Amazon HQ2

[RALNATIVE]

18 hours ago, ah59396 said:

If for some reason Charlotte does land Amazon, I'm immediately buying speculative property in the city.  And you should too.

That's a no-brainer.

[Niner National]

21 hours ago, elrodvt said:

^32K under the redfin estimate. BUY! ;-)

I expected the CLT downtown market would be going up faster than it is given the lack of units for sale. But the appreciation has been pretty slow for some reason.

I live just outside 277. My condo Has gone up about 90% since 2014.

[urbanlover568]

Looking at the RFP, priority is given to ...

Quote

 

1.

Existing buildings of at least 500,000+ sq. ft., meeting the core requirements described above and that are expandable or have additional options for development nearby.

2.

A greenfield site of approximately 100 acres certified or pad ready, with utility infrastructure in place. The sites do not have to be contiguous, but should be in proximity to each other to foster a sense of place and be pedestrian friendly.

3.

Other infill, existing buildings, including opportunities for renovation/redevelopment and greenfield sites. meeting the proximity and logistics requirements of the Project. This can also be a combination of the above.

 

 

 

Maybe the observer site could yield a few more towers and there is many adjacent parcels that are undeveloped in uptown and could be combined for HQ2. Looks like they are targeting a very urban area with inventory that is partially move-in ready.  Lots of Class A office space coming online now! Developed downtown like Boston, NYC, or Partially Austin don't have the space for this endeavor. Charlotte sure does! 

Edited October 9, 2017 by mpretori

[Cadi40]

Also Atlanta does not have space like that. I think the City of Charlotte has prepared a decent list of a few good sites for Amazon. Unlike other Cities, Charlotte has more options for Amazon due to the amount of Undeveloped Land / Land for sale. 

I think a few good sites would be the River District, Southpark, Ballantyne, Brooklyn Village, 1st Ward, Observer Site, Or somewhere in 4th ward near the Ball Park.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Cadi40

[KJHburg]

Here is a site selection consultants risk assessment map for US based on weather factors and earthquake chances.  Charlotte Mecklenburg is about average risk not severe in any category. Check out King County WA home of Seattle there greatest risk is for earthquakes and it is actually pretty strong.  https://info.siteselectiongroup.com/blog/natural-disaster-risks-are-critical-site-selection-factors-to-consider-in-the-wake-of-hurricane-harvey-and-irma

[KJHburg]

Amazon fighting some states in sales tax disputes including SC and Massachusetts home of a reputed contender for HQ2.  NC and Amazon had a dispute long ago but it has been settled for years then suddenly Amazon has opened or will open 5 distribution centers in the state including 4 in the Charlotte area.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-09/amazon-s-sales-tax-fight-is-heating-up-as-states-crack-down

[Cadi40]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Amazon fighting some states in sales tax disputes including SC and Massachusetts home of a reputed contender for HQ2.  NC and Amazon had a dispute long ago but it has been settled for years then suddenly Amazon has opened or will open 5 distribution centers in the state including 4 in the Charlotte area.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-09/amazon-s-sales-tax-fight-is-heating-up-as-states-crack-down

Is this good or bad for CLT?

[KJHburg]

^^^^ I would say this is good for Charlotte's chances as Boston mentioned as a contender is in Mass. with a current dispute with Amazon. Dittos South Carolina don't worry about this coming to this area and going over the state line. 

Another article from Wall St Journal today that says Amazon is responsible for 1 out every 3 new jobs in the Seattle area since 2010. but may slow down their heated real estate market. 

http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/09/amazons-plans-to-hurt-seattle-property-wsj.html

[Cadi40]

If I'm being honest, I don't really care what ends up happening. If CLT is chosen for HQ2 I would be happy, But either way Charlotte is going through so much construction and we have so much to be excited about. CLT doesn't need Amazon because we are going to experience terrific growth either way. Just my two cents.

[KJHburg]

Stonecrest GA suburb of Atlanta east in DeKalb county is willing to change the name of the city to Amazon if chosen.  Business Journal is now saying Hickory NC is putting their name in the hat in the race for this HQ.  

[kermit]

RE the Hickory thing:

IMO states that are allowing multiple bids are shooting themselves in the foot. Bids from places that clearly don't meet Amazon's criteria demonstrate that the state government a) lacks the willingness (or ability) to follow the clear RFP guidelines; b) is willing to waste Amazon's time with frivolous bids; c) doesn't really care about potential symbiosis between Amazon and its new community (since it appears that every bid is just as good as the next); and d) the state's indiscriminate economic development efforts suggest that future growth will be poorly planned and chaotic rather than intentional and guided by a plan.  (poor transportation and housing planning/policy in Seattle  seems like one of the things the company would like to avoid)

I know the process isn't set up for state level control and the state-level political process almost requires this scattershot approach. Unfortunately this shotgun strategy is counter productive for everyone involved.  Pick one site, throw everything you have at it and show your commitment to making it work now and in the future. 

Shrug,  just my 2 cents.

[caterpillar2]

21 minutes ago, kermit said:

RE the Hickory thing:

IMO states that are allowing multiple bids are shooting themselves in the foot. Bids from places that clearly don't meet Amazon's criteria demonstrate that the state government a) lacks the willingness (or ability) to follow the clear RFP guidelines; b) is willing to waste Amazon's time with frivolous bids; c) doesn't really care about potential symbiosis between Amazon and its new community (since it appears that every bid is just as good as the next); and d) the state's indiscriminate economic development efforts suggest that future growth will be poorly planned and chaotic rather than intentional and guided by a plan.  (poor transportation and housing planning/policy in Seattle  seems like one of the things the company would like to avoid)

I know the process isn't set up for state level control and the state-level political process almost requires this scattershot approach. Unfortunately this shotgun strategy is counter productive for everyone involved.  Pick one site, throw everything you have at it and show your commitment to making it work now and in the future. 

