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We make the first Amazon cut, um, yay?
By adamg on Thu, 01/18/2018 - 9:45am
Amazon has released a list of the 20 cities it expects to compete to see who can throw the most money its way to get that second Amazon headquarters.
You may recall the Suffolk Downs proposal, although city and state officials have pitched alternate sites as well.
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Comments
"This is like..
...The Bachelor for tax breaks."
-Astead W. Herndon
A Suffolk Downs site, without
A Suffolk Downs site, without a ton of residential on-site (or money toward a Blue Line extension to Lynn) would be the final nail in the gentrification coffin of East Boston. As an owner it's a weird feel because equity is great, but being overrun by tech bros ain't as grand (and more importantly, families getting displaced by rising rents is the worst).
Rooting for the underdogs
Columbus, Raleigh, and Nashville would be greatly supported by this project.
Raleigh an underdog?
Its already the Silicon Valley of the south.
And Colombus, surprisingly,
And Colombus, surprisingly, has quite a few corporate headquarters, like Victoria's Secret. Which leads to this weird thing where you're in a bar in the midwest US and randomly a supermodel is two tables over.
That's what you get
For being located in Colombia. Those hips don't lie.
What's funny is I just got
What's funny is I just got back from Colombia, so I've got that on the brain. And you could stack half of the VS roster in your average C-bus bar, and I'd still take the talent in some of the bars I've seen in Colombia.
Raleigh?
I'd imagine any development in Raleigh would just exacerbate the current problems down there which are poor urban core with rich suburban sprawl. There's plenty of good jobs down there currently.
And those good jobs come from ...
???
Government agencies that GOP intends to destroy.
They need a backup plan. It also depends on where the facility is likely to be located. The pitch was for Raleigh proper, which has lagged in redevelopment when it was possible to sprawl onto farmlands.
They do?
I've never thought of the Research triangle as being as gov't dependent any more than up here. I.e. government grants and research are key, sure, but it's not like this is Ft Devens.
Here's the top employer list for Wake, excluding UNC, Duke, local school districts.
http://raleigh-wake.org/business-advantages/data-demographics/major-empl...
IBM Corporation
Rex Healthcare
SAS Institute, Inc.
GlaxoSmithKline
If Amazon picks Raleigh then the white suburban transplants in the sprawl who hate busing will be happy because the metro Raleigh black and Latino kids who get bussed out to Cary, Holy Springs, etc... will be gentrified right out of the county to Fayetteville or somewhere.
No, they don't.
They vote GOP consistently, they should die by their own decisions. These are welfare states to begin with.
Prior to 2016 I might have been all Kumbaya about shit like this but the election of Trump was the line in the sand. These red states can devolve into "shitholes" for all I care. Gut all federal aid programs just like they want, strip away their federal jobs just like they want, frack on their land, drill oil on their shores, strip regulations away so their coal can be dug, just like they want. THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN AND THEY WANT TO BE SCREWED EVEN WORSE! I really don't care anymore. Let them all get black lung and eat poisoned fish, then move to blue states looking for a handout. The immigrants should be cleared out by then, freeing up some funds for them.
Wrong state
NC is a purple state. Raleigh is where the blue voters who elected the current Democratic governor live. The sticks are where the anti-democracy GOP types live who tried to make the governship a figurehead position after they lost the race. I think NC will swing back over to blue for a cycle at least.
Now if you were taking about Kansas or somewhere, dead on.
Raleigh is still not going to
Raleigh is still not going to happen because Amazon will lose potential recruits and nationwide cred every time another stupid bathroom bill hits the news. They do not want that to be part of their corporate image, and it has already had an impact on their business dealings in the area.
Austin is marginally more plausible because of Bezos's personal history, but the cost of living is already quite high and again, state politics will be a barrier to recruiting top talent.
I'm expecting one of the DC locations so as to be within commuting distance of Bezos's new mansion, and increasing emphasis on political lobbying. Boston would be a smart choice in terms of capturing hot young talent before they get all experienced and expensive and stuff, and will still work for peanuts because they think the "prestige" of a big name company is worth it. But if they're just going for corporate welfare, Jersey can have them.
uninformed
Not well thought out and clearly bitter.
It would be so good for
It would be so good for Columbus and Ohio in general.
Nashville ain't hurtin', either
I agree with the others on Raleigh. Nashville has one of the fastest growth rates around. Neither one of them need any support.
It's a start
Step 1 - get Amazon
Step 2 - get them to pay for this 14 mile sea dike?
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/environment/14-mile-dike-protect-greate...
Step 3 - keep our current level of carbon emissions.
Why does a ~14 mile long dyke
Why does a ~14 mile long dyke cost more than a ~700 mile border wall? Yes one is in the ocean, but really that much of a cost difference per mile?
Wouldn't a dyke screw up the fish, currents, and tidal scouring essential to maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem within the bay?
Won't a dyke flood the cities and towns north and south of it?
Didn't someone already propose this as the Boston Bypass causeway system in the 80s when the Big Dig first was suggested?
The Big Dig made it so that concrete was really expensive and difficult to obtain for a decade during construction. With the current building boom, wouldn't this be an even bigger problem in terms of logistics?
Why isn't an expert Dutch engineering firm designing the concept of this thing to ensure no Big Dig style FUBARs?
Oh the whole thing is bananas
If you read the article, the plan is that over time the harbor becomes a fresh water lake! Which is our drinking water supply?
small point- I'm sure the whole thing wouldn't be cement and one assumes they'd use a modern version of kickass Roman cement installed of Portland cement based concrete.
Venice
They took the idea from Venice, only it's more feasible there because the extent of potential flooding and sinking is much worse.
