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

[MidTenn1]

5 minutes ago, titanhog said:

Now...back to Amazon...

Yes, please!!!

[markhollin]

Good summary piece in The Tennessean about how the whole Amazon deal came together.  A couple of highlights:

- Nashville, which has seen its national profile soar in recent years, was often mentioned as a dark horse by observers but never a favorite to score Amazon’s second headquarters. But what state and city officials successfully kept secret was that for the past 45 days they had been discussing a nice consolation price for Nashville: a new operations hub.

- The local competition for the Amazon office complex was fierce, but the final selection of Nashville Yards as the location was totally up to the company. The River North property north of downtown along the Cumberland River was also explored as a possible location, according to multiple people familiar with the talks.

- On three occasions since March, Amazon executives visited Nashville, hearing city's pitch at trendy restaurants like The 404 Kitchen and touring neighborhoods such as East Nashville, the Gulch, Germantown and the Vanderbilt area.

- The chamber's economic development team was thrilled to learn Nashville made the list of 20 finalists. During the company's three visits to Nashville, officials highlighted the city's thriving health care and music industries, taking Amazon officials to entertainment districts and arranging meetings with leaders of local universities.

- “One thing we learned is Nashville is a place that has great talent, great educational skill sets — huge higher education opportunities with Vanderbilt, MTSU, Tennessee Tech and of course my Volunteers, the University of Tennessee. We think it’s a great location to grow this new Center of Excellence.”   -Holly Sullivan, Amazon

- Nashville, which has seen its national profile soar in recent years, was often mentioned as a dark horse by observers but never a favorite to score Amazon’s second headquarters. But what state and city officials successfully kept secret was that for the past 45 days they had been discussing a nice consolation price for Nashville: a new operations hub.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/11/16/amazon-nashville-yards-gov-bill-haslam-mayor-david-briley/2006460002/

[MLBrumby]

The points above recall Mayor Briley's budget item for infrastructure for the development across the river (River North?) and a rumor that it was going to be Amazon and Morgan Stanley posted at one of the boards. Amazon came true, but not at that site. Could Nashville see another spate of relocations? 

[Mr_Bond]

11 hours ago, wreynol4 said:

What will be the roll out in terms of the 5k jobs? Will it be done over several years? Will they find temporary space while waiting on office tower? Any idea what % of the hires will be moving from elsewhere vs new hires who already live in town?

Didn't want @wreynol4's questions to get lost in all the excitement.  Has any news outlet talked about these issues yet?

[thenorthchannel]

1 minute ago, Mr_Bond said:

Didn't want @wreynol4's questions to get lost in all the excitement.  Has any news outlet talked about these issues yet?

Tax incentives were structured with the condition that all 5000 jobs are here within 7 years. From what I've read Amazon to begin hiring in early 2019 at all HQ2 locations.

[Mr_Bond]

37 minutes ago, thenorthchannel said:

Tax incentives were structured with the condition that all 5000 jobs are here within 7 years. From what I've read Amazon to begin hiring in early 2019 at all HQ2 locations.

Is there any word as to how many are transferring here from Seattle?

[jmtunafish]

3 hours ago, markhollin said:

Good summary piece in The Tennessean about how the whole Amazon deal came together.  A couple of highlights:

- Nashville, which has seen its national profile soar in recent years, was often mentioned as a dark horse by observers but never a favorite to score Amazon’s second headquarters. But what state and city officials successfully kept secret was that for the past 45 days they had been discussing a nice consolation price for Nashville: a new operations hub.

- The local competition for the Amazon office complex was fierce, but the final selection of Nashville Yards as the location was totally up to the company. The River North property north of downtown along the Cumberland River was also explored as a possible location, according to multiple people familiar with the talks.

- On three occasions since March, Amazon executives visited Nashville, hearing city's pitch at trendy restaurants like The 404 Kitchen and touring neighborhoods such as East Nashville, the Gulch, Germantown and the Vanderbilt area.

- The chamber's economic development team was thrilled to learn Nashville made the list of 20 finalists. During the company's three visits to Nashville, officials highlighted the city's thriving health care and music industries, taking Amazon officials to entertainment districts and arranging meetings with leaders of local universities.

