This morning Amazon announced they are looking for a city to build a second headquarters. $5 billion dollars to build and operate, along with 50,000 additional jobs.
I think Detroit may be a longshot, but is there a case for them to come here?
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This morning Amazon announced they are looking for a city to build a second headquarters. $5 billion dollars to build and operate, along with 50,000 additional jobs.
I think Detroit may be a longshot, but is there a case for them to come here?
I have no doubt that this is on Gilbert's radar. This would be bigger than anything he has done to date and could be a complete game changer for the city. I won't hold my breath though.
Yeah, cities like Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, Philly and others are probably a better fit. However, for the sake of remaining recklessly optimistic, I think Detroit has a few benefits.
-Plenty of population in the Metro Area
-Lots of cheap land/buildings downtown and in the city/suburbs
-Close to UofM for talent
-Opportunity to really transform a city with potential, instead of just being a cog in it [[I understand the negative connotations that come with this as well).
-Proximity to Big 3, which could be an interesting tech partnership
-Low cost of living
TRU posted on their FB that one of their requirements is direct access to a transit stop. So yeah, no we're not getting this. A Woodward SMART stop in the thick of grass or a DDOT route that doesn't run [[and both using 25 year old buses) on time is not a viable option for Amazon.
It's possible with Gilbert as the ambassador of attracting business. I think the Coast cities are out like NYC or SF. Way too expensive to build and operate. I'd narrow the cities to Atlanta or Chicago. Any Texas city and possibly Denver as runner ups.
Detroit definitely performs well as a knowledge center, has a global airport, and relatively good for business. But it's greatly lacking in its technology eco-system, and also lacks the ancillary services and inventory of good residential stock to support 50,000 employees.
There's one issue with Amazon picking Detroit and the city and region lacks regional transit. Amazon's RFP wants direct access to rail, train, subway/metro and bus routes at the site. Detroit has just the QLine and People Mover and bus routes. No subway, no mass transit.
https://www.facebook.com/DetroitTransit/posts/1466058093484178
If Detroit were to not be picked, this would be the reason why. I truly hope Amazon looks past that and picks Detroit though.
There are several dozen cities that would be good hosts for this "second HQ", and Detroit is in that list of two dozen or so.
That being said, Amazon is probably going to take that list and award it to whoever on the list has the biggest checkbook of public subsidies. So unless the State or someone else wants to throw bonko public dollars at attracting this, Amazon will overlook us and just go to somewhere else that will.
Look at how much Wisconsin just spent on FoxedConn... and this is an even bigger economic stimulus.
Will Amazon expect states to engage in a Foxconn type bidding war?
Exactly. But it will be billed as an economic investment, and sugar coated as much as can be to minimize the public tax dollar scrutiny. We can talk about transit, crime, and other issues, but the reason Detroit probably won't get this is because some other city will pay more for it.
Don't get me wrong, I believe that attracting this would be worth "some" amount of tax dollar subsidy. The issue is that someone else will overpay.... as someone always does.
I think online shopping is ruining America, but I'd like to see this downtown. Welcome, Amazon, overlords. We'll roll out the red carpet for you.
Just heard the mayor of Toronto on the radio saying he would do everything in his power to attract Amazon. Toronto checks all the boxes. It would be interesting to see Trump's reaction if they picked Canada.
Their are a variety of boxes ticked indeed, and many good strategic reasons to pick Toronto.
But, if this is dependent on big freebies, Toronto is very limited in what it can give, and I'm not sure about the optics for Ontario or the Can. Feds handing over billions, even for this.
In terms of the sheer size of the workforce, you're likely limited to about the top 10 Metro areas; apply a 'tech' lens over that, and it shrinks to maybe 5 or 6.
Of course, that depends on the speed of build-out.
Wherever they choose to locate, its a game-changer for that area. Provided they don't spend too much to attract the prize, it would be for the better.
It think the 50k employee number is a bit fluffy,their million plus sqft foot distribution centers have around 2500 employees and lots of robots.
