Amazon HQ2 thread

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Right, O'Hare to Narita was always late to leave. Might be a time of year thing too, seems like weather was the usual culprit.

In my experience weather doesn't delay intercontinental flights (especially Pacific) very much, unless it's like severe snow creating lineups for takeoff; the announcements I hear usually are about mechanical issues. What you won't get is ripple delays late in the day from weather problems accumulating over many legs the jet has flown earlier in the day in miscellaneous parts of the country, as with domestic flights.

The nice thing about Newark for us is that for whatever reason, the gates we land at and depart from are almost next to each other. Logan-to-Newark, it takes 5 minutes to get from our landing gate to the departure gate. At O'Hare, they're in entirely different terminals and we need to ride a train and pray our 30 minute transfer window is enough time.

Newark might be horrible in general, but for this specific Tokyo flight (originating from Logan), it's just about perfect.

International arriving passengers at EWR are required to go through customs, get dumped outside security, perform baggage re-check, and cattle themselves back into the TSA line, the same as ORD. The difference is that, at least with United (Terminal C), you need only take an escalator or two to get back into the TSA line. At ORD you have to take the tram. But the tram adds merely a reasonably predictable ten or at worst fifteen minutes if escalators are crowded, so the EWR's advantage is not that big there. I've also seen way longer lines at EWR customs (even for nothing to declare) than at ORD, though I guess you can always ask people to let you cut in line if in a rush.

[chris08876]

Grading the HQ2 bids

City, State	

City           Pop Stability talent  location  gpa Letter

Scarborough, ME	F	F	F	F	0	F
Anchorage, AK	F	F	F	F	0	F
New York, NY	A+	F	F	F	1.25	D
PGH/PHL, PA	A+	F	F	D	1.25	D+
Newark NJ	A+	F	D+	F	1.42	D+
Portland, OR	A+	F	D-	D+	1.58	C-
Chicago, IL	A+	F	D-	C-	1.66	D+
Cle/Col/Cin, OH	A+	F	F	B-	1.67	C-
Hickory, NC	F	C+	C-	B-	1.67	C-
PHO/TUC, AZ	A+	D+	D+	F	1.75	C
Las Vegas, NV	A+	C	F	C-	2	C
Orlando FL	A+	B-	F	C	2.17	C
Boston MA	A+	D+	B+	F	2.25	C+
Detroit MI	A+	D+	D+	C+	2.33	C+
Minneapolis MN	A+	C-	B-	D-	2.34	C+
Denver, CO	A+	B-	B-	F	2.42	C+
Salt Lake City    A+	B-	C-	D+	2.5	B-
DC/VA	A+	C	A-	F	2.5	B-
Austin, TX	A+	F	C	A-	2.5	B-
Seattle, WA	A+	D+	B+	D+	2.58	B-
Atlanta, GA	A+	B-	C-	C-	2.6	B-
Nashville, TN	A+	A-	F	B-	2.67	B-
RAL/CLT/GSO, NC	A+	C+	C-	B-	2.75	B

We graded bids for Amazon's HQ2 project based on the company's four main criteria: A metropolitan area with more than 1 million people; a stable, business friendly environment, ability to attract and retain strong talent, and creative thinking when considering locations.

=============================
CNBC

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Grading the HQ2 bids

City, State	

City           Pop Stability talent  location  gpa Letter

Scarborough, ME	F	F	F	F	0	F
Anchorage, AK	F	F	F	F	0	F
New York, NY	A+	F	F	F	1.25	D
PGH/PHL, PA	A+	F	F	D	1.25	D+
Newark NJ	A+	F	D+	F	1.42	D+
Portland, OR	A+	F	D-	D+	1.58	C-
Chicago, IL	A+	F	D-	C-	1.66	D+
Cle/Col/Cin, OH	A+	F	F	B-	1.67	C-
Hickory, NC	F	C+	C-	B-	1.67	C-
PHO/TUC, AZ	A+	D+	D+	F	1.75	C
Las Vegas, NV	A+	C	F	C-	2	C
Orlando FL	A+	B-	F	C	2.17	C
Boston MA	A+	D+	B+	F	2.25	C+
Detroit MI	A+	D+	D+	C+	2.33	C+
Minneapolis MN	A+	C-	B-	D-	2.34	C+
Denver, CO	A+	B-	B-	F	2.42	C+
Salt Lake City    A+	B-	C-	D+	2.5	B-
DC/VA	A+	C	A-	F	2.5	B-
Austin, TX	A+	F	C	A-	2.5	B-
Seattle, WA	A+	D+	B+	D+	2.58	B-
Atlanta, GA	A+	B-	C-	C-	2.6	B-
Nashville, TN	A+	A-	F	B-	2.67	B-
RAL/CLT/GSO, NC	A+	C+	C-	B-	2.75	B

=============================
CNBC

this has already been commented on. it's crap. for one thing, they lump the Philly and Pittsburgh bids together even though they have nothing to do with each other. CNBC sucks.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by skyscraper

this has already been commented on. it's crap. for one thing, they lump the Philly and Pittsburgh bids together even though they have nothing to do with each other. CNBC sucks.

