Amazon: The Thread | 5,000 Jobs | 1M SQFT in Nashville Yards

[timmay143 1028]

This could or could not influence Amazon's eastern HQ selection but is slightly interesting.  Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos) is planning on building a rocket factory here in Huntsville if selected for a contract.

[PHofKS 8350]

I'd rather have the rocket factory here. So much cooler. Build a spaceport on River North.

Let Huntsville have the HQ2.  

Edited September 12, 2017 by PHofKS

[urbanplanet17 699]

5 hours ago, timmay143 said:

This could or could not influence Amazon's eastern HQ selection but is slightly interesting.  Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos) is planning on building a rocket factory here in Huntsville if selected for a contract.

HA!!! Birmingham landing this would literally make them the sleeper of all sleepers. It would royally piss off the Atlanta peeps too. 

Edited September 12, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[timmay143 1028]

I wish all the rocket stuff was in Nashville too!  Huntsville is the closest I can get now .  Well, besides Tullahoma.  Anyways, maybe Bezos will help fund a high speed rail line from his new HQ in Nashville to his rocket plant in Huntsville! 

Edited September 12, 2017 by timmay143

[smeagolsfree 18461]

Birmingham's Metro Population barely breaks a million at 1.14 million. 

Been hearing the Space port possibility for a while as my brother lives there. It would make sense.

 

 

[L'burgnative 236]

We're as close to Nashville (mileage) as we are to Birmingham; actually I think we are 1 maybe 2 miles closer to Birmingham and that's it.   I think if you asked folks around here rather they would want go up to Nashville or down to Birmingham on an outing I think the majority would say Nashville for obvious reasons.  Just saying; I think Bezo would think the same.  Timmay I didn't know you were here now; I thought you were at the Cape or somewhere like that.

[urbanplanet17 699]

This would sting, although it's not surprising.

Amazon Responds to Report That Boston is Frontrunner for 2nd Headquarters

http://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/Bloomberg-Report-Amazon-Boston-Second-Headquarters-Consideration-444050503.html

That said, this part of the article was interesting:

...A few years ago, Amazon executives discussed building a second headquarters in Toronto because two decades of rapid growth had left the company feeling constrained in Seattle. But global consumer chief Jeff Wilke objected and said the new location should be in the United States, the person said.

...Picking Boston would disappoint many Amazon employees with families hoping for a more suburban location like Austin, Texas, that offers affordable housing options beyond apartments and condominiums, said Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant who used to work for the company and still knows a lot of people there. What’s more, Austin is home to Whole Foods, recently acquired by Amazon for $13.7 billion.

“Texas is absolutely the best choice from the perspective of associates,” Ladd said. “Amazon associates are sick and tired of living in cities with high rents and congestion...”

Edited September 13, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[samsonh 1115]

High rents and congestion basically define Austin, lol.

[urbanplanet17 699]

9 minutes ago, samsonh said:

High rents and congestion basically define Austin, lol.

True.

Granted, the rent compared to many of the other contenders, and for someone coming from Seattle, is still fairly cheap.

Edited September 14, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[titanhog 15148]

Spend one summer in Austin and you'll be wishing for Seattle summers.  Brutal hot.  Of course, the winters are awesome.

[Binbin98 995]

There is a reason why me and my family moved to London, although Nashville is popular now, who knows what it will be like in the future. I would be willing to bet my arm or leg Nashville will not get this headquarters now, just because it is not ready for it. If all the said projects to infrastructure happen 10 or 20 years down the line, than maybe, but now I cannot see this happening at all. Just my opinion though.

 

EDIT: To make this post a little less negative: If this indeed does happen where amazon moves its 2nd headquarters to Nashville, I will literally donate all the money in one of my credit cards to Urban planet. Remind me in 18 months lol

Edited September 14, 2017 by Binbin98

[urbanplanet17 699]

11 hours ago, Binbin98 said:

There is a reason why me and my family moved to London, although Nashville is popular now, who knows what it will be like in the future. I would be willing to bet my arm or leg Nashville will not get this headquarters now, just because it is not ready for it. If all the said projects to infrastructure happen 10 or 20 years down the line, than maybe, but now I cannot see this happening at all. Just my opinion though.