Does a headquarters really use 50,000 employees,no city could handle that influx rapidly.
Unless they build up that is a very large piece of land they need,I am thinking the whole aero park thing,close to the airport,the new bridge,rail and distribution right there,easy enough for drone launch.
I also think somebody is going to pay dearly for their presence and they started a bidding war.
I still do not get them though Ali-baba shows billions in profit but yet Amazon shows little,I also do not use them because they like to throw the little guy under the bus in the race to the cheapest product.Even when they are not.
Probably, and subsidies will be part of the formula, but definitely not the deciding factor. They will go to a place where an educated population wants to live and work. That's entirely the reason why certain businesses thrive in super expensive cities.
Foxconn is manufacturing and could have gone anywhere. HQ's need to be close to global airport hubs and fit within the economic ecosystem. Cities that are lacking in Amazon's criteria will try to sweeten the deal with tax breaks and publicly funded infrastructure improvements.
In Chicago's case, the city has 4,000,000 square feet of the state of the art, amenity rich technology office space above major rail stations coming online in the next two years....all of it nearly contiguous with a guaranteed delivery date. Plus tens of thousands of new apartment and condos in 52 skyscrapers under construction for that future workforce. And the cherry on top, a well connected global airport nearly at the top of most international flight in the US.
Kind of hard for many cities to say "come locate here" and have nothing to show for it.
I'm by no means convinced it will go here for a variety of reasons [[lesser tax incentives, optics in the U.S.) etc.
However, I don't think your argument is good one.
What they have said they want is access to higher-order transit, a global airport, a large supply of tech talent etc.
Toronto certainly checks those boxes, including being the global leader in A.I.
Another matter is considering what they haven't stated as clearly, access to global talent [[easier in Canada).
Lower corporate taxes [[much), particularly of note is that we allow repatriation of profits from other countries without double-taxing.
Also one may wish to add resilience [[an HQ not in an earthquake zone maybe......which would disqualify the Bay area)
***
All that said, I think at this point a US HQ is more likely......
But I wouldn't rule Toronto out. There's a massive office complex planned for east of downtown, which would have a dedicated subway stop and regional rail stop.....almost a perfect fit.
Would this be a possible interesting solution to putting City Airport back into service? I don't know the area around DET, but heard that there were many old rail lines if that would be of any use. I know that they cannot land big planes there due to the short and narrow runways.
I thought the fight on the east side was hoarding property to extend the runways,piggyback to a airport would be ideal.
Here they contract delivery to Fed-X and USPS which would also need rail and flight hubs and trucking.
Imagine a parking lot alone that holds 50,000 cars,it would be,we need to tear down all of these old buildings to make more parking lots.
This would definitely a massive game changer.
And don't be too sure about this being a long shot. Detroit has quite a bit going for it:
1. Low cost of living for a city its size [[which would allow them to pay lower salaries to employees as well as attract talent who's turned off by Seattle's COL).
2. DTW being a Delta hub [[so is Seattle, which means a ton of direct flights between the cities).
3. Proximity to the University of Michigan
While Detroit is lacking in mass transit, one thing it does have going to it is an excellent road system that most cities lack [[including Seattle). That would make it convenient for them to live in the suburbs and commute.
The fact that you can get to most areas within the Metro area in roughly 30-45 minutes, even during rush hour, speaks to this fact.
Part of me thinks this is a stunt by Amazon to put pressure on Seattle, but if not then I would put Detroit's chances comfortably in the top 10, if not top 5.
Detroit has:
Population
Proximity to education
Relative low cost of living
Large airport and easy access to other population centers
Transit is the only box that it doesn't check well, and the only cities I can think of that would be able to do that well and still provide relatively lower costs of living are Chicago and Philly.
My guess is that the top competitors would look something like:
1. Chicago or Dallas
2. Toronto
3. Philadelphia
4. Atlanta or Charlotte
5. Detroit or Pittsburgh
This is true, and it's uncertain whether this will be a deal breaker. Furthermore, let's not forget similar companies that cluster in the SF Bay Area aren't tied directly to mass transit. And transit in Seattle is pretty weak. But the future is in transit, so Detroit should at least guarantee all this commuter rail or LRT expansion become a real thing, not 10 years from now, but now.
