I hope that or leadership already has this on their radar, but can someone who has a contact at city hall in the economic development department forward this info to them? Just so we at least attempt to lure them here to CLE

Amazon has announced plans to open a second headquarters in North America that will employ as many as 50,000 workers.

 

The company announced Thursday that it is searching for a city to host the new "HQ2" facility, which will cost at least $5 billion to construct and operate.

 

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs. We're excited to find a second home."

 

Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) said it would prefer to open the headquarters in a suburban or urban area with more than 1 million people. It's looking for a community that "thinks big" and a location that will attract technical talent.

 

While we have an area of well over 1,000,000, I'm not sure we are a community that "thinks big" mainly when it comes to leadership. It would be nice to land this but I don't have faith the leadership will even pitch itself. Fingers crossed.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/07/technology/amazon-second-headquarters/index.html?iid=ob_homepage_tech_pool

The proposal would have to get commitments from the fewest number of property owners covering the largest contiguous area. That would be difficult in downtown proper in all but a couple locations.

 

I don't like the idea of giving up Burke as it would be a unique selling point to connect the two headquarters. Though Burke staying put could make it difficult to build tall enough north of Browns stadium or the Muni lots.

The proposal would have to get commitments from the fewest number of property owners covering the largest contiguous area. That would be difficult in downtown proper in all but a couple locations.

 

I don't like the idea of giving up Burke as it would be a unique selling point to connect the two headquarters. Though Burke staying put could make it difficult to build tall enough north of Browns stadium or the Muni lots.

 

My spatial analysis skills are lacking.  Couldn't Amazon simply build alongside Burke?  I thought I remember the Geis plan being pretty large.

 

 

In terms of land in or near downtown, I think we have plenty of options for new build. Scranton peninsula immediately comes to mind.

In terms of land in or near downtown, I think we have plenty of options for new build. Scranton peninsula immediately comes to mind.

 

I'm not sure I can envision 50,000 employees getting in and out of Scranton Peninsula each day.

Yeah, Scranton Peninsula is not possible logistically without an additional rapid line or some sort of people mover.

 

Again, I know this is all hypothetical... but I think the only three even quasi-realistic options are 1. Midtown 2. BLF / Muni lot 3. Huntington Building + New MASSIVE structure in the place of JHB building.

 

Even taking up the entirety of the Justice Center block or the Weston Developments footprint would likely be too tight of a squeeze for the footprint required.

Some well place pedestrian bridges linking to the Tower City parking lot could help in connecting to parking and transit.  Perhaps a red line spur or loop bus could help too.  They can maybe turn the peninsula into a TIF district and use the proceeds to improve transit, cycing and automobile access to the site.

My initial thought was the Avenue district. I still like that site proposal. But second thought, with the fewest number of property owner request in mind, the warehouse district starts making a lot more sense.

 

Phase I Building (500,000-1,000,000 sf)      - Weston Super block. One owner, ready to build. residential component.  1,000,000 sf

Phase II Building (1,000,000-2,000,000 sf)  - Jacobs Lot. One owner. Adjacent to Weston building.  2,000,000 sf

Phase III Building (2,000,000-3,000,000 sf)  - Justice Center block. County owned. Catty corner to other office's. You can get 3m sf in there.

Phase IV - Piece in the plenty of smaller infill opportunities available around that area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at the Seattle campus it's not exactly in one place--it is spread out just a bit.  With this in mind I more inclined to favor the Avenue District as well.  Plenty of land to develop, a private partner willing to put more housing in the surrounding area, and an extension of the WFL would give it transit access. 

 

http://www.realestateways.com/amazon-campus/

 

 

Among the Jacobs lot, Weston superblock and Justice Center block, there's plenty of space in there for multiple towers and secondary connecting buildings that could meet the need in a phase approach. I'd love to see an architect or student from UO sketch up a concept for this.

Looking at the Seattle campus it's not exactly in one place--it is spread out just a bit.  With this in mind I more inclined to favor the Avenue District as well.  Plenty of land to develop, a private partner willing to put more housing in the surrounding area, and an extension of the WFL would give it transit access. 

 

http://www.realestateways.com/amazon-campus/

 

If we use the Seattle as a template they want to repeat, It really does seem like they want to be woven into the neighborhood while making a massive impact to it. For that reason is why I didn't really think Scranton or the Lakefront would be ideal locations to them. They would be too isolated.

Most Amazon buildings I go to in Seattle are 8-10ish stories with parking beneath.. they likely have 10-15 of these... with a few 30+ story buildings thrown into the mix. All current ones in their main South Lake Union/SLU complex were new builds. No rehabs. Easy to walk from nearest to furthest in 10-12 minutes... past the multitude of new restaurants and services that open in or near each new building. I would liken their current campus area to the CLE area from Public Square to the FEB/Browns Stadium. There are non Amazon buildings within campus... but fewer and fewer.