I would say this list sucks, but CNBC in general does not suck.

[R1070]

Where's Dallas on that list?

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by R1070

Where's Dallas on that list?

Dallas is there. It's clumped together with Austin and Houston. Grade: B- Click the link, it seems to be ranking overall regions like Texas and North Carolina.

In NC, it has Charlotte, Greensboro-High Point, Raleigh-Durham as one proposal.

CNBC used they're own 'top states for business' rankings as a contributing factor for their latest list. Texas and North Carolina are top states, therefore all cities within those states that had proposals are clumped together?? I don't get it.


https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/20/thes...dquarters.html

Analysis from CNBC's America's Top States for Business and the U.S. Census Bureau gives high grades to a number of southern cities with strong economies and workforces.

Austin/Houston/Dallas
The aforementioned Mr. Bezos grew up in Houston. Again, not part of our analysis. But the Lone Star State offers a host of advantages should Amazon decide to locate there. No state has a more developed infrastructure, and few offer more options for higher education. Plus, Texas is generous when it comes to incentives. A Moody's Analytics study in September listed Austin as the most likely winner of HQ2.

But the sluggish energy economy has hit Texas' once pristine finances, hurting the state in the stability department. And quality of life, including a lack of inclusiveness — not to mention a lack of health insurance — could be a problem.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

Dallas is there. It's clumped together with Austin and Houston. Grade: B- Click the link, it seems to be ranking overall regions like Texas and North Carolina.

In NC, it has Charlotte, Greensboro-High Point, Raleigh-Durham as one proposal.

CNBC used they're own 'top states for business' rankings as a contributing factor for their latest list. Texas and North Carolina are top states, therefore all cities within those states that had proposals are clumped together?? I don't get it.


https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/20/thes...dquarters.html

That quote from the article is actually laughable. There are many states with better public education and universities. Texas ranks dead last or close to it for education.

Do people seriously think a place like Charlotte or Austin can pull this off? They're both smaller than Seattle. Why would Amazon recreate the exact situation (influx of high income earnings distorting housing market/congestion resulting from no transit) they're hoping to avoid? Neither Charlotte nor Austin are in any way ready to add 50,000+ jobs. If it's a southern metro, it'll be Atlanta or Dallas. I'm not feeling high on Houston.

[emathias]

I couldn't find the CNBC methodology, but in what world does New York get an F for talent and Chicago a D-?

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

That quote from the article is actually laughable. There are MANY states with better public education and universities. Texas ranks dead last or close to it for education.

Yeah I don't know what they're talking about here. Maybe they're just going off of nominal values and Texas being an enormous state has really big numbers of college grads, airport capacity or whatever else. If you combine DFW + Austin + Houston MSAs that must = BIGer results than Chicago or Boston or what have you??

[10023]

Originally Posted by The ATX

I would say this list sucks, but CNBC in general does not suck.

Yes it does. It's not thoughtful journalism. It's quickly produced fodder for low information consumers.

[skyscraperpage17]

Are we seriously nitpicking air connectivity?

Every city with at least 3+ million people has an airport that will get to the destinations that matter to Amazon. I doubt Amazon will care if one airport has slightly more frequent flights or goes to slightly more obscure places than another, as long as they can get to the places that were listed in their RFQ.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Shovel ready and timing most definitely was listed. There were talking about needing a 500,000 SF block of space by end of 2018 early 2019 or something. There are not many blocks that size even in a big CBD like Chicago, I can't imagine what it's like in tighter markets or smaller cities to try to find a space that big, let alone negotiate a big deal when the landlord knows they are one of the few blocks that size. You can't build a 500,000+SF office building from scratch in a year or less, so I think a city having supply that can accommodate that need is very much an important consideration.

I wasn't referring to the initial 500,000 sq. ft. (I'm quite sure every city has space to accommodate Amazon's initial space requirement in the time frame they desire), but the additional space that will be needed over the next 10-15 years.

[bnk]

Not ever city can get to any other city NON STOP. I have never had to connect anywhere I have ever been. I don't do connections, and I don't think Amazon will either.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by bnk

Not ever city can get to any other city NON STOP. I have never had to connect anywhere I have ever been. I don't do connections, and I don't think Amazon will either.