Atlanta, with MARTA and the rail line to/from Hartsfield-Jackson, has "good enough" transit. Obviously, if you plan to live out in the suburbs, then you'd be right. But since the end of the recession, Atlanta's Midtown is really developing into a decent option for urban living.
As to the tax issue, I would not be shocked if tax breaks are offered to Amazon by willing suters. BTW, Amazon got about $14.2 million in breaks from the state of Washington between 2012 and 2015.
Bham1982......but they do in Seattle. Amazon is very green, and the light rail from Seattle [[and Tacoma) to Sea-Tac is well used.
Ok fun dream. Where?
Would Monroe block work for a shared HQ of this magnitude? RenCen parking lots? They would need BIG space and a very prominent location...
I would go all in for this one, whatever it takes if its possible.
A Washington Post article suggests:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.77b1697eedfa
"“The fact that Amazon is even considering Canada and Mexico shows how important politics has become in the site-selection process,” said John Boyd, a Princeton, N.J.-based location consultant whose clients include Boeing, Chevron and JPMorgan Chase. “This is a high-profile search, and Amazon has an incredible amount of wherewithal to influence state and federal legislation.”Toronto, where it is easier to hire foreign workers than in the United States, could be a top contender for Amazon’s new headquarters, according to Boyd. [[Other areas he thinks are likely: New Jersey, South Florida, Northern Virginia, Atlanta.)"
I don't want to be unkind to South Florida, facing Irma, but I would think locating where huge hurricanes are possible is a negative.
No Va. has the subway line going out to Dulles international airport in 2020 or 21 [[this is phase II of an expansion). So it has great mass transit, access to a major airport, and an area with a lot of office parks. For those familiar with No. Va., think Tysons Corner area and all the new construction going up along the expanded subway line [[Silver line, for those curious).
Cost of living and cost of labor are big negatives.
EDIT: Dulles has non-stops to SEA via a couple airlines [[Alaska and United). And, of course, Bezos owns the Washington Post so he already has a company in D.C.
New Center, Riverfront, FoxTown parking lots would be possibilities.
According to this, Detroit's airport is ranked at the bottom amongst possible contenders [[I wonder why?).
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/07/here...dquarters.html
Detroit has a few advantages.
Cost of living is low. This means they can pay lower salaries than in say NYC. Scaling those savings over 50,000 employees would save them a lot of money.
Amazon wants to get into self driving vehicles for their delivery stuff, and being in Detroit would be great for that.
Land is much cheaper and easier to acquire. Apparently Amazon wants 500,000 square feet for the initial phase but ultimately 8 million. For reference, One Detroit Center is 1.6 million. Detroit is probably the only city where they could build a large skyscraper campus right in a downtown for a low cost.
I also think Detroit can provide an urban experience especially after the growth that Amazon itself would inspire. But I think there's a lot of CS people who don't really want to live in San Francisco or NYC or Seattle and drink expensive coffee. In Detroit you can work downtown and live cheaply in the suburbs with a short commute and a big yard and a dog. Or you could even buy a prewar mansion in the city with a big yard and a dog.
And for however much the HQ location makes any difference, Detroit's branding would help counter their "global corporate overlords" image.
Detroit also has a bunch of disadvantages which we already know too well. There's a lot of great cities to choose from. I won't be mad as long as it's not Atlanta. :p
Opportunity Detroit's Instagram feed just confirmed that Dan Gilbert is going to try and woo Amazon here. So there's that.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/07/da...hq-in-detroit/
It did get one thing wrong. Comerica's HQ is in Dallas, not Detroit.
Well, short answer no. Mass transit is probably going to be a deal breaker, but Detroit Metro area does have a lot of the qualifications they are looking for. But as I've read in a few articles this morning, Michigan does not have a shovel ready plot of land large enough for Amazon. It might sound crazy, but their timeline doesn't allow for brownfield redevelopment, land procurement, etc. It needs to be 100% development ready today, and we simply just don't have that.
