amazon is obsessed with cost -- that's why it's in Seattle instead of Silicon Valley. This is a huge strike against New York. Plus, 45 min. to an airport - would that be LaGuardia

NYC simply does not need Amazon.. It is the capital, (ol) of the world..

[Jetlanta]

Originally Posted by bigstick

NYC simply does not need Amazon.. It is the capital, (ol) of the world..

Agreed. And vice versa. Amazon has zero need for "prestige". It is Amazon. The battle over HQ2 says it all. Amazon IS prestige.

[scania]

Originally Posted by mademan404

This is a bit of a closed minded statement to make considering just how important New York City is on the world stage. Of course Atlanta has it's merits and we all want to see the city prosper, but to try to discredit an undefeated heavyweight champion is an ineffective argument. Outside of NYC and Los Angeles there are very few US metros that match the prestige and notoriety of London, Paris, and Hong Kong.

We should probably focus on Atlanta's merits rather that kick at the ankles of the largest and most influential town in the US, considering the fact that development in NYC still outpaces most major metros in the US. I think we can all agree that Atlanta deserves this shot now that the entire metro has adopted the idea that smart growth is good growth. I still drink PBR's though. What do I know?

Well said.

[scania]

Originally Posted by bigstick

NYC simply does not need Amazon.. It is the capital, (ol) of the world..

Now this is more of an interesting debate...does Amazon in the future benefit from being in a city like NY? I doubt anyone here really has information on this topic...other than surface issues any of us can google.

[West Peachtree]

Originally Posted by tdawg

""Prestige factor of being in New York" ?
Back in the day, yes. Today, not so much. Tomorrow, likely even less."

Care to explain?

New York property taxes, housing costs, State taxes, general costs of living are so high that especially in today's mobile and digital age, more cost effective options to recruit and retain talent are plentiful.

How far does Amazon's stated "average salary of $100,000" go in NY ?

New York at 241 cost of living index with Boston not far behind.
Atlanta and Austiin at 157 index Dallas at 153.

Austin is a great city but does anyone think Austin's airport, transit system, easy access to Seattle or recruitment potential are as welcoming and advantageous as Atlanta ?

https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index

I apologize if I came across as disparaging any city. Some cities are a great place to visit but not as desirable to live there - especially when you plan to have a family and children

Good luck to all competing cities/regions. Amazon's RFP stated they may not restrict a decision to just one city

[Ant131531]

Ugh, can we stop talking about Amazon on this thread? There's literally a dedicated thread about Amazon in the Atlanta forum. There's going to be sooo many dissapointed people in Atlanta if we don't win. People are literally acting like we've won it already.

[Pemgin]

I feel like the Anthem announcement got less attention than it deserved during the Amazon hoopla. Midtown is getting 1,800 new jobs with salaries averaging $90,000, which is a big win in its own right.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by Atlanta3000

I have nothing against Houston. However if we just look at the GDP rate (which is the best Economic indicator of growth or weakness for a city) it is one of just a handful of cities that had a negative growth rate in 2016.

That makes sense, given the downturn in the oil industry. To a large extent, Oil is to Houston as cars are to Detroit.

Like Detroit, given that the best days for the oil industry are likely behind us, I suspect Houston's growth will start to slow down or stagnate going forward. Yes, things have recovered somewhat, but nothing like during the days of $100+ / barrel oil back in the early-mid 2010s.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by jwbab

640 Peachtree hotel filed for an impact fee estimate today.



This one has been so quiet I assumed it was dead.

https://aca3.accela.com/ATLANTA_GA/C...howInspection=

With this being one of the few remaining surface lots along the length of Peachtree Street, I'm definitely looking forward to this one happening.

[skyscraperpage17]

As hard as you guys have been on yourselves about Atlanta's mass transit situation, the fact that it's ranked #13 out of #45 (within the 70% percentile) on CNBC's list is still pretty darn good.

As I said before, while not perfect, MARTA is definitely "good enough" for Amazon's purposes, especially with all of the urban infill ongoing that's steadily alleviating the need for residents in Atlanta's core to use a car and travel to the suburbs regularly.

My main beef with that list is how it ranks airports. The fact that Detroit's airport (it's literally described by frequent flyers as the Ritz-Carlton of airports) is ranked dead last compared to dumps such as LaGuardia and DFW plus tiny airports such as Charlotte and Orlando simply because it lacks of transit connectivity is unacceptable.

[tdawg]

In all fairness to the dump that is currently LaGuardia (I live in nearby Astoria and commute past the massive construction site daily), the airport is undergoing a multi-billion dollar upgrade that when finished, if at all like the renderings, should make it pretty great and increase aircraft movements. http://laguardiaairport.com/redevelopment/

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

With this being one of the few remaining surface lots along the length of Peachtree Street, I'm definitely looking forward to this one happening.

Maybe the hotel will come out better than I suspect, but I’d rather see a more stimulating proposal for this parcel. Very underwhelming considering it’s neighbors.

[Libertarian]

Originally Posted by tdawg

In all fairness to the dump that is currently LaGuardia (I live in nearby Astoria and commute past the massive construction site daily), the airport is undergoing a multi-billion dollar upgrade that when finished, if at all like the renderings, should make it pretty great and increase aircraft movements. http://laguardiaairport.com/redevelopment/

That's an improvement, but the main thing LGA really needs is rapid transit - a MTA stop (or two). Accessibility is a problem. Same issue in most other big cities.

[montydawg]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

That's an improvement, but the main thing LGA really needs is rapid transit - a MTA stop (or two). Accessibility is a problem. Same issue in most other big cities.

I spoke to an architect in NYC a month or two ago who works with delta and the airports and he said LGA rail transit will definetly happen

[tdawg]

An Airtrain linking to the Willetts Point LIRR/7 train stop has always been a part of the plan. It may not be the most direct route but it's still a rail link. I personally would have rather seen the N/W trains extended from my stop (Ditmars) to LGA but there is strong nimby resistance that killed that plan decades ago.

[One ATLien]

Photos taken by me