Amazon Looking for a new HQ - Detroit-Windsor Bid Rejected

[emu steve]

Easy. Over 100 cities have submitted formal bids.

Even if you believe Detroit to be the ideal, perfect candidate [[a laughable assumption), you would have to be pretty damn Pollyannish to believe in such dim odds. That doesn't mean the city shouldn't try, though.

It may shock you, Bham1982, but I was going to post something similar.

Lot of very capable cities might be looking at a 5 - 8% chance simply because they meet the requirements but don't stand out.

[Tig3rzhark]

It's interesting to find out that Detroit is trying to add windsor together to file for the amazon hq2.

That could add to Detroit's chances, and it could bring forth more motivation for better public transit around here.

Even more, making a deal with transit windsor to work together internationally to make amazon set its hq2 here would be great.

[313WX]

It's interesting to find out that Detroit is trying to add windsor together to file for the amazon hq2.

That could add to Detroit's chances, and it could bring forth more motivation for better public transit around here.

Even more, making a deal with transit windsor to work together internationally to make amazon set its hq2 here would be great.

Yes, the prospect of having a dual-nation HQ in a major metropolitan area could very well be Detroit's Trump Card against the other cities.

[313WX]

Below is a good article from Crain's regarding the Amazon bid.

If nothing else, it has really turbo charged the push for regional transit, as Duggan and Gilbert are actively working with the state legislature to possibly get the RTA millage back on the ballot next year.

Just as well, they're working with a team to help polish the turd we call transit in our Amazon bid the best way they can.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...azon-bid-focus

[313WX]

BTW, I'm not sure if it was mentioned, but I thought it was interesting that Richard Florida picked Detroit as his sleeper city.

https://twitter.com/Richard_Florida/...95019902631938

Despite how vocal as the doom and gloomers have been on this forum, from reading news articles and forums in other cities, quite a few people share the same feeling [[or should I say "concern") as Richard as far as Detroit being the dark horse.

While Detroit has a ton of issues and wouldn't be the most polished choice, it frankly does check most of the boxes and everyone knows it has the bones to compete with the Bostons, Atlantas and Chicagos. All the city needs is one good shot of prosperity to become a force to reckon with, and Amazon would bring that.

[Zads07]

Throwing this out there as an idea. If Amazon wants a big campus near downtown, there's a pretty good spot on the border of downtown. The World Trade Center. It's the giant building off the Lodge and 6th St.

http://www.wtcdw.com/



I don't know if it's occupied or not or how many stories it is, but a large structure surrounded by empty lots.

[313WX]

Throwing this out there as an idea. If Amazon wants a big campus near downtown, there's a pretty good spot on the border of downtown. The World Trade Center. It's the giant building off the Lodge and 6th St.

http://www.wtcdw.com/



I don't know if it's occupied or not or how many stories it is, but a large structure surrounded by empty lots.

I would support that [[over the Hudson / Monroe block). It would activate that part of downtown in one fell swoop.

Do you know who currently owns the building? Last I heard, MDOT had some offices in there [[which would suggest the property is state-owned or leased).

[313WX]

Per the comments in the below forum, it looks like most of the Toledo folks are pulling for Detroit to get this as well.

http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/...d_headquarters

Besides some spinoff development possibly landing there, Amazon's shot of investment will likely kickstart more sprawl Downriver [[proximity to airport and far less traffic coming northward into the city on I-75 than from Oakland County or on I-94 in Macomb County) that would spill into Monroe County.

[Zads07]

I would support that [[over the Hudson / Monroe block). It would activate that part of downtown in one fell swoop.

Do you know who currently owns the building? Last I heard, MDOT had some offices in there [[which would suggest the property is state-owned or leased).

Found more information on the property.

http://www.1200sixthstreet.com/

Approx. 610,000 sq ft among the two towers, 9.5 acre site. The website says the owner is 1200 Sixth Street, LLC.