Maybe Gores can pitch them the Palace :rolleyes:
Mass Transit might not be a deal breaker for the fact of privatization, Gilbert along w amazon could strike a deal that the city and state would go for connecting the Q-Line to the A-Line. Along with whatever millions to billions in tax breaks and free land. Of course there are negatives that come down the line, one of these states will eventually go bankrupt because of corporate welfare.
Instead of the Palace, think Silverdome. No major downtown core is going to have this much land. I can't think of anywhere in the Toronto area. The land behind Foxtown is a little smaller than the MGM space but still not nearly large enough. Maybe if you split it between Foxtown and the fail jail site. That would really put a monkey wrench into things.
Toronto has the former Unilver factory site at DVP & Lakeshore. Its proposed as an all-office campus w/13M square feet of office space.
The other choice near downtown would be the Oxford Towers proposal behind the existing convention centre, over the railway corridor. It originally envisioned only 2.5M sq ft of office, but had hotel, residential and other uses. Total size was about 7M sq ft.
Maybe one way to shape this discussion is do like what was done after Pope Benedict resigned. Pundits came up with the 'Sistine Sixteen' [[like the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tourney and picked winners in the brackets until a likely Pope was picked. [[BTW, I doubt few had Cardinal Bergoglio in their bracket because of his advanced age).
It might be fun to come up with bracket:
1). "Beyond the Borders": Toronto vs. Mexico.
2). Southeast bracket: Miami vs. Atlanta.
3). The "D's": Detroit vs. D.C. [[actually No. Virginia). Or maybe the "B1G" [[Big 10 states and put in say Chicago and Detroit for that bracket).
4). "Texas Twos": Austin vs. Dallas.
Etc. and then get to the Elite Eight, Final Four and so on...
This may sound hokey, but I'll bet that Amazon will 'bracket' the cities in some logical order, e.g., Toronto and Mexico City, maybe southeastern cities like Atlanta and Miami, etc. and narrow it down and then come up with say four semi-finalists and then let them go head to head on individual rating factors.
Say, we want to be in the continental 48 states, want to be close or far from Seattle, close or far from D.C., [[maybe) near or far from where hurricanes hit, etc.
E.g., "If we locate in Mexico City, Trump will... [[expletive deleted)".
My guess would be this:
1. Trump declares war against Canada via Twitter
2. Huckabee-Sanders denies that we have declared war against Canada
3. Golf weekend
4. Press conference in front of gold colored things where he re-declares war
5. Huckabee-Sanders yells at media for creating false Canada-war narrative
6. Trump tweets good things about Putin
7. Golf weekend
Surprised you didn't put No Va. on the list:
1). Very large metropolitan area.
2). Education: George Mason is close [[almost like WSU for Detroit), maybe 5 miles from a possible site and University of Maryland is literally on the subway route. Maryland is a Big Ten university.
3). COL [[cost of living): Negative for No. Va. BUT a location near the Dulles Airport would lessen costs.
4). Airport: The subway system when completed will run next to Dulles [[walking distance). Dulles is an international airport.
In a few years, someone will be able to fly into Dulles, walk to the subway, board the Silver line and take the subway to the White House, Capitol Hill, etc. all just a few BLOCK walk.
On this Wikipedia map, Dulles is on the SILVER line [[left side of the map); Univ. of Maryland on the upper right side on the GREEN line.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...o_Map_2013.svg
The only thing at this point that could be a deal breaker is the transit, but DG may be able to paint a picture of a more transit friendly Detroit.
From what I read phase one of the HQ needs to be 800k square feet. That just so happens to be the footage of Monroe Block that will put shovels in the ground early next year. It would be easy and quick for Amazon to step into that building. They could build out the rest of the site as planned for Monroe or they could alter it to reflect future needs for the company.