Prospect/Euclid  Ave. would be a good choice.

 

As I already stated, the May Co Bldg. is the starting point with 500,000+ sq. ft. already available.  A second phase could be a new structure on the site of the old May Co. parking garage. The old May Co parking garage site could easily hold a 1 million+ sq. ft. building.

 

Phase 3 could be two buildings on the site of the demolished Hippodrome Theatre. One structure on Euclid Ave and the other on Prospect Ave. Structures here could be 500,000+ sq. ft. each.

 

Another site for additional phases could be the NuCLEus site if the NuCLEus development currently proposed is not built. And there is also the site of the proposed/unbuilt Ferari Dealership/Condo project on Huron & Ontario Ave.

 

This area of downtown would have Amazon Employees within a 5-10 minute walk of all others, and be in the heart of downtown for easy access to public transportation. It would also eliminate quite a few surface parking lots.

Thanks for reminding me about the Ferrari Dealership.  That made me smile.

Amazon campus in Seattle is massive...basically half of the South Lake Union neighborhood of Downtown.

 

Cleveland would need to think big here.

 

Either all the remaining surface lot space in the Warehouse District + Justice Center or multiple blocks east of Erieview Tower/north of CSU.    Ironically, the latter is kind of what South Lake Union used to look like before Amazon built there (scattered sketchy/low density warehouse buildings)

 

 

I think the the area north of CSU is ripe for redevelopment and could work for an Amazon campus.  Site control could be a major hurdle. 

I really hope our state and local leaders have the foresight to realize that we need to create the financial incentives package to end all financial incentives packages. Wherever this HQ2 ends up, the 50,000 high paying technology jobs will be just the beginning. The city that lands this will be transformed into a national tech hub if it already isn't one. This is a generational opportunity.

 

The proposal would have to get commitments from the fewest number of property owners covering the largest contiguous area. That would be difficult in downtown proper in all but a couple locations.

 

I don't like the idea of giving up Burke as it would be a unique selling point to connect the two headquarters. Though Burke staying put could make it difficult to build tall enough north of Browns stadium or the Muni lots.

 

If I remember correctly, in addition to controlling the superblock, the Westons also control the parking lots in the block across West 3rd from the Justice Center block. And in addition to controlling the Justice Center block the County controls the Public Defender's Office kitty corner to the JC, the parking lots adjacent to the Public Defender's Office, and the parking lot next to the shoreway ramp. If the county were to sell the JC block to Amazon (say for $1 - I know I'm going to get push back on but that's how transformative I think this HQ2 could be) the Public Defender's Office would likely want to move to the JC's new location so it and those lots could also be sold. So between Jacobs, the Westons, and the County enough land could probably be assembled right in the heart of Cleveland's downtown to build out their entire 8,000,000 sq ft. campus at reasonable height.

 

I also agree that Burke might actually be a unique selling point here.

That is pretty crazy to think that there are 4-5 legit areas that a project this size could go in Cleveland.  Northcoast, warehouse district aka pesht, scranton peninsula, north of CSU, and opportunity corridor. 

  I'm wondering if they are creating a 2nd Hq for the US and Seattle will be the international HQ.

One requirement for Amazon HQ2 location is (relative) site adjaceny to an international airport. Knowing the buying and trade show trips (Germany, China, UK, etc...) my Amazon buyers take regularly and the diverse nationalities of many of the Amazonians I work with  (Egyptian, Indian, Mexican, Canadian, etc..... many of whom travel back home for several weeks a year) along with site visits in the US to Amazon and vendor facilities, nationwide, one shouldn't underestimate the importance of a serious roster of non-stop international and domestic flights in this process. Outside of the top 10 metros, not many cities could equal what SeaTac provides Amazon currently.  Doesn't exclude markets like CLE, who will have some international non-stops ans decent domestic connectivity, but the largest markets would have a serious plus on their side I feel.

^is this seriously just duplicating their other hq?  That sounds like something a government might do.  I liked my idea of it being the American HQ. That way an international airport wouldn't be needed. Otherwise its going to Atlanta.

Hey Amazon!  In other news...

 

Cleveland ranks No. 2 in safety from natural disasters

 

Posted on September 8, 2017 at 1:49 PM

 

By Emily Bamforth, cleveland.com,

ebamforthCleveland[/member].com

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- CBS News is touting Cleveland as the second-safest city in the country when it comes to natural disasters, according to 2013 data.

 

So move to Cleveland, where we rank only behind Syracuse, New York, where we have few wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes!

 

CBS News published the data this week, in the midst of news about hurricanes in the southeast United States and wildfires in the northwest. The data was compiled by real-estate company Trulia, based on information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Forest Service and FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/09/cleveland_ranks_2nd_in_list_of.html

How's this look? Think anyone at City Hall/Cleveland business community/Amazon would be interested?