[MicrosoftFan]

Per the comments in the below forum, it looks like most of the Toledo folks are pulling for Detroit to get this as well.

http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/...d_headquarters

Besides some spinoff development possibly landing there, Amazon's shot of investment will likely kickstart more sprawl Downriver [[proximity to airport and far less traffic coming northward into the city on I-75 than from Oakland County or on I-94 in Macomb County) that would spill into Monroe County.

As a Downriver resident, I can also testify about how impossibly cheap Downriver is. $80k for a three bedroom ranch a two car garage in some neighborhoods. Prices are awesome once you get off the Island.

Also, does anyone from outside Downriver know what "the island" is?

[313WX]

Found more information on the property.

http://www.1200sixthstreet.com/

Approx. 610,000 sq ft among the two towers, 9.5 acre site. The website says the owner is 1200 Sixth Street, LLC.

My suggestion would be to put the bug in Gilbert's [[or whoever's involved in organizing the big) ear. I like it.

[313WX]

As a Downriver resident, I can also testify about how impossibly cheap Downriver is. $80k for a three bedroom ranch a two car garage in some neighborhoods. Prices are awesome once you get off the Island.

Also, does anyone from outside Downriver know what "the island" is?

Downriver has been kind of neglected over the last few decades because of Detroit proper's decline, with the center of employment having shifted northward into Oakland County and Southern Macomb County.

It would benefit the most from Amazon coming here and establishing itself downtown.

I'm looking at Carleton, Huron Township, Frenchtown Township and Berlin Township specifically. Will probably see a ton of developers come along interested in building subdivisions for those Amazon employees who want a suburban lifestyle.

[hybridy]

Cheap does not equate to desirable. The metro area isn't growing. Infrastructure is shit. Public education is embarrassing. And public transit was voted down. City/suburb relations are icy. Tell me things aren't real issues

[313WX]

The metro area isn't growing. Infrastructure is shit. Public education is embarrassing. And public transit was voted down. City/suburb relations are icy. Tell me things aren't real issues

Well of course.

That's what happens when your only economic engine is slowly shrinking while simultaneously rapidly branching away from the area, and thus there's very little capital investment [[and creation of good jobs) happening locally.

All that would change with an economic injection the size of Amazon HQ2.

[hybridy]

Several former middle class burbs aren't gentrifying and the sprawl machine churns on. Blight remains a staggering concern in several big cities. The economy hasn't diversified. We have new stadiums and beautiful natural resources...these are things we care about. Amazon does not care about natural water, dunes or hockey.

Educated millennial like myself have choices. I came to MI built a career life and family. The taxes, commute, and living costs were too high for better than comparison in any other sizable Midwest metro...if Michigan can't get me to stay, then there's bigger systemic issues than amazon.

[313WX]

Several former middle class burbs aren't gentrifying and the sprawl machine churns on. Blight remains a staggering concern in several big cities. The economy hasn't diversified. We have new stadiums and beautiful natural resources...these are things we care about. Amazon does not care about natural water, dunes or hockey.

To repeat, well of course.

That's what happens when your only economic engine is slowly shrinking while simultaneously rapidly branching away from the area, and thus there's very little capital investment [[and creation of good jobs) happening locally.

EDIT: And also very few transplants who can bring along their ideas and creativity to help the city / region / state prosper.

All that would change with an economic injection the size of Amazon HQ2.

[hybridy]

Just like porn, nostalgia doesn't sell. Also I took my 'ideas' and real estate profits and put them to use elsewhere like thousands of others before me. Just trying to bring some frankness and practicality to the discussion. Example, can't Gary, IN make many of the same pros that detroit does?

[313WX]

Below is commentary on why a city should *NOT* want Amazon.

Frankly, I'll take these problems any day over the problems hybridy listed.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1BS0FR

[hybridy]

I signed the gerrymandering petition at eastern market this weekend...and watched dozens of others. Misrepresentation and voter suppression is a national crisis.

[313WX]

Educated millennial like myself have choices. I came to MI built a career life and family. The taxes, commute, and living costs were too high for better than comparison in any other sizable Midwest metro...if Michigan can't get me to stay, then there's bigger systemic issues than amazon.