I believe I also read that Amazon stated the site doesn't have to be contiguous. It looks like they would prefer to be in an urban setting and understand having that much land available would be tricky. If you were to say put them at Monroe Block then in a cluster of buildings along the riverfront where GM and DG are planning things I have no doubt they would be fine with that arrangement. I also doubt many other cities could offer up prime riverfront property for them as well.
I would be shocked if their interest in the Detroit area included places like the Silverdome or Palace site. Every indication for me is that this is a company that understands what young tech workers are looking for and it isn't going to be found far out in the suburbs.
For the first [[or second) time, I completely agree with you.
When one looks at the available 'blocks' in downtown Detroit it isn't too hard to come up with a nice assortment of blocks. All could be within walking or shuttle distance of each other.
And I really wonder if mass transit is a deal breaker for Detroit? In Detroit most of the big assets are located along the QLine. It isn't like employees will be attending meetings all over the city.
DTW isn't too far away and who knows CYA could be more utilized.
If the educational status of the workforce is a key criteria, then having UofM 35 miles away is a big plus. UofM is a world-class university and I'd guess that Amazon would salivate to pick the cream of the UofM crop. And, of course, Wayne State would be a few miles away and that gives them access to the R&D expertise there. A business school say a mile from the headquarters building.
Something not discussed: Climate. Detroit's climate is a lot harsher than Seattle's. Don't know how Bezos feels about sub-zero temps.
I think there is no way that Amazon chooses Miami, Houston, or any other disaster prone region. If they are serious about splitting up the sphere of influence away from Seattle then I assume one of the things they are most concerned about is business continuity in the event of a disaster.
Indeed, NoVa out by Tysons Corner is very much a HEADQUARTERS type environment.
No way would someone put something as big as Amazon in downtown D.C. Downtown is completely built up and not possible to get a lot of build-able space there.
What would make No Va work is that even thou it is suburban it doesn't fell like it. Tysons Corner is like a 2nd downtown for the D.C. area.
Remember a few years back when Boeing was floating around this idea?
Amazon would end up in Chicago if they choose the midwest. Otherwise I would bet on Texas.
Miami and Texas are at the end of the supply chain,Georgia has 8 distribution centers already,the company goal is distribution saturation
for quick delivery.
Looking at it like that or logistics wise,Michigan has one sorting center and no distribution centers,covering a lot of territory,way less then the other states.
It maybe easier to narrow down if one finds an underserved market that has the most potential to add coverage over a broader erea and still being able to maintain next day delivery including Whole Foods delivery.
Maybe there is a dark zone in there,if in Detroit how much of Canada and the U.S. Could be served within two day or next day delivery.
401 suggested the Silverdome, that could be interesting.
127acres of land available. 2 miles from Pontiac city center, 3 miles from CN rail yard [[cross boarder freight service,) 10 miles from Pontiac Oakland airport [[major freight airport.) 40mins from D via train.
Mass transit in area is a no but I would think something could be put together.
BTW, this is Bezos' 'second house', kind of a second home for him and his family.
Built in 1912. It was re-purposed from a museum to a super expensive house.
This to me is the big kicker: Does Bezos want his 2nd headquarters near his 2nd home??? [[and the home of his newspaper, Washington Post).
http://www.townandcountrymag.com/lei...washington-dc/
http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...oit/411588001/
This story in no way indicates anything, but it did get me thinking. If Bezos is looking to make an impact there is no better place then Detroit. Amazon could employ a great deal of Detroiters and work to tackle poverty and create a new model for corporate citizens.
Pretty cool house,he owns WAPO so that makes sense.
He has a island in Hawaii,that kind of money house collecting becomes a hobby,he could build a 50 million dollar estate for an overnight stay in Michigan without sneezing.
But I would think if that was the case it would be decided and not looking.
Agree. Folks like Gilbert, Bezos, etc. sometimes have bigger agendas than a quick buck or million or billion...
I think the bottom line is that a number of cities could meet the 'mininum requirements' that Amazon set out.
Hell, if mass transit is an issue, Bezos and Gilbert could pony up 50 - 100M and expand the QLine. Do Jefferson and Michigan Ave. and have a bunch of UofM grads living in Corktown.