- “One thing we learned is Nashville is a place that has great talent, great educational skill sets — huge higher education opportunities with Vanderbilt, MTSU, Tennessee Tech and of course my Volunteers, the University of Tennessee. We think it’s a great location to grow this new Center of Excellence.”   -Holly Sullivan, Amazon

- Nashville, which has seen its national profile soar in recent years, was often mentioned as a dark horse by observers but never a favorite to score Amazon’s second headquarters. But what state and city officials successfully kept secret was that for the past 45 days they had been discussing a nice consolation price for Nashville: a new operations hub.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/11/16/amazon-nashville-yards-gov-bill-haslam-mayor-david-briley/2006460002/

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Nashville is a very, very likable and very attractive town.  For a major city, it has surprisingly few "bad" neighborhoods.  I mean, there are certain parts of town that seem to be on the news more than others for crime, but to a casual observer simply driving through, they don't look that bad, certainly not compared to some of the blighted  inner city neighborhoods in some of our peer cities.  And with the breakneck speed at which many neighborhoods are gentrifying, Nashville's "bad" areas are becoming even rarer.  Very few visitors leave Nashville unimpressed.

Telephone poles and overhead wires aside, Nashville has nice streetscapes.  It's a joy to drive visitors around town because the city just looks good.  Nashville is a hilly city built in a forest, things that a lot of people enjoy (hills and trees).  Downtown is clean, fun, and prosperous.  Our urban neighborhoods are tidy and well kept.  Our parks are beautiful.  There's just an air of excitement around Nashville that's difficult to replicate.  Even though some locals don't like all the growth, by and large Nashvillians are fiercely proud of their city and love showing it off, and for good reason.  Nashville is like a wealthy Southern belle who is polite, friendly, is as comfortable at a débutante ball as at a football game, and knows how to throw a good party where everyone feels welcomed.

[Mr_Bond]

11 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

Nashville is like a wealthy Southern belle who is polite, friendly, is as comfortable at a débutante ball as at a football game, and knows how to throw a good party where everyone feels welcomed.

Who wouldn't want to marry a lady like that?!  I did, though the term 'wealthy' may or may not have applied.

[satalac]

22 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

And with the breakneck speed at which many neighborhoods are gentrifying, Nashville's "bad" areas are becoming even rarer.  Very few visitors leave Nashville unimpressed.

 

I don't really consider being gentrified as a positive. What's happening to the people that were living there before? They're being priced out of the city that they belong to. I just don't like the non synergistic aspect of gentrification. Are new and remodeled houses/ condos pretty? Sure, but why not help incorporate all the citizens of this booming city? 

[thenorthchannel]

1 hour ago, Mr_Bond said:

Is there any word as to how many are transferring here from Seattle?

Bezos hasnt replied to my text asking if the tower will have a helipad yet so doubtful Im going to have the answer to this either.  In all seriousness, I havent seen this information anywhere yet.  

[Armacing]

7 minutes ago, satalac said:

 Are new and remodeled houses/ condos pretty? Sure, but why not help incorporate all the citizens of this booming city? 

Great point, Satalac.  And it's just part of a larger problem in Nashville (and America in general), where private property rights are only protected for those who are already wealthy.  Consider the plight of those living on fixed incomes who receive a new property value assessment in the mail.  These unfortunate folks are forced to pay ever-higher taxes to subsidize stadiums, convention centers, and corporate relocations that attract more people and drive prices up further - a vicious cycle whereby they finance the means of their own "economic eviction" from the neighborhood.

 

[fishsticks176]

I’ve been driving Lyft part-time for about a year now and it’s really given me such an insight into the people from all walks of life that make up this city. Nashville provides unprecedented opportunity for those in the lower class. Just last week, I was driving around a previously unemployed middle-aged man who had moved here from Little Rock six months ago and was ecstatic that he was able to find a construction job for $17/hour. He was renting a single bedroom in a house in the TSU area and was trying to convince his son, who has also been struggling financially, to move to Nashville too, and then the two of them would rent an apartment together. That might not sound like a lot to some people, but for those who have struggled with finding employment—and employment above minimum wage—and being able to afford any comfort, Nashville is Mecca. A few days before that, I gave a ride to a young guy who said he had been homeless and unemployed in Flint for *three years*! He saved up enough money for a bus ticket and came to Nashville with a backpack and no money whatsoever. Within three days he had a decent-paying serving job and a room to rent. 

