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

[Pdt2f]

43 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

Apparently word reached Atlanta about that. Local news here in Chattyburg was Gov. Deal has told legislators to be ready for special session if they have to open their checkbook. Governor's name has become "Les Mayka" Deal. The cost of getting AZN HQ2 is about to go up... really fast. 

Hell, amazon probably leaked the Boston tidbit knowing full well that they’d cause a bidding war. The precedent is set: if you are running a big time company, announce a second HQ and watch the tax bennies and incentives come rolling in. 

[xtianpoop]

On 12/24/2017 at 2:31 PM, Pdt2f said:

Not a huge fan of Atlanta either. Pretty much any large city that had the bulk of its growth from the 1960s to the 1980s isn’t enjoyable to me. I find them too car centric and they have very little unique culture. 

Thank you for putting to words what I've been struggling to describe for ages!! 

1 hour ago, MLBrumby said:

Apparently word reached Atlanta about that. Local news here in Chattyburg was Gov. Deal has told legislators to be ready for special session if they have to open their checkbook. Governor's name has become "Les Mayka" Deal. The cost of getting AZN HQ2 is about to go up... really fast. 

Haven't heard "Chattyburg" before- that's a new one!

[Binbin98]

Honestly I feel Nashville doesn't need Amazon to continue its growth, and I would much rather it go to Boston than Atlanta. Boston also feels like the Seattle of the Northeast, so it would make sense.

It does make me wonder if River North will ever be built, or if another corporate relocation will be there in the future. I hope eventually that is built, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[Pdt2f]

15 minutes ago, Binbin98 said:

Honestly I feel Nashville doesn't need Amazon to continue its growth, and I would much rather it go to Boston than Atlanta. Boston also feels like the Seattle of the Northeast, so it would make sense.

It does make me wonder if River North will ever be built, or if another corporate relocation will be there in the future. I hope eventually that is built, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I wouldn’t really care where it went, but I feel like if it went to Atlanta it may have more of a positive impact on Nashville. Amazon being there would definitely, even in such a large city, raise the price of living. I think this would lead to many Atlantans moving to places like Nashville and Chattanooga to escape the rising prices, which would help Nashville’s labor market and make us more attractive to companies seeking workers of various skill levels. 

River North will get built as long as Nashville keeps its upward trend,  just not quickly. It’ll be a 20-30 year build out and perhaps at a much smaller scale, but you don’t spend as much money as they have on it and not build anything. Unless your name is Palmer  

[SoundScan]

The problem for Nashville if HQ2 ends up in Atlanta is the tech talent vacuum it will create. Nashville already struggles to attract top tech talent and having Amazon so close will no doubt make that worse. I think Boston is an ideal location for Amazon HQ2.

[Hey_Hey]

From Nashville resident perspective, I think the best thing that could happen would be if Nashville were named a top five finalist and then it went to a place like Boston.  Nashville would be included in all the discussions and it would immediately place it on the radar for people all over the world as a great place, but we also wouldn't have to deal with the even more explosive growth that would come. 

I would be somewhat surprised by Boston, though.  I was under the impression (although maybe incorrect impression) that Amazon was wanting to locate in a place that was less expensive to live operate a business. In that regard, Boston is no better than Seattle.  My money had been on Atlanta. 

[e-dub]

couldn't agree more on all points, @Hey_Hey! atlanta emerging as a front-runner was a little bit of a surprise *to me, though it ultimately makes sense for the same reason you stated above.

Edited January 12, 2018 by e-dub

[NashvilleObserver]

1 hour ago, Hey_Hey said:

...I think the best thing that could happen would be if Nashville were named a top five finalist and then it went to a place like Boston.  Nashville would be included in all the discussions and it would immediately place it on the radar for people all over the world as a great place, but we also wouldn't have to deal with the even more explosive growth that would come. 

I agree! Publicising the finalists could open the door for other companies to enter a discussion with Nashville leaders who were courting Amazon, if in fact, Nashville was a top finalist. 

[Guest]

For those interested, this analysis helped me understand Amazon's growth and dominance.

Amazon is a service not a retailer.