What you're getting at is a chicken vs. egg paradox.

Michigan simply can't address these issues you raised without healthy, growing companies producing a ton of good-paying jobs [[that's what really makes cities like Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas great) that generate a ton of tax revenue and bring in a ton of outsiders.

[Jason]

The taxes, commute, and living costs were too high for better than comparison in any other sizable Midwest metro

I know you qualified this with "midwest", but still, are you saying taxes, commute, and living costs are better in LA, or San Jose, or NYC? Or Seattle? This might literally be the first time I've heard someone complain about Detroit's commute times from a national or international perspective.

[313WX]

I know you qualified this with "midwest", but still, are you saying taxes, commute, and living costs are better in LA, or San Jose, or NYC? Or Seattle? This might literally be the first time I've heard someone complain about Detroit's commute times from a national or international perspective.

I think he was trying to get at overall quality of life.

But yeah, complaining about commute or living costs in particular is odd.

I was driving down I-75 coming from work the other day around 4pm on a weekday and there were hardly any rush hour traffic backups. For a metro area of 5+ million people, you can't beat that with a stick.

[mtburb]

Per the comments in the below forum, it looks like most of the Toledo folks are pulling for Detroit to get this as well.

http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/...d_headquarters

Besides some spinoff development possibly landing there, Amazon's shot of investment will likely kickstart more sprawl Downriver [[proximity to airport and far less traffic coming northward into the city on I-75 than from Oakland County or on I-94 in Macomb County) that would spill into Monroe County.

It'll get interesting when the day comes that there will be no more agricultural land on I-75 between Detroit and Toledo, just miles of endless Macomb Township-style subdivisions. By that point, the main definition of Metro Detroit will definitely add Monroe County plus the Toledo area's counties.

[313WX]

It'll get interesting when the day comes that there will be no more agricultural land on I-75 between Detroit and Toledo, just miles of endless Macomb Township-style subdivisions. By that point, the main definition of Metro Detroit will definitely add Monroe County plus the Toledo area's counties.

I-75 in Monroe County is kind of odd. It's not like you're in the middle of nowhere [[there are signs of life), yet it's still decidedly rural without contiguous development.

But yeah, I can definitely see the I-75 corridor [[at least between Brownstown and Monroe) and I-275 corridor heating up if downtown ever gets it acts together and becomes the region's employment center again. The commute in bumper-to-bumper traffic or those drives to the airport from areas north of Shelby Township or Auburn Hills will get old quickly.

[Don K]

I'm gonna guess Amazon has decided on a site already and is just using the process to extort bigger subsidies [[what else would you call demanding services such as police, fire, EMT, infrastructure, and schools without paying for them?), and it's not Detroit, or at least it already has a short list which doesn't include Detroit. Detroit's past as the world's metal basher and producer of cars for the U.S. is an honorable one, but it's in the past, and we can't get over that yet. I'm guessing "looks forward rather than back" is a selection criterion, and Detroit flunks that one entirely. Hell, even Pittsburgh has embraced its future in health care and education more than has Detroit. And Detroit's allergy to anything resembling a workable transit system [[Buses run approximately once an hour on Telegraph? Really?) is a symptom. Transit isn't just NYC, Philly, Boston, and Chicago anymore. The Twin Cities, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, and even Los Angeles have made major strides in transit in recent years.

We ought to admit Detroit's time in the first rank of American cities and metro areas is over, and that we are, at best, second or even third-rank. Now that doesn't mean life around here can't be pleasant. Look to New Orleans for an example of a city that once was major [[5th largest in 1850) that has settled into a role as a backwater of American culture. It just means we have to get over the idea of Detroit as a center of the American ideal. That died when millions of Americans decided Japanese or Korean or German cars better met their needs.

So maybe it would be cool to have 50,000 Amazonians working downtown [[but at what cost?). Get over it. Detroit's [[and Michigan's) retrograde values go way deeper than a narrow win in last year's election or a gerrymandered majority in the legislature. We're mired in the world of 50 or 60 years ago and can't escape.