It would be such a 'game changer' for Detroit that spending a hundred or two hundred million [[of someone's money, maybe even some of the money Amazon would get) on infrastructure would pay off.
This would be the CROWN JEWEL of Detroit's comeback. IF it were to happen, other corporates would go after other vacant land in the downtown area to be 'where the action is.'
I'm going to sit on the fence here. I'd be happy if Amazon chose either Detroit OR No.Va. If they choose No.Va. it would most likely be in the county I live or maybe a little further out, closer to Dulles Airport.
If it is Detroit, it would probably be the best single day for Detroit maybe in its history.
Detroit can be a good city to hold Amazon's second headquarter. Detroit is the only centrally located city which also has another country only 3 miles away across the pond. Detroit had a lot of land to build an Amazon headquarter cheaper than leading or building one in the other mentioned cities. Detroit as well as Southeastern Michigan need to improve the regional transit to make the city more appealing to Amazon. I could see it being built in Midtown not too far from Amtrak. Bring out those smaller shuttle cars that were going to be used in the railroad tracks before Granholm them Snyder mothballed the idea and the railcars. Detroit had one thing and that's open land near downtown
Piggybacking on what you are saying Steve, who is to say that the future of mass transit isn't autonomous vehicles? Gilbert is doing a test run of the tech this October downtown. In addition to that he may be selling not the Detroit of today, but the progress and potential of the Detroit of tomorrow. I'd be showing where the city was five years ago downtown and following that by showing Bezos what it will look like in a few years. That trajectory is impressive and may be enough to show them that they are getting in on the ground floor of something special.
If you couldn't tell im feeling optimistic today.
Agree, Detroit AND Southeast MI have some unique pluses, including autonomous vehicles, Gilbert, UofM, etc.
Gilbert just might carry a lot of water for the city.
If Bezos wants a ready-made city with virtually everything anyone could want, NoVa is it.
If Bezos wants a city where he could make a huge impact by leveraging what is waiting to be tapped [[in S.E. Michigan), then Detroit would be an excellent choice.
Announce that Amazon is coming and plan an expansion of the QLine and start building multi-family housing along Michigan Ave.
Detroit would have a real growth in millenials as a lot of UofM, MSU, etc. grads head to Detroit.
There are plenty of educated people to draw from in the Metro and nearby communities as well as Detroit itself. You don't tackle poverty day one and if Amazon is planning a new HQ there aren't going to be 50,000 employees here overnight. It is something you can cultivate though.
Problem is I think people are thinking too far into the future. Preparations for Amazon's arrival need to be done by next year with accelerated growth afterword. Support systems need to be in place now, not later. Millions of square feet of modem office space need to be ready months from now. It can't just be designed and built from scratch. It's taking McDoanlds over three years from design to opening date on an accelerated schedule for an HQ in downtown Chicago. Design, permits, construction all take time. Does Detroit have 500,000 sqft + of ready and expandable space for modern offices? Where will people park? Is there flexible growth areas nearby?
Clearly, this is quite doable. Runways can be expanded. [[See CAY's attempts -- just move a few graves), and land can be acquired [[See Citizens United). But the political will won't exist. The mere serious discussion here on CAY Jr. as Mayor proves that we haven't let go of the ghosts of racism past. Marathon expands. Evil is found. Pacific Northwest Whites move into the East Side? The cries of racism will rise to the heavens -- and the jobs go elsewhere.
I like Toronto. Amazon sees itself as a global firm. Our laws are chasing the Cloud [[see AWS) away with privacy rules. And we do restrict the world's smartest minds from entering the US to work -- preferring to squander our immigration efforts on other things. So a near-American spot with brains and subways might work.
My best guess is that it'll be Denver. Have you seen the space around their airport? And the rapid transit line? 15 min. service [[30 overnight). Have you seen the space around their airport?
Sorry for the pivot to No Virginia, but here is an excellent article which provides context of what Detroit will be up against in at least one area [[I know nothing of Denver, Chicago, etc.).
