New Amazon HQ2 Opportunity

[HRVT]

12 minutes ago, BFG said:

Point taken on our airport and public transit. Hopefully that will get the area truly thinking about regionalism.

I think realistically, the DCs and Bostons or NYCs stand the best chance for obvious reasons. But, I don't see that as a reason to count an area like Hampton Roads, Charlotte, Raleigh, etc. out of the mix. The fact that our region wants to throw its hat into the ring, and seems to look at this from a regional standpoint is something we might not have seen 10 or 20 years ago. I commend them for trying...you never know unless you give it a shot. Ikea was a pipe dream too, until a year ago.

Who knows, maybe they see some potential that leads them to open a smaller branch down the line.

Exactly. It's not that it hurts to throw the Hampton Roads name into the right. And as Vdogg said, if it does happen to be NOVA that gets the nod then Hampton Roads may feel some positive residual effects or a satellite campus or something of that nature that would still be of benefit.

Also, I would agree on Raleigh and its lack of transit options being a major strike against them though I do think Raleigh checks a lot of other boxes. But in the end, I think Amazon is looking either for something that checks every box and/or a MAJOR incentive package (where pretty much any place in NC will come up far short).

If Virginia lands the project, NOVA is the only realistic chance. But then again, who the heck knows.

[urbanlife]

4 hours ago, vdogg said:

Amazon has a very tall building in Seattle if I'm not mistaken. We would probably get several signature towers out of this.

Buildings, plural, Amazon is currently constructing a multi tower headquarters in downtown Seattle. That combines with all their other properties they have in Seattle. It is pretty massive and very urban.

My bet is that it is going to end up being Philly, though Amazon has been known to push what is possible and could pick a more midsize city much like what Bank of America did with Charlotte. They could in turn push for whatever midsize city they plan to move to to have to push for an expansive rail project and basically be the centerpiece of the city. So who knows, a friend also thinks that Amazon already has a place in mind and possibly land bought and is just using this as a publicity stunt that could result in smaller satellite projects. Like, you don't get the headquarters, but how about a warehouse.

[Virginia City]

Seattle has 3 Amazon towers. Two completed and one under construction all taller than the Westin but they are spread out throughout the city. In SPQ they could create a campus like complex with everything in close proximity.  Like HRVT, I don't feel like we are big enough for them but who knows.

[urbanlife]

12 hours ago, Virginia City said:

Seattle has 3 Amazon towers. Two completed and one under construction all taller than the Westin but they are spread out throughout the city. In SPQ they could create a campus like complex with everything in close proximity.  Like HRVT, I don't feel like we are big enough for them but who knows.

Actually the Amazon towers are clustered together, they do have other office space in shorter buildings spread out in the city. This second headquarters would be a similar magnitude 3-4 towers that are 400-700ft tall, and numerous other buildings in the 10 story range.

[BFG]

Regardless of what happens, I see this the same way I see when a team threatens to move to another city. Part of the reason we didn't get (insert team name) was because nobody wanted to play at Scope, and nobody wanted to wait three years for a new arena.

Similarly, our region lacks in two major areas that Amazon desires: a busy airport and public transit. Norfolk is planning for the latter, and while I think Amazon would force ORF to step up overnight, like with Scope back in the day, I don't think corporate wants to wait for us to expand the airport. That said, more direct/nonstop destinations wouldn't hurt, esp. some west coast options. Say we did get Amazon; would it be likely that an airline considers setting up a hub here, something like Frontier or JetBlue?

Overall, this area needs to use this effort as momentum to really start improving infrastructure. They lured ADP with a growing downtown and light rail. Working together as a region should be the next step.

[Virginia City]

ORF is trying to expand the FAA and the Navy are blocking them.

[Up2313]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/upshot/where-should-amazon-new-headquarters-be.html

Interesting article on the Amazon selection. Although I disagree with the final the selection.  It makes general sense. My hopes are for us to still get it but if Washington gets picked It could potentially have an effect on our region. 

[BFG]

2 hours ago, Virginia City said:

ORF is trying to expand the FAA and the Navy are blocking them.

I do remember reading about that. Is there any loophole or compromise that can be reached? 

[Virginia City]

45 minutes ago, BFG said:

I do remember reading about that. Is there any loophole or compromise that can be reached? 

https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/norfolk-international-airport-doesn-t-need-nd-runway-faa-says/article_272e5a69-834b-532a-8af6-67b8e055a8a8.html

Feb 2nd last year is the newest I can find. Doesn't mention the Navy though maybe I'm remembering it wrong but there doesn't seem to be any loopholes.

[baobabs727]

The airport is not being expanded because currently there is not enough demand to justify the expansion.  And the reason why there's not enough demand  is because the area lacks the requisite presence of Fortune 500 companies while boasting a population that is so relatively poor that--unless it is stimulated to travel by the arrival of competitive, low fare carriers--will never venture beyond the front door. At least not by air.

[urbanlife]

On 9/14/2017 at 9:03 PM, Up2313 said:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/upshot/where-should-amazon-new-headquarters-be.html

Interesting article on the Amazon selection. Although I disagree with the final the selection.  It makes general sense. My hopes are for us to still get it but if Washington gets picked It could potentially have an effect on our region. 