Basically, once water levels are higher than 2' the city will flood from all directions, meaning it would basically be the only solution to save the current city.
Amazon is from Seattle
I'm sure that they would fund a similar solution as the one employed more than a century ago that raised the Duamish tide flats that the city was built on.
Not into this
CNN Money has a great article outlining the challenges–particularly around housing and public transit–that HQ2 will probably bring.
We all know that, just like with GE, the majority of those jobs will go to people who aren't already here. We should be focusing on the city and people we have, making it easier for people to own and run small businesses, and to live in the city. I just can't see how this won't push a lot of people and even other companies out of the city, either by necessity or sheer frustration.
Get pahhty Mahhty on the
Get pahhty Mahhty on the phone.. have him displace more homless shelters and let Amazon into town!!
That's the solution
They can build their HQ on Long Island, replace the bridge and pay for expanded homeless/rehab services in metro Boston. Win/win.
Same Chris
Same. I have a lot of Seattle folks who tell me they wish Amazon wasn't in there.
I'm in support of a major redevelopment at Suffolk Downs. But Amazon.. not so much.
Small businesses = nail shops
Small businesses = nail shops.
Well, if Amazon will cover the entire cost
of fixing our public transit system, I might be for it. According to Professor Wiki, they took in $135 billion in revenue in 2016.
https://www.boston.com/news/business/2015/08/31/fixing-the-mbta-will-now...
And if Amazon buys everyone in town a hot-air balloon
We'll lead the world in hot-air balloon ownership.
I mean. They're not pitting every city in America against each other so THEY can spend the money to fix things.
Of course
However, if they do come here, we will have additional strains (i.e. potential more people using the system) on our MBTA due to them coming here (and I do not want them to come here). I think they should pony up some cash.
Re: And if Amazon buys everyone in town a hot-air balloon
What would the "traffic" reports be like if everyone used a hot air balloon?
"There seems to be some congestion at 4000 ft but at 6000, traffic is moving smoothly. Some tethering delays at the newer John Hancock building and strong
winds are causing the usual problems in the Seaport District. Out on Long Island,
conditions are perfect. "So glad we never rebuilt that bridge out there", said the current Mayor of Boston. Investing in these HA Balloons has been one of the best moves my administration has made in the past few years."
on a bad day.
"400 commuters are presumed lost at sea after an unexpected strong west wind on Thursday at 5PM"
This makes New Hampshire look
This makes New Hampshire look even shittier for insulting Boston in its Amazon pitch. Put a toll on 93 by the NH border already.
I like New Hampshire, I have
I like New Hampshire, I have a sibling who lives there, I like Hampton Beach, the mountains, etc., but when you get right down to it, it's a suburb of Boston.
New Hampshire is the adult
New Hampshire is the adult child now living rent free over his parents garage constantly complaining about what an uptight bitch his mom is and how he could truly make it if only it werent for his goddamn parents
And ...
Quotes the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to demonstrate how oppressed he is by the expectation that he's going to help stain the deck next weekend.
Well, news this AM
was that GE is not doing so hot, and their tax breaks are tied to job creation, so maybe Amazon can step in and actually create the jobs, and Mahty and Chahlee can give them the tax money instead.
They really bent over for GE for like 300 jobs and heli-pad/bridge re-construction demands. It would be nice if we could tell GE to pound sand and go all in for Amazon instead. However I doubt its possible to rescind that deal at this point.
SAD!
Awesome!!!
I'd love to have Amazon in town!!! I really hope they choose Boston!!!
If it were to come to Mass.,
If it were to come to Mass., I just wish it went to Worcester or Springfield. Just think what Amazon could do for the western part of the state.
the Woo
I think Worcester would have been a great choice. A downtown that's trying to rebuild, cheap housing (and some really nice suburbs), a small airport AMZN could do with whatever they chose, 45mins from PVD and an hour from Logan.
One small lure is the
One small lure is the prospect of reverse commuting. For five years I commuted from South Station to Framingham each morning. If you live in Metro West and work in Worcester, you ride the uncrowded train out in the morning and back.
When, one day, we wake up and wonder why...
...Jeff Bezos has ALL the money, the answer will be, "Because we gave it to him."
I'm all for creating new jobs
I'm all for creating new jobs in out city. More jobs, more money, great for the local economy. Cue the housing\transportation\infrastructure naysayers in 3...2...1...
Toronto?
I didn’t know cities in America Jr. were in the running.
Broken record
As always Adam and his fans have a major problem for no reason. Can you tell me why exactly you get so snarky about Amazon coming to Boston? I assume you will make up some tax related complaint. How does this not help Boston?
I'm not saying they shouldn't come, but ...
I do have questions, such as:
How much are the state and the city willing to give to Amazon? If we were willing to throw all that money in tax breaks at GE for just 800 jobs (that may never come and most of which would have involved people moving up from Connecticut), how much do we throw at Amazon? Already we have the city of Boston promising a connection between the Red and Blue lines that the state said would cost $750 million several years ago before it canceled the project
Amazon is looking for a city with good public transit. In theory, we have that, and I for one can't wait for the new Red, Orange and Green Line cars to start showing up. But if you're reading this on Jan. 18, have you looked at the UHub home page today? I'm not sure that qualifies under a definition of "good" public transit - and the Green Line problems had nothing to do with the state of the rolling stock.
What's the impact of tossing 50,000 more people into our housing market? We're supposed to be adding 50,000 new housing units in Boston just to deal with non-Amazon growth. Where are we going to put all those new people and who gets even more priced out of the area?
People!!!
For the last time: Amazon is not coming here. No way. Never.
Oh yes they are...
I’m someone who knows.
So am I...
And they're not.