Here is what is happening along the subway extension deep into Fairfax County to Dulles Airport and Loudon County.
The first extension opened in 2014. The second part, including Dulles Airport, will be complete in 2020.
"Three years after its splashy opening, the first phase of Metro’s Silver Line has met with mixed success, fueling an unprecedented building boom in areas adjacent to its five new stations but struggling to attract riders.Since 2014, 11 new high-rises have been built in Tysons Corner, and more than 2 million more square feet of development is in the pipeline. Big-name companies, including Intelsat, have relocated to Tysons, attracted by the promise of a walkable urban neighborhood with easy access to public transportation."
TWO MILLION Square feet of construction in the pipeline. This area has been on a building spree once the first part of the two-part subway extension came on line [[2014).
Quite frankly, Bezos could get in his limo and take a look at what is going up now.
[BTW, for context, the subway problems were decades of deferred maintenance and they had to single track, shutdown both tracks, etc. over a long period of time [[think 18 months) to do a tremendous amount of maintenance/replacement work which made the subway system a TOTAL MESS. Folks abandoned the subway system for their cars. Ridership was down substantially. It is finally over.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...=.da9995288c73
Are they simply looking for space available now or a place where they can expand? It sounds like they have a two decade plan which makes me think that they would like to move soon but not necessarily in months. I imagine a two year timeline for Monroe would work for them and allow them to accumulate talent to hit the ground running as well as planning future expansion.
I assume that college educated personnel shouldn't be a problem for Detroit.
Plenty of college graduates each year from universities in Detroit, Washtenaw and Oakland counties, E. Lansing, etc. [[plus a lot of CMU, WMU, GVSU, etc. grads come from Metro Detroit).
They need greater employment opportunities in metro Detroit.
That's a very good point.
While everyone's focused on trying to find his huge piece of contiguous land that Amazon can build some suburban-esque structures on, in Seattle, their "headquarters" consists of multiple high rises scattered throughout the city.
As I said earlier, plop down a few 40-60 story buildings around the Lafayette Block and/or Bricktown then we can call it a day.
Why not Hudson or Monroe block? Can tailor it to Amazons exact specifications.
I thought the Hudson Block was supposed to be residential? Also, I thought the Monroe Block would be reserved for Gilbert's companies that are running out of space downtown?
In any event, I'd rather whatever Amazon develops be in addition to the plans Gilbert has for the Monroe / Hudson blocks. That way we can focus on actively filling the other surface lots around downtown with new and *tall* developments.
Hudson Block will only have a few floors of actual office space. But it could be an interesting main building for them.
According to the RFP it says there's an initial requirement of 500,000 sqft for phase 1 in 2019. Preference will be shown to cities that meet this requirement OR greenfield site that has adequate enough infrastructure to meet development demands. So yeah, better get going on those Hudsons and Monroe block projects. I'm just worried about the painfully slow development timelines of so many past and current office projects.
If Amazon agrees to come here I imagine you would see some sped up timelines, especially if Gilbert is involved. Hell DG would move his employees out of the city temporarily if it meant freeing up enough space for Amazon to start in 2019 until other options are available.
Did someone say they could use an extra empty block? ;)
All this talk is so exciting and so fitting for a city with such heritage and on its monumental rebound. What a way to usher in the rebirth with an entirely new industry, look and feel. I'm very proud about what's already happened recently and excited about what potential Detroit has in future. Looking forward to finally moving down once my place is built.
I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but I've always wished a company such as or similar to amazon would just renovate, fill and expand the whole Packard Plant site. Not only would a historic structure see a new life, but a new neighborhood that is almost entirely gutted could be rebuilt which would further rationalize rapid transit planning from downtown to neighborhoods.
An exploratory and PUBLIC RELATIONS strategy meeting over Detroit's bid should be called immediately by the principals, Mayor, Gilbert, Council members, for anyone who could have a microphone shoved in their face to weigh in.