 

Nashville has a large amount of halfway houses and rehabilitation programs. All the time I pick up people from East Tennessee or Mississippi or rural Georgia that were spiraling in their hometowns and found good lives for themselves in Nashville. 

I rent out bedrooms in my house to young musicians first moving to town, and all of them have gone on to prosper in their careers and gotten apartments of their own a year or so after arriving here.

 

I understand the frustration with rising rents, but I think too often people lose sight of just how much incredible opportunity exists in this city. I’ve seen it uplift far more people than not. We live in a beautiful place. 

[japan]

On 11/15/2018 at 8:43 AM, Armacing said:

I agree.  Think of Nashville as the mid-point of all mid-points:  Memphis (FedEx), Louisville (UPS), Atlanta (UPS).  Nashville is in the middle of all these logistics centers, and if Amazon wants to figure out a way of cutting those parcel carriers out of the profit pipeline, they need to handle their own logistics.  I think that will become the long-term vision for Amazon's distribution strategy, and it looks like the execution part of that strategy will hinge on the efforts of folks based in Nashville.  Very exciting!

 

Exactly.  Is this where Amazon starts their own Fedex/UPS.

[smeagolsfree]

If I were looking solely at the where my 150 K will go the farthest and I had the choice of where I could go with Amazon, Nashville would be the pick. It was crazy how much farther it went than NYC and was a lot compared to Arlington too.

[DDIG]

4 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

If I were looking solely at the where my 150 K will go the farthest and I had the choice of where I could go with Amazon, Nashville would be the pick. It was crazy how much farther it went than NYC and was a lot compared to Arlington too.

Yeah I was kind of surprised that the average salary for each location is $150k. Not only is Nashville getting a bigger impact per capita, but also way more salary per job based on cost of living.

Edited November 16, 2018 by DDIG

[Dale]

Don’t know about Amazon-Nashville and it’s $150K jobs, but it sounds like they were just looking for drones NYC and DC. 

[Rockatansky]

2 hours ago, Armacing said:

Consider the plight of those living on fixed incomes

Most on fixed income will qualify for property tax relief of some sort.

https://www.nashville.gov/Trustee/Tax-Freeze-Program.aspx

Edited November 16, 2018 by Rockatansky
Spelling.

[Armacing]

54 minutes ago, Rockatansky said:

Most on fixed income will qualify for property tax relief of some sort.

https://www.nashville.gov/Trustee/Tax-Freeze-Program.aspx

There are a lot of people under the age of 65 who are on fixed or limited incomes for a variety of reasons.  Single mothers, for example.  But this is not a contest to see who can carry the flag for the most neglected demographic in Nashville.  My point was more about how property taxes affect the general affordability of life in the city.  But who knows, maybe that single mother landed a job selling funnel cakes at the new baseball stadium.

[Dale]

Eventually, Nashville will become a victim of its own success. 

[DDIG]

4 minutes ago, Dale said:

Eventually, Nashville will become a victim of its own success. 

Is there any city that is not?

Kind of choose between that kind of victimhood or the you aren't growing kind.

[Dale]

2 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Is there any city that is not?

Kind of choose between that kind of victimhood or the you aren't growing kind.

Huh ?

[DDIG]

33 minutes ago, Dale said:

Huh ?

Yep.

[MLBrumby]

About 8 years ago, Hamilton County voters passed a referendum to freeze the property taxes on people over 65. I could NOT bring myself to vote for it for two reasons:

1. In our county (and in most) that age group is among the wealthiest demographic group, especially compared to young families who don't own their homes outright.

2. And of course, I don't like "blanket" carve-outs. I believe everyone should have skin in the game. And that age group of folks tend to be the most reliable voters. They are engaged and they usually think carefully about the issues they vote for. 

[Dale]

28 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Yep.

Yep to the unintelligible part or the other part ? Wait, there was no other part.

[fishsticks176]

1 hour ago, Dale said:

Eventually, Nashville will become a victim of its own success. 

and eventually the Sun will grow into a red giant and consume the Earth.