I would just like to say while I understand what you're getting at, the same can be said for London or any other city. While you may think it's a more stable place and will remain so, it's nothing more than an educated guess. Who knows how much of a negative impact Brexit will have on the city, or if (heaven forbid) it will face a natural disaster or terrorist attack that destroys the city. Hell, the people in 1957 probably would have never thought Detroit would evolve into the city it is today. Just as well, many people thought NYC was as good as dead back in the 1970s.

True, Nashville may not be popular in the future, but then again, it may be. If not Amazon, it could land another game-changing headquarters. You never know.

Edited September 14, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[urbanplanet17 699]

This is an article from the Detroit Free Press regarding Detroit's Amazon bid, but it has some interesting information in it about Tennessee that you guys might like to hear (and it's actually a plus for your Amazon bid):

http://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/rochelle-riley/2017/09/14/rochelle-riley-mike-duggan-dan-gilbert-amazon-hq-detroit/662745001/

Baruah, the chamber head, recalled a conversation about Volkswagen choosing Tennessee over Michigan to build a new plant a few years ago, before he assumed his post at the chamber. 

"It's John Rakolta's story," Baruah said, "but I borrow it."

"When John (CEO of Walbridge, which built the Tennessee plant) was in  Frankfurt  talking to the then-CEO of Volkswagen, Michigan and Tennessee were the two finalist states, and Volkswagen ended up picking Tennessee. When John asked why, the CEO said that the financial deal put on the table by the state of Michigan was actually slightly better than the one from Tennessee but they chose Tennessee because of what he called 'cohesion.'

"He said there were multiple levels of government unified and everyone saying, 'We have one bid for you and we're all going to support this,' Baruah recalled. "In Michigan, people were tripping over each other and there were multiple bids and no alignment. People were competing against each other and we wanted a region where if we had a problem, we knew  the   region would come together to solve the problem as opposed to pointing fingers.

Edited September 14, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[KJHburg 67876]

Use this handy cost of living calculator to figure out how a $100,000 salary in Seattle goes in a Charlotte or Nashville for example. Hint it is a lot further mainly due to housing costs in Seattle that are almost twice  any major city in the southeast Charlotte Raleigh Nashville or Atlanta. http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx  Even the cost of a cup of coffee in cheaper in Nashville than the in the birthplace of StarLotsofBucks Seattle!  Move to Boston Amazon and your employees will still have housing problems. 

[Binbin98 995]

For the record I can definitely see a large healthcare or health-tech company, or even a large logistics company moving their headquarters to Nashville in the near future and it being a big boost for the economy. I just don't see a tech company (or one that heavily deals with tech) moving to Nashville at least in the near future. Until Nashville's tech population and "scene" catch up with the likes of Austin or Raleigh I just don't see it happening right now, although the city is growing so fast who knows what the future will hold. 

[Pdt2f 3449]

It's crazy how diversified Nashville's economy would be if this move happened. Nashville would be well represented - even with "hub" status - in tech, healthcare, banking, publishing, automotive, manufacturing, logistics, and tourism; along with mainstays like state government and the universities. Along with plenty I'm probably forgetting. 

[FromParkAveToTN 793]

I hope this doesn't happen. I moved here from New York city to get away from construction and people. 

[Pdt2f 3449]

1 hour ago, FromParkAveToTN said:

I hope this doesn't happen. I moved here from New York city to get away from construction and people. 

Am I right in remembering from a previous post of yours that you work from home? If so, why stay in Nashville? I'm not trying to be one of those "like it or leave it!" folks, but if you don't like people or construction of new stuff, the center of an almost 2 million strong metro area just seems like a bad choice in where to live, especially when work doesn't tie you to one location. Jackson, Tn is conveniently located between Nashville and Memphis and typically doesn't see much population movement, might be worth checking out. 

[BnaBreaker 9212]

1 hour ago, FromParkAveToTN said:

I hope this doesn't happen. I moved here from New York city to get away from construction and people. 

I mean this with all due respect... I don't intend this to sound as harsh as it probably will, but I must ask... why are you even here?  And by "here" I mean both Nashville and this message board. You are obviously free to do as you please, but seemingly all you ever say is how much you hate development and construction and urban life and people and seemingly everything else under the sun... so it makes no sense to me why you'd spend your free time on a message board devoted to many of those things, and as @Pdt2f already stated, put your roots down in a population center with two million people and growing?  

