Posted on 10/05/2017 12:42:28 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Amazon has decided that its growth over the next 10 to 15 years requires a second headquarters, or HQ2. It's asking cities with populations of more than 1 million to submit proposals by Oct. 19. That has set off a frenzy from cities and states across the U.S. and Canada for its up to 50,000 new jobs and $5 billion investment over the next decade.
1. What does Amazon want?
A stable and business-friendly environment.
Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.
Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.
Located within 45 minutes of an international airport and connected to mass transit.
8 million square feet of office space in nearby buildings, 100-acre site ready to build on or a combination of either in a pedestrian-friendly setting.....
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
50 New York businesses that took biggest tax breaks under troubled Empire Zone program
And "troubled" is the mother-of-all euphemisms for a $3 billion disaster.
My bet is on anywhere BUT Chicago:
Amazon wants low tax rates, low crime, educated employees and access to good airports and highways.
All of that leaves Chicago and Illinois out!
If it is purely a business decision, DFW is hard to beat.
* Two great airports with easy access and mass transit
* Central location - you can be on either coast is two
hours
* No state income tax, low to moderate cost of living
which means salaries don’t have to be exorbitant
* Excellent pro-business environment - no burdensome
regulations
* Will meet or beat any incentives
* Surplus of talented employees
* Nations largest rail system
* Good weather, no threat of natural disasters
I could see Amazon locating in the Frisco / Plano area, near where Toyota went. I think the decision will come down to DFW or Atlanta.
Austin is a strong contender, but it’s airport is inadequate, they don’t have mass transit and traffic is a nightmare. They also do not have the talent pool of Dallas or Atlanta.
We will see if the present city council (mostly D) works to nix an Amazon plan.
Bezos’ decision will be political
“I could see Amazon locating in the Frisco / Plano area, near where Toyota went. I think the decision will come down to DFW or Atlanta.”
An excellent post and agree. I think there are a couple of proposals being put together, one for the area you suggest and another for the Lewisville area just to the west. I live right in the middle if the two areas and while it would be a great win for either this area is already having dufficulty absorbing the rapid growth from Toyota and several other major corporations that have relocated to corridor. There’s a proposal I believe being put together I believe for the Alliance area on the north side of Ft. Worth that in my option is a better fit. Has all the attributes you listed plus space for 2X growth that will move in to support the HQ2 endeavor. especially if there will be an distribution/order fulfillment operation at the campus. Example, expect for UPS and Fedex to have a large presence nearby . Btw, there’s three airports available near the area I’m referring to; DFW, Love, Alliance.
I think they're too liberal to leave Seattle for good. But I think that you're right about the incentives. What Amazon gets will make the multi-billion Wisconsin payout for the electronics factory look like small change.
Dallas proper doesn’t have much of a chance. Why? Because the city is basically broke. There is no cash to sweeten the pot and the mayor is an idiot.
Amazon snags $4.5M state grant for Macomb County distribution center
We have three cities in the running...and we rock.
That's what Amazon wants and Detroit has it.
They are a couple of years too late for that. Collin Creek Mall, diagonally across, however, would be available.
There have been a couple of failed proposals for the completely dead Valley View Mall, so it might be an even better bet. I wonder if HP would sell them the old EDS compound. Lots of room and great security there. And the old Perot Systems complex is empty, isn't it?
There used to be some possible tracts between Love Field and I-35, but I'm not current on that area.
Is there enough space at the old Reunion Arena site? I'm not sure it's big enough, but there was some land around there that never developed. And they were renovating Thanksgiving Tower a couple of years ago. I'm not sure how much of it is occupied these days. Energy Tower/Arco was pretty empty last time I looked. and the old First National Bank was undergoing a stop and start renovation a few years ago, and someone was talking about putting up the second tower at Fountain Place.
Over in Fort Worth, is the old Tandy Complex still empty?
Detroit would probably be the best choice, but it has one major drawback. It’s Detroit, and that is going to scare off a lot of young families they’d try to recruit, although, like Cleveland, it isn’t nearly as bad as its reputation.
I was going to say that Alliance doesn’t have mass transit, but I see there is a private bus line that runs Fort Worth - Alliance - Denton. http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article99049432.html
Is Collin Creek Mall gone?
Valley View? Yeah that would be a prim3 piece of real estate.
Collin Creek still has Sears and Penney’s (and Amazing Jakes indoor amusement park). Not much else, including the food court. Some locally owned Muslim thrift type shops. Sears and Penney’s both probably need cash more than they need the location. I don’t know if Amazing Jakes owns or rents.
They could always do what was done to a holdout store at Prestonwood Mall (I think it was Lord & Taylor, but it could have been Niemans). They tore down the rest of the mall around it leaving them a small parking lot in a construction zone. The store didn’t last long after that.
Plus we have immediate occupancy.
Off topic, but I’m going to ask anyway. Where would you folks suggest in the Dallas areas for a young married couple making $110-125,000 combined to look into moving to? What areas to avoid?
Yes, but I was talking reputation, not reality.
That’s why some folks still go to Chicago. The reputation there is only beginning to catch up to reality. It’s pretty much the inverse of Detroit.
Where you all will be working is the big factor.
Pretty much the ‘safe’ area (with minor exceptions) is between US75 and the DNT all the way from I-35 to the end of the Parkway (the frontage roads for the unfinished northern portion). The problem is finding affordable housing in that corridor. Between Toyota and State Farm, the formerly affordable areas of Plano and Richardson aren’t really affordable any more (and they are going Asian on the eastern side of that corridor)
. And traffic is terrible.
If you are into urban pioneering, the Bishop Arts district just across the river from downtown Dallas is the hot area. It’s in Phase I homosexual gentrification now. (Public schools would not be an option there). Avoid anything south of there.
I recommend the ‘Great Schools’ website. Avoid areas with a high percentage of free lunches at the local schools.
Reply or PM what part of town the area the job will be in, and I might have more specific suggestions.
It’s for my daughter. He works between SMU and UTD. She graduates in Dec. and has a couple of offers, one in Mesquite, where she is interning now. They rent a mile or two from SMU now. Thanks for your help.
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