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

[emu steve]

I read their request as wanting an urban location and I did not think D.C. would have been a contender cost wise. But yeah, I guess NoVA makes sense.

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.

[mikehamm45]

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.

[Richard]

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.

[GMan]

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.

[emu steve]

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/

[southen]

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.

[Richard]

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/

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.

[emu steve]

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.

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.

[stasu1213]

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

[southen]

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.

[401don]

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.

Don't they need an educated workforce? That's why people are impoverished to begin with.

[emu steve]

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.

[stasu1213]

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.

Build the headquarters in Midtown near the Amtrak

[southen]

Don't they need an educated workforce? That's why people are impoverished to begin with.

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.

[wolverine]

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.

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?

[Wesley Mouch]

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.

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?

[emu steve]

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?

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

[Jason]

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.

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.

I've seen some confusion about this on the newspaper comment sections too, but this is for an office campus, not a warehouse. Their HQ operations are 100% independent from their fulfillment centers.

[southen]

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?

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.

[iheartthed]

Don't they need an educated workforce? That's why people are impoverished to begin with.

I read something earlier today in the NYT that said Detroit actually comes out ahead of some other competitors regarding educational attainment. Detroit is apparently slightly more educated than Dallas, Atlanta, and Charlotte.

[emu steve]

I read something earlier today in the NYT that said Detroit actually comes out ahead of some other competitors regarding educational attainment. Detroit is apparently slightly more educated than Dallas, Atlanta, and Charlotte.

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.

[313WX]

I believe I also read that Amazon stated the site doesn't have to be contiguous.

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.

[SammyS]

Why not Hudson or Monroe block? Can tailor it to Amazons exact specifications.

[313WX]

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.

[EGrant]

Hudson Block will only have a few floors of actual office space. But it could be an interesting main building for them.