Considering that they've been in Seattle for this long and using their airport, I'm pretty sure another airport that's at least as well-connected as SEA-TAC (which again, applies to just about every metro area with 3+ million people) will be sufficient for Amazon.

With that being understood, nitpicking over which airports has more non-stop flights to the bowels of the earth is so pointless.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

Do people seriously think a place like Charlotte or Austin can pull this off? They're both smaller than Seattle. Why would Amazon recreate the exact situation (influx of high income earnings distorting housing market/congestion resulting from no transit) they're hoping to avoid? Neither Charlotte nor Austin are in any way ready to add 50,000+ jobs. If it's a southern metro, it'll be Atlanta or Dallas. I'm not feeling high on Houston.

It would be a significant strain for either city, which is why I don't think it is likely that this will go to a region with less than 3M residents.

When they first announced HQ2 one of these analyses noted that 50K jobs in a city the size of Charlotte would be 1/5th of the total workforce. I don't think Amazon is looking to be the town's employer. But if it does go somewhere that small it would have to be a region already growing gangbuster, like Charlotte or Austin. If I'm right then Cleveland and Pittsburgh probably don't have a chance.

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

It would be a significant strain for either city, which is why I don't think it is likely that this will go to a region with less than 3M residents.

When they first announced HQ2 one of these analyses noted that 50K jobs in a city the size of Charlotte would be 1/5th of the total workforce. I don't think Amazon is looking to be the town's employer. But if it does go somewhere that small it would have to be a region already growing gangbuster, like Charlotte or Austin. If I'm right then Cleveland and Pittsburgh probably don't have a chance.

That's also why I believe Nashville is a solid dark horse candidate.

It's the current "IT" city that Millennials are in love with. They would have no problems attracting talent there.

Nashville in fact is a somewhat better candidate than the other cities because it has better highway infrastructure in/out of town and is within a reasonable few hour day drive of other cities (Atlanta, St. Louis, Louisville, Birmingham, etc.). And while Nashville's connectivity may be no better or worse than Charlotte's and Austin's, its fairly central location puts it in a shorter flight distance to most US locations than Austin or Charlotte.

[dktshb]

I realize for many reasons that LA (or any CA city for that matter) is brushed off into the never category, but Amazon Studios is fast expanding and moving into Culver Studios (Gone With The Wind), which was announced this year. Additionally, Bezos was Downtown on historic Broadway the other day and is vastly expanding his Beverly Hills residence purchasing up the neighboring residence in August this year. One can wish.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

That quote from the article is actually laughable. There are many states with better public education and universities. Texas ranks dead last or close to it for education.

Do people seriously think a place like Charlotte or Austin can pull this off? They're both smaller than Seattle. Why would Amazon recreate the exact situation (influx of high income earnings distorting housing market/congestion resulting from no transit) they're hoping to avoid? Neither Charlotte nor Austin are in any way ready to add 50,000+ jobs. If it's a southern metro, it'll be Atlanta or Dallas. I'm not feeling high on Houston.

I agree that they might be too small. However on the transit point, Seattle does ok. Transit commute share by in-city residents per the 2015 ACS:
Chicago: 27.6%
Seattle: 20.1%
LA: 10.6%
Austin: 4.2%
Charlotte: 3.8%
Nashville: 2.4%

Amazon's HQ1 does far better than that of course, in addition to the 20% non-motorized percentage they talk about. If you combine all of their offices, some in the CBD and some up to a mile away, they probably have 1 parking space per 4 workers.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

Considering that they've been in Seattle for this long and using their airport, I'm pretty sure another airport that's at least as well-connected as SEA-TAC (which again, applies to just about every metro area with 3+ million people) will be sufficient for Amazon.

With that being understood, nitpicking over which airports has more non-stop flights to the bowels of the earth is so pointless.

Incorrect. I have no idea in this case, but airport connectivity is a BIG issue in corporate location decisions in general.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by skyscraperpage17

I wasn't referring to the initial 500,000 sq. ft. (I'm quite sure every city has space to accommodate Amazon's initial space requirement in the time frame they desire), but the additional space that will be needed over the next 10-15 years.

Lol then you have no idea how much space 500k SF is. That's half the total amount of SF a city like Nashville turns over in a year. No, not e"every city has the space to accommodate Amazons initial requirement in the time frame they desire". That's just absurd when you are talking about some cities in the hunt who maybe have a dozen class A office buildings that are even large enough if they were totally vacant. 500k is hard to find in Chicago right now and we have multiple times as much office space as most of these cities.