Shrug,  just my 2 cents.

Question, Since you are probably not the one interviewing or reviewing resumes or choosing what city is welcomed to submit, why do you care?  If a city thinks they have a chance, they should submit. Amazon wants to go to the right place and I am sure that a submission from a potential place is no problem. How hard would it be to simply ignore a unqualified submission?

[BullDurhamer]

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/10/03/colorado-amazon-headquarters-locations/

This is how Colorado is going about the process.  

 

And directly to the point:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/12/denver-amazon-headquarters-bid-lessons-boeing/

Quote

There were important lessons in the Boeing failure, said Tom Clark, former head of the Metro Denver EDC.

In a region that long prided itself on avoiding the in-fighting that hampers so many other areas,  the City of Denver submitted a bid, and the rest of the metro region submitted one. Chicago won the day.

“That wasn’t helpful,” said Clark, of presenting competing offers.

 

[Cadi40]

I doubt Amazon will choose any City that isn't EST unless the incentives were very high (Eliminating most of the competition). And now that Mass is having a dispute with Amazon it lowers Boston's chances, Atlanta is still a likely option. I think Charlotte will probably end up in the top 3 or 5 cities for Amazon, It sounds Biased but I think it is possible. Almost all of the News organizations exclude Charlotte from the list because of "Culture" Which I find absurd considering  that at the end of the day Amazon really just cares about functionality and money. Charlottes fastest growing job professions area are Tech, Medical, And Arts. Culture is only going to increase in the Charlotte region. I think Charlotte has quite a bit of Culture already considering that it's the city where the most millennials are moving to. 

This was just my opinion, Please feel free to disagree

Edited October 10, 2017 by Cadi40

[Nick2]

I'd be willing to bet it's going somewhere in the southeast (including Texas). But specifically somewhere considered the "new south." So that'd eliminate places like Greensboro in my opinion. Gotta have the right "climate" and vibe for West coast folks. They don't want too much of a culture shock when interacting with locals. Lol

[caterpillar2]

10 hours ago, Nick2 said:

I'd be willing to bet it's going somewhere in the southeast (including Texas). But specifically somewhere considered the "new south." So that'd eliminate places like Greensboro in my opinion. Gotta have the right "climate" and vibe for West coast folks. They don't want too much of a culture shock when interacting with locals. Lol

Trust me, Charlotte and most of the south is not a "culture shock" to most Californians. The only thing they have that we don't culture wise is Hollywood. They can keep it.  They will not feel  culturally deprived practically anywhere they go.  Ever been to Bakersfield, Victorville, or Barstow?

 

[skymiler]

I apologize if this was mentioned earlier, but did anyone here that Michael Jordan sent a letter to the CEO of Amazon supporting the idea of Charlotte being home to the new HQ?  Heard this on local radio station yesterday . 

[J-Rob]

As shared by Eli in the CO, there is a new website...

https://charlotteisprime.com/

@CLTisPrime only has about 145 followers, so if you are interested in Amazon coming to CLT you might like to follow and start re-tweeting. 

[jednc]

7 hours ago, skymiler said:

I apologize if this was mentioned earlier, but did anyone here that Michael Jordan sent a letter to the CEO of Amazon supporting the idea of Charlotte being home to the new HQ?  Heard this on local radio station yesterday . 

Yes. It was in the Observer as well. The letter will be included in the bid package.

[KJHburg]

I dont think this video from the Chamber is Amazon specific but it is a good overview of the city and region.   I always say people vote with their feet and we would not be one of the fastest growing metros in the country if this was a terrible place to live.   

 

[Cadi40]

I think Charlotte is more the qualified for Amazon.

[15895]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

I dont think this video from the Chamber is Amazon specific but it is a good overview of the city and region.   I always say people vote with their feet and we would not be one of the fastest growing metros in the country if this was a terrible place to live.   

 

It's from the DNC  2012 we make it possible campaign. This is a good one of the city's unlike the overly NASCAR country music heehaw sometimes our bids turn into.

[Guest]

It's from the DNC  2012 we make it possible campaign. This is a good one of the city's unlike the overly NASCAR country music heehaw sometimes our bids turn into.

You guys had me on a twitter tear. I thought this was made for amazon. I blew up their spot for using the bobcats instead of hornets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cadi40]

After watching that I am very confident that Charlotte will submit a very well put together bid. That video was made purely to advertise Charlotte, I would expect them to put the same amount of effort and even more into a bid because it is for a multi billion dollar company. If I were a tourist thinking about places to visit and was shown that, Charlotte would be one of the places I'd go.

[KJHburg]

News from Atlanta Business Chronicle. Not sure how this fits in to the overall HQ2 search but it is interesting. 

"Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) employs 300 tech workers in Atlanta and is expanding rapidly in the market — one of at least a dozen regional tech hubs the company has around the country, Atlanta Business Chronicle has learned.

About 25 percent of Amazon’s corporate workforce is scattered across these tech hubs, which include Boston, Chicago, Austin, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh.

Amazon’s tech presence in Atlanta is spread across three business units — Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon Web Services and A9.com.

The company has doubled its office footprint at Terminus 200 in Buckhead and leased space at 271 17th St. in Midtown’s Atlantic Station. Both buildings are in transit-connected, live-work-play work developments that millennials and tech workers prefer."