Honestly, I think Denver or Portland will end up being their location choices. Denver makes sense because they have become a tech hub of the midwest, have light rail, and a major airport that is centrally located within the US. Why I think Portland has a shot is because we are close to their headquarters in Seattle, and this second headquarters could just be treated as an expansion since they are running out of space in Seattle, thus it is very easy to get to and from Seattle to Portland within a few hours.  Of course these are the two obvious choices and this is Amazon, for all we know, they could plan on this headquarters being a main hub for a smaller city in the US and basically take over that city's entire downtown, much like what Bank of America did to Charlotte.

[BFG]

Article giving a realistic look at the pros and cons of our chances of getting Amazon.

Of course, the cons are probably the deal breakers, but it features comments from local economists. While it's always good to see realistic views from the economists, I can't help but feel like they are a little pessimistic at times, too. I think any effort at progress should be looked at as a positive.

https://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/why-landing-amazon-is-a-hail-mary-for-virginia-beach/article_3ef99dc1-0c0c-56c7-87f2-27d71ec3661b.html

[BFG]

Tweeted from a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter. Still a longshot, but apparently, it's not dead yet.

 

[carolinaboy]

9 minutes ago, BFG said:

Tweeted from a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter. Still a longshot, but apparently, it's not dead yet.

 

Gawd, could you imagine if VA Beach/Norfolk/Hampton Roads/Tidewater actually were a legitimate contender and was turned down only because VB doesn't have light rail?

[Virginia City]

That's called karma.

[HRVT]

4 hours ago, BFG said:

Tweeted from a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter. Still a longshot, but apparently, it's not dead yet.

 

There's no reason for Amazon to reduce their leverage by ruling out certain locations because they don't fit their established criteria. The more bids Amazon gets, the better for them. The more leverage they have for the locations where they wish to move.  Not to mention, they never know what kind of outrageous proposal they might get from some desperate community (see also Foxconn in Wisconson). This project has no chance of even flirting with Hampton Roads IMO, short of a completely unreasonable offer of incentives.

[baobabs727]

Apparently, Hampton Roads will submit three sites for the proposed Amazon HQ2.  Only one of them is in Virginia Beach....

https://pilotonline.com/business/jobs/hampton-roads-to-offer-up-three-sites-to-amazon-for/article_0167d913-7245-541d-a608-f7474665302d.html

[vdogg]

Where's your bid Kenny? You mean to tell me Norfolk couldn't find ANYWHERE? What about that empty St. Paul's lot that is literally on the light rail line? Or the massive amount of land in St. Paul's quadrant? I want Fraim back. 

[BFG]

I can't remember where I saw it, but I think Kenny said he was still waiting on some numbers to see if this is worth bidding on. He didn't want to offer everything or something...I think it's in one of the earliest articles. 

This is something where he and Sessoms (along with some other mayors) need to collaborate. 

[Urbanlooker]

If you read the Richmond Time's article it says that their region is working to share the profits if amazon chooses on of their sites. So why can't Hampton Roads do the same? If Amazon were to choose anywhere in our region it would most likely be based on incentives so why can't the whole region help put in for it and the whole region share what's gained from it? And I agree Norfolk should have put a site in as well. 

[Up2313]

The fact the mayor was even considering whether it was worth it or not is a joke. Potentially 50 billion in the regions growth, and all the projects that would result after this. Norfolk needs to have a bid no matter how  good the incentives they chose to give are. 

[Virginia City]

Fort Monroe? Are you freaking serious? The fact that Norfolk did not submit a proposal should end Alexander's reign as mayor.  SPQ and Town Center are the only place that should have been submitted from Hampton Roads and everybody in the region should have backed it. Amazon was never going to pick this region but the fact that Norfolk didn't even try is devastating for businesses looking to move to this region. Other businesses are monitoring the proposals sent to Amazon. Amazons "search" is basically a free market survey of every viable city to possible relocate their HQ or to expand into a new area with a new hub. When is the next Election to get Alexander out of office?

[brikkman]

Very simple in my opinion, looking at what they intend SPQ, it didn't fit what Amazon was bringing. This doesn't surprise me one bit as SPQ was never build as a way to extend DT Business district. The fort Monore offering was a joke if you look at what Amazon was requiring, lol. It is a little shocking if the mayor was really waiting on numbers as they use consultants for EVERYTHING it seems. Seems suspect to why they just didn't pay a consultant to offer up the numbers which leads me back to my second sentence.

[BFG]

Honestly, I never really thought of Norfolk as being the city to land anything other than an office tower downtown. And even there, space is kinda limited. Maybe next to Harbor Park, but there's not too many places to create a campus, and they weren't redoing the SPQ plan that's been in the works for years. Maybe Military Circle, but even that's gotten a bit of a rebirth with Movement and Optima. 

It doesn't mean they shouldn't have tried, but I kinda get it. Norfolk definitely needs to offering more flights out of the airport. 

[baobabs727]

People are coming around. And like I said before, Kenny=WEAK, feckless, same ol' same ol' politician.