New Amazon HQ2 Opportunity

[urbanlife]

Obviously I don't think Hampton Roads has a chance, but putting together a serious offer could make the area potentially more attractive to tech companies. Norfolk should most certainly submit a bid that shows they are a forward thinking city. The three location submissions, the Town Center is the obvious one for VB, but with them shooting down light rail, I can't see them being attractive to anyone that isn't looking for a car centric city. The Suffolk location doesn't even sound remotely realistic other than being a warehouse to server warehouse site. Unless Suffolk has made some serious steps forward to build a modern urban city on its north end. The Fort Monroe proposal is cute, not realistic, but cute. They should definitely do something with that, though my bet would be for something touristy.

[HRVT]

On 10/14/2017 at 1:53 AM, urbanlife said:

Obviously I don't think Hampton Roads has a chance, but putting together a serious offer could make the area potentially more attractive to tech companies. Norfolk should most certainly submit a bid that shows they are a forward thinking city. The three location submissions, the Town Center is the obvious one for VB, but with them shooting down light rail, I can't see them being attractive to anyone that isn't looking for a car centric city. The Suffolk location doesn't even sound remotely realistic other than being a warehouse to server warehouse site. Unless Suffolk has made some serious steps forward to build a modern urban city on its north end. The Fort Monroe proposal is cute, not realistic, but cute. They should definitely do something with that, though my bet would be for something touristy.

I fail to see how putting an offer in to Amazon does anything to make the area more attractive. That's like saying that the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs should put in an offer to Manny Machado and that will make them more attractive to other prospective players. It just doesn't work that way and frankly serves as nothing more than a distraction and frankly a laugh from  those prospects they could realistically land (who now see that they are plan B). The way to show commitment to tech companies is to aggressively pursue those that may realistically consider the area AND those that the area can actually support as well (where is Norfolk going to find 50,000 employees for Amazon?). Going way out of our league for an "opportunity" you have exactly zero chance of landing is a complete waste of time and resources and serves to be nothing more than a distraction from the opportunities you DO realistically have.

Kenny Alexander is completely correct here. Do not waste time and effort to pursue something you won't land.

[urbanlife]

4 hours ago, HRVT said:

I fail to see how putting an offer in to Amazon does anything to make the area more attractive. That's like saying that the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs should put in an offer to Manny Machado and that will make them more attractive to other prospective players. It just doesn't work that way and frankly serves as nothing more than a distraction and frankly a laugh from  those prospects they could realistically land (who now see that they are plan B). The way to show commitment to tech companies is to aggressively pursue those that may realistically consider the area AND those that the area can actually support as well (where is Norfolk going to find 50,000 employees for Amazon?). Going way out of our league for an "opportunity" you have exactly zero chance of landing is a complete waste of time and resources and serves to be nothing more than a distraction from the opportunities you DO realistically have.

Kenny Alexander is completely correct here. Do not waste time and effort to pursue something you won't land.

Putting together something to show that it is possible to meet the requirements that Amazon is asking for isn't unrealistic. It would also show other tech companies that Norfolk was willing and even actively trying to move into a modern area of business and push for a more of a tech industry direction.

[baobabs727]

5 hours ago, HRVT said:

I fail to see how putting an offer in to Amazon does anything to make the area more attractive. That's like saying that the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs should put in an offer to Manny Machado and that will make them more attractive to other prospective players. It just doesn't work that way and frankly serves as nothing more than a distraction and frankly a laugh from  those prospects they could realistically land (who now see that they are plan B). The way to show commitment to tech companies is to aggressively pursue those that may realistically consider the area AND those that the area can actually support as well (where is Norfolk going to find 50,000 employees for Amazon?). Going way out of our league for an "opportunity" you have exactly zero chance of landing is a complete waste of time and resources and serves to be nothing more than a distraction from the opportunities you DO realistically have.

Kenny Alexander is completely correct here. Do not waste time and effort to pursue something you won't land.

Except that Kenny Alexander has never had the balls to say that. 

So when did he ever come out publicly and endorse what you just said? Even tangentially so?

(Of course I disagree completely.)