[Neigeville2]

Amazon Is Thriving Thanks to Taxpayer Dollars

Quote

Amazon’s model of two-day or even same-day delivery of tens of thousands of products through its Prime service demands a large footprint across the country. If Amazon wants to live up to its shipping promises, they need to build warehouses virtually everywhere, beyond the roughly 140 fulfillment centers in operation today. “It requires at least one and sometimes multiple facilities in or near every major consumer market in the U.S.,” notes Good Jobs First in a report on Amazon subsidies.

So it’s not clear why any state or local government would pay Amazon to build something it already must build. Communities seeking jobs may feel the need to compete with neighbors to attract an Amazon warehouse. But to be as convenient as the neighborhood store, Amazon has to physically exist in the neighborhood. Any city with decent roads and a lot of Prime members will eventually become a candidate for a warehouse; they don’t need to top it off with a corporate handout.

 

[urbanplanet17]

A warehouse employing maybe a few hundred people for $10/hr isn't the same as a HQ employing 50,000 people for $100K.

[MLBrumby]

I figured those ginormous warehouses are everywhere. I've seen them in many cities across the southeast. And even little Chattanooga has a massive one. 

[dmillsphoto]

So... there's this. Raleigh, Toronto, and DC are the remainders on the list.

 

[urbanplanet17]

11 minutes ago, dmillsphoto said:

So... there's this. Raleigh, Toronto, and DC are the remainders on the list.

 

Congrats!

With exception to Detroit, all of my picks (dark horse and top contenders) made the short list. 

Most of the choices make sense, but a few of them are surprising (especially Indy)

Edited January 18, 2018 by urbanplanet17

[MidTenn1]

12 minutes ago, dmillsphoto said:

So... there's this. Raleigh, Toronto, and DC are the remainders on the list.

 

A link...

 

[MidTenn1]

9 minutes ago, urbanplanet17 said:

Congrats!

With exception to Detroit, all of my picks (dark horse and top contenders) made the short list. 

Phoenix, Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis are not on the list either.

[urbanplanet17]

Just now, PHofKS said:

Phoenix, Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis are not on the list either.

I didn't expect them to.

Of those choices, Minneapolis would have been most likely. But they didn't want to offer any incentives. 

[e-dub]

detroit not being on the list is surprising, imo.

[smeagolsfree]

No Charlotte either!

[markhollin]

Tennessean coverage:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/01/18/amazon-h-2-nashville-among-list-candidate-cities-new-headquarters/1043527001/

NBJ:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/01/18/nashville-makes-amazon-s-hq2-short-list.html

Nashville Post:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/economic-development/article/20989191/nashville-makes-amazons-top-20
 

[urbanplanet17]

24 minutes ago, e-dub said:

detroit not being on the list is surprising, imo.

And it wasn't because of their lack of transit either.

 

[jmtunafish]

Whatever happens, I think just being in Amazon's top 20 should go a long way towards attracting other corporations to Nashville.  It's somewhat surprising to me that the only other Southeastern cities on the list are Atlanta, Miami, and Raleigh (I don't consider NoVA to be in the Southeast).  This list seems to catapult Nashville to a much higher level.  I imagine there are quite a few boosters over in Charlotte who are more than a little stunned that their city didn't make the cut, but Nashville and Raleigh did.

Edited January 18, 2018 by jmtunafish
added Atlanta

[FluffyP13]

well, and Atlanta

[jmtunafish]

6 minutes ago, FluffyP13 said:

well, and Atlanta

d'oh!  Thanks for the correction.  I actually think Atlanta is a frontrunner in this chase, I don't know how I forgot to include it.  I went back and added it.

Edited January 18, 2018 by jmtunafish

[Binbin98]

I’m starting to regret the bet I did against Nashville early on.

 

But In all seriousness this is really good for Nashville in terms of smaller and larger business operations looking to relocate. Nashville will at least be on their mind after this list because it shows that BNA can compete with other cities for big HQ deals like this. Do I think we will get it? No, but I have a little more faith than before. Also without a doubt at this point Nashville is a STRONG dark horse candidate due to the universities and transportation initiatives, as well as possible sites such as river north being avaliable for building out (not to mention its quality of life and skyrocketing growth).

in other words call me a happy camper