Obviously this will be a highly competitive situation between possible locations and It's critical nobody go on the record saying something off the cuff that could be interpreted as wrong, stupid, selfish etc... [[ there is a long list of what you don't want to say publicly) that could be used against Detroit by the competition.
Immediately should be like on Saturday this weekend.
Showing intelligence and sounding the same will make a difference in this race of many cities throughout the process.
An exploratory and PUBLIC RELATIONS strategy meeting over Detroit's bid should be called immediately by the principals, Mayor, Gilbert, Council members, for anyone who could have a microphone shoved in their face to weigh in.
Obviously this will be a highly competitive situation between possible locations and It's critical nobody go on the record saying something off the cuff that could be interpreted as wrong, stupid, selfish etc... [[ there is a long list of what you don't want to say publicly) that could be used against Detroit by the competition.
Immediately should be this weekend.
Showing intelligence and sounding the same will make a difference in this race of many cities throughout the process.
I also would like to see something dramatic happen around Cadillac Place and the Fischer building. I can imagine a very strong integration of older buildings within a modern day framework. Detroit definitely has a lot of opportunity to build one or a couple of campuses incrementally, and match the beautiful clusters of older skyscrapers with new stunners. A nice necklace of buildings amid vast greenspaces from downtown to midtown and New Center.
I'm rooting for Detroit, even if Montreal is competing for the high stakes prize.
It might help a bit to understand a little about Jeff Bezos. The guy is willing to take a chance, and has invested in things that are not sure things like Blue Origin, his manned spacecraft indevor, and The Washington Post. He was an early investor in Google, and nobody out here [[I live in Washington and what Amazon does, like Boeing, is BIG news) has figured out the Whole Foods thing. Bezos is a bit unpredictable [[but a good businessman) and the idea of Detroit as a hub is not as far fetched as it may seem.
Groceries and drones,call in on your way home and dinner is waiting,no need for a wife.
How big is the jail site?
It's considered sexist to expect your wife to cook 🙄
How about the old Douglass Brewster?
I will admit, I was a bit irritated to find out that both Ann Arbor and Oakland County are submitting their own separate bids. For all intents and purposes, being a part of Metro Detroit, they would be far better served if they poured their energy into a Detroit bid [[as a stronger Detroit that's competitive with cities like Dallas or Atlanta will no doubt significantly benefit housing values in Oakland County and the University of Michigan).
I feel the same about Grand Rapids as well. Although it's slightly bigger and technically on the west side of the state, they don't even have the big city infrastructure Amazon desires.
IMO, it should be a combined statewide effort by all to get this in Detroit [[who needs it more than any city), especially downtown Detroit. No ifs, ands or buts.
Of course Oakland County would do that. Sigh.
I wonder if the Detroit bid could get the blessing of Gov. Snyder's office. If it appears that state government is behind Detroit Amazon may completely dismiss the other local bids. I could see AA being an appealing place for them.
Every city in the country is bidding. Google Minneapolis, Philly, etc. etc. and you will get a flood of articles on why they think they can win.
Folks [[cities) need to be honest in their hopes. There might be dozens of contestants and ONE winner. So any one cities chances might be say 5 or at best 10%.
It would be completely suicidal for any one area to have multiple bids.
In the case of S.E. Michigan, Oakland and Washtenaw would need to let Gilbert carry the water and he'd do it for Detroit.
Oakland needs to realize if Detroit gets the HQ 2, a lot of the workers would live in OC and Ann Arbor realize that it would provide good employment hopes for UofM grads.
The Palace site would be a complete anathema to Gilbert.
Cost wise, I think Newark would have a better chance. Plus I am not sure Amazon would want to have a second HQ in New York for risk of having it overshadow the original HQ, but JC is just an extension of Manhattan. Newark is close enough to benefit from proximity to NYC but just far enough to establish boundaries.
Oakland County has a 0% chance at landing this by itself. But if it makes sense to propose any place in s/e Michigan besides Detroit then it would be Ann Arbor.
Maybe Detroit and Windsor should do a joint proposal. That's certainly something they could both play up to trump Toronto.