...and by the way... if this is, in fact, just part of a repeating running joke as some have theorized, then it's a freakin' terrible joke and I wish you'd get new material.  

[fieldmarshaldj 2086]

4 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

I mean this with all due respect... I don't intend this to sound as harsh as it probably will, but I must ask... why are you even here? 

To make me look like Mr. Sunshine.

[Pdt2f 3449]

23 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

I mean this with all due respect... I don't intend this to sound as harsh as it probably will, but I must ask... why are you even here?  And by "here" I mean both Nashville and this message board. You are obviously free to do as you please, but seemingly all you ever say is how much you hate development and construction and urban life and people and seemingly everything else under the sun... so it makes no sense to me why you'd spend your free time on a message board devoted to many of those things, and as @Pdt2f already stated, put your roots down in a population center with two million people and growing?  

...and by the way... if this is, in fact, just part of a repeating running joke as some have theorized, then it's a freakin' terrible joke and I wish you'd get new material.  

If ParkAve's whole "don't want public transit, people, or construction around me" thing is a joke, it's hilarious, and I'll freely admit I've been had 

[urbanplanet17 699]

IMO, there's a middle ground here.

Not to defend FromParkAveToTN,  but I think one should at least be considerate of their perspective. Coming from a city with over 8 million people and a metro area with  over 20 million people,  a city like Nashville might as well be like Mayberry to them (just like how Pdt2f views Jackson, TN in comparison to Nashville).  Rightly or wrongly, their expectation was for the city to have and maintain a slower pace of living. It's all relative and I don't believe their intent is negative.

That being said, I also understand why this would frustrate people in Nashville.  It's like someone who owns a McMansion coming over to your modest 2 bedroom home for dinner and complaining how it doesn't have a dishwasher. It tends to come across as snobbish. Folks like FromParkAveToTN can certainly do a better job of embracing the new places they live in without always trying to compare them to where he/she came from.

EDIT: Now if the poster was joking, then forgot everything I said. 

Edited September 15, 2017 by urbanplanet17

[BnaBreaker 9212]

12 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

If ParkAve's whole "don't want public transit, people, or construction around me" thing is a joke, it's hilarious, and I'll freely admit I've been had 

It isn't the content of the 'joke' so much as it is the fact that it's been running on for like three years now.  lol

[Pdt2f 3449]

3 minutes ago, urbanplanet17 said:

IMO, there's a middle ground here.

Not to defend FromParkAveToTN,  but I think one should at least be considerate of their perspective. Coming from a city with over 8 million people and a metro area with  over 20 million people,  a city like Nashville might as well be like Mayberry to them (just like how Pdt2f views Jackson, TN in comparison to Nashville).  Rightly or wrongly, their expectation was for the city to have and maintain a slower pace of living. It's all relative and I don't believe their intent is negative.

That being said, I also understand why this would frustrate people in Nashville.  It's like someone who owns a McMansion coming over to your modest 2 bedroom home for dinner and complaining how it doesn't have a dishwasher. Folks like FromParkAveToTN can certainly do a better job of embracing the new places he live in without always trying to compare them to where he/she came from.

A more apt analogy for ParkAve would be that someone you know who has a massive mansion comes to your 2 bedroom home, sees that you're adding another bedroom, and gets mad that your house isn't as quaint as it once was. But I do see your point. I value diversity of thought, so I'm happy that ParkAve is willing to share his opinions on here. 

6 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

It isn't the content of the 'joke' so much as it is the fact that it's been running on for like three years now.  lol

Haha I haven't been here that long, so it's still new to me, if it is a joke. 

[urbanplanet17 699]

1 minute ago, Pdt2f said:

A more apt analogy for ParkAve would be that someone you know who has a massive mansion comes to your 2 bedroom home, sees that you're adding another bedroom, and gets mad that your house isn't as quaint as it once was. But I do see your point. I value diversity of thought, so I'm happy that ParkAve is willing to share his opinions on here. 

Yes, I like that better (couldn't quite think of a good one).