 

PDF of the graphics below: http://freepdfhosting.com/5da404a9b5.pdf

 

amazon hq2-siteplan1s by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

amazon hq2-siteplan2s by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

^Thats one site. 3-4 more to go. I don't think North coast would work due to height restrictions for Burke airport.

Nice work Ken. I would rather Gilbert use the tax credits to complete the residential conversion of the May Company building. Then Amazon would locate phase 1 in the Post Office Plaza now owned by K&D. It is just shy of 500,000 sqft, has better connectivity to the Tower City complex and is across the street from the Weston lots. And K&D already indicated they plan to keep it as office space.

Looks great!

Well, this is all I can say, but a group of about a dozen local execs and entrepreneurs are headed to Seattle on Wednesday. I don't know if the city itself is involved in any capacity, but I actually hope not. Let's grease the wheels first before they have to realize how slow our city reacts to business opportunities

KJP - you're talented man. Great stuff

KJP, this is fantastic!!!  its the perfect spot and answers all of Amazons needs!!!!  Then think of the apartment construction boom that would follow!!

Nice work Ken. I would rather Gilbert use the tax credits to complete the residential conversion of the May Company building. Then Amazon would locate phase 1 in the Post Office Plaza now owned by K&D. It is just shy of 500,000 sqft, has better connectivity to the Tower City complex and is across the street from the Weston lots. And K&D already indicated they plan to keep it as office space.

 

I was thinking about the old Post Office building too. It can dovetail better with the Weston lots.

 

And, long range, the Justice Center could become a part of this too. Tear down everything except the 480-foot courthouse tower and reclad much the way the 1970s Simpson Tower, now First Canadian Place, 401 Bay Street, in Toronto is being re-clad....

 

 

It's fascinating reading all the city-specific subreddits and city data forums, and their overwhelmingly similar responses to the announcement. Kind of like everyone seeking the golden ticket.

 

My hunch is Dallas but hey, fingers crossed Cleveland.

Beautiful job on the presentation. The Weston development looks/feels especially like the main Amazon campus in South Lake Union, Seattle, as does the general layout of that area.

 

And though I know of no current, major rehabbed space among Amazon's multiple downtown SEA facilities, most newly built, one of their early offices was a beautiful old hospital building overlooking downtown Seattle (= May Company in this scenario...) where I used to visit during their early years -  and they frequently took a floor here or there in Key Tower type buildings, etc... Only in the last 6-7 years did "new" and "Amazon only" come into play with their buildings. C'mon, CLE!!!!!!!

Speaking of re-cladding when is the Federal Building going to finish the job? I haven't read anything on these boards or anywhere else for that matter on what exactly the hold-up is. I hope the Feds don't think its a finished product.

 

Seriously, the whole job seems very odd to me. Complete something like 95% and then just....STOP???

The PD's initial surface-level analysis of Cleveland's suitability for the Amazon HQ2:

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/09/could_cleveland_land_amazons_s.html

And let's not forget this... Amazon loves wind turbines and has sponsored the investment in some in Ohio. Perhaps we can get them to invest in and expand this "icebreaking" project!

 

The NYTimes' Upshot blog does its analysis of what city Amazon's HQ2 should go to: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/upshot/where-should-amazon-new-headquarters-be.html

Cleveland gets cut for not having a growing workforce.

The NYTimes' Upshot blog does its analysis of what city Amazon's HQ2 should go to: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/upshot/where-should-amazon-new-headquarters-be.html

Cleveland gets cut for not having a growing workforce.

 

It's hard to argue against Denver right now.

The NYTimes' Upshot blog does its analysis of what city Amazon's HQ2 should go to: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/upshot/where-should-amazon-new-headquarters-be.html

Cleveland gets cut for not having a growing workforce.

 

It's hard to argue against Denver right now.

 

Easiest argument I see - too close to Seattle / west coast.

 

Other easy arguments include isolation (aside from Colorado Springs and Pueblo, what metros are close?), high cost of living, and its constrained developable area.

 

Hopefully Bezos visits the ~10-12 top contenders in person, along with his selection team, because if he does I imagine a Midwestern contender will win.

 

 

Based on the direction Amazon appears to be going in alone, the most logical choice would be Cincy (Macy's, Kroger, P&G all HQ'd there, easy to poach their workers) followed by Detroit (highest # of engineers per capita of any metro, U of M is right there, would build a lot of public goodwill, tons of sites available, easy access to Canada), possibly Philadelphia or Baltimore (both would have similar advantages/disadvantages) and then the rest. The downside to most of the Midwestern locations that aren't Cleveland or Chicago is mass transit options. Both MI and OH should be able to provide the tax