[BFG]

Emphasis mine, make of it what you will. 

Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said he knows about the consultant but his city hasn’t been asked to contribute for it.

However, he said, he supports the regional effort to land Amazon.

Norfolk hasn’t identified a site large enough for Amazon within its borders, Alexander said.

But given that the city is home to the region’s airport – along with a light rail system, hospitals and major universities – it would be key to any Hampton Roads effort to lure the company, he added.

“We can check all the other boxes,” Alexander said.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/pilotonline.com/news/government/local/why-should-amazon-look-at-virginia-beach-because-of-high/article_bd7163eb-45f1-5700-a784-a2191c9581a7.amp.html

Again, they're not touching SPQ or Fort Norfolk, given how much planning has gone into it. They don't have acres upon acres of land like VB or Suffolk. Off the top of my head, Military Circle is the only spot that makes sense.

 

[carolinaboy]

My thought.

There is no way in heck a company like Amazon would put their campus in  a spot where low-income housing would have to be removed first. Just doesn't seem like something Amazon would want to do (even if it was previously planned). Therefore, St Pauls quad is out.

Military Circle area doesn't have light rail. Out.

Really Norfolk doesn't have the available land for Amazon.

Hopefully St Paul's quad can be offered up in the future for more realistic development.

[baobabs727]

None of the proposed locations have light rail. Neither do the ones in Richmond. So should have all of those mayors refrained from participating?

As to SPQ, I never thought that would be an appropriate location for such an endeavor. 

However, Military Circle....

[lammius]

MacArthur Center isn’t going to be a mall forever...

[baobabs727]

Woah, zing!!  Well, I'm confident that it will be so for at least the next 25 years. 

[virginia pe]

11 hours ago, carolinaboy said:

Military Circle area doesn't have light rail. Out.

 

I am not refuting Carolinaboy's statement, and I am not advocating any plan or site, I am just curious.  How close does a site have to be to a light rail station to be considered served by light rail?  Google maps says it is a 25 minute walk from the Military Highway station to Military Circle.  Does Military Circle have light rail service? 

I don't think anyone would argue that MacArthur Square station serves Town Point Park.  That's an eight-minute walk.  So what is the cut-off distance for being considered as having light rail?  10-minutes?  15 minutes?  25 minutes?

 

[baobabs727]

Great question!  I suppose "served" would technically mean that there's a station proximate to the location in question.  Some would define "proximate" as attached.  Others might say that LR has to be within a short/comfortable walking distance of the location for the location to be considered "served."

I would agree that Military Circle is not served by light rail.  Not by a long shot. However,  I walk downtown daily, and I would have to disagree that TPP is not served by LR.  I'm quite sure that I could walk between the two in about six minutes, quite comfortably.  But even at eight minutes, that's less than half of a mile. 

In any case, I've never bought into the notion that simply because a location is not "served by light rail," that it is not a potentially viable or suitable location. I'm quite sure that we'd find a way to extend light rail to wherever Amazon HQ2 decided to land. Double time.

[carolinaboy]

5 hours ago, virginia pe said:

 

I am not refuting Carolinaboy's statement, and I am not advocating any plan or site, I am just curious.  How close does a site have to be to a light rail station to be considered served by light rail?  Google maps says it is a 25 minute walk from the Military Highway station to Military Circle.  Does Military Circle have light rail service? 

I don't think anyone would argue that MacArthur Square station serves Town Point Park.  That's an eight-minute walk.  So what is the cut-off distance for being considered as having light rail?  10-minutes?  15 minutes?  25 minutes?

 

Good question. What I meant was Military Circle does not have an adjacent line or stop.

Maybe extending LR to Military Circle could be Phase 3?

[HRVT]

17 hours ago, baobabs727 said:

Great question!  I suppose "served" would technically mean that there's a station proximate to the location in question.  Some would define "proximate" as attached.  Others might say that LR has to be within a short/comfortable walking distance of the location for the location to be considered "served."

I would agree that Military Circle is not served by light rail.  Not by a long shot. However,  I walk downtown daily, and I would have to disagree that TPP is not served by LR.  I'm quite sure that I could walk between the two in about six minutes, quite comfortably.  But even at eight minutes, that's less than half of a mile. 

In any case, I've never bought into the notion that simply because a location is not "served by light rail," that it is not a potentially viable or suitable location. I'm quite sure that we'd find a way to extend light rail to wherever Amazon HQ2 decided to land. Double time.

I think Virginia PE was trying to say that TPP is indeed served by MacArthur Square station. And if in the event that Norfolk submitted a proposal and Amazon accepted and chose Military Circle, there would be conversations about how to expand light rail there immediately.

[BFG]

https://communityimpact.com/austin/round-rock-pflugerville-hutto/city-county/2017/10/14/64-cities-follow-austin-round-rock-amazons-hq2-according-moodys-analytics/

Doing some late-night reading, and came across this list. Moody's Analytics released its rankings of the cities trying to get Amazon. We rank in the mid-30s out of 64 (excluding Seattle), tied with Dallas and Louisville. Austin was #1, with a 3.07 out of 5; Hampton Roads has a 2.62.

"Moody’s Analytics ranked each city on a scale of 1-to-5 on five criteria, including business environment, human capital, cost, quality of life and transportation. The following is a breakdown of numbers for the top three and the average score for the remaining regions eligible, which means they have a population of more than 1 million in the Metropolitan Statistical Area."

FWIW, Moody's has us higher than D.C., San Francisco and Houston, amongst others, so maybe this should be taken with a grain of salt?

[baobabs727]

9 hours ago, HRVT said:

I think Virginia PE was trying to say that TPP is indeed served by MacArthur Square station. And if in the event that Norfolk submitted a proposal and Amazon accepted and chose Military Circle, there would be conversations about how to expand light rail there immediately.

Ahh! Thanks.

[zeppelin14]

Norfolk, as well as all of Hampton Roads as well as Richmond is out of the running. Northern Virginia and D.C. is still in it though:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/amazon-reveals-top-20-city-141341885.html

 

[BFG]

Not that this is a surprise, but seeing the other markets that did make the cut, there's quite a few that are roughly the same size as Hampton Roads. Maybe that will light a fire under the regional leaders and get them to be more aggressive about luring other companies. 

[Virginia City]

4 hours ago, BFG said:

Not that this is a surprise, but seeing the other markets that did make the cut, there's quite a few that are roughly the same size as Hampton Roads. Maybe that will light a fire under the regional leaders and get them to be more aggressive about luring other companies. 

It won't. 

[BFG]

I know...a man can dream, right? 

[BFG]

Ultimately, this needs to spark a serious conversation, and not one where they talk a good game while kicking a can down the road for the next 10 years. Get serious about transportation...light rail and BRT are a few years off, but that doesn't mean there aren't other options. Expanded bus routes and ways to cross the water are still feasible.

Work on more flights out of ORF and PHF. The efforts to move forward shouldn't end here.

[chris722]

May be off topic but what about the new Apple headquarters?

[BFG]

It’s looking like Amazon is leaning towards NOVA. I do wonder if this could still benefit our area with some kind of ripple effect?

https://pilotonline.com/news/nation-world/virginia/article_9dab2074-df76-11e8-b632-6b90e5106578.html

[HRVA]

15 minutes ago, BFG said:

It’s looking like Amazon is leaning towards NOVA. I do wonder if this could still benefit our area with some kind of ripple effect?

https://pilotonline.com/news/nation-world/virginia/article_9dab2074-df76-11e8-b632-6b90e5106578.html

I had the same thought. I think any benefit we would reap would be related to the cables or ports. 

[vdogg]

Man, you guys are quick!  I was just about to post something similar. The entire state of Virginia will reap some benefits and I think at a bare minimum will get some data centers in the area due to Va. Beach being a hub. Great news for Virginia!

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/3/18058980/amazon-reportedly-in-advanced-discussions-hq2-crystal-city-northern-virginia

[vdogg]

Also, if the second Amazon HQ has anywhere near the effect it had on Seattle, this is going to drive housing prices way up. This may be result in an exodus of people from that area looking for cheaper land, and a second population boom our in our area akin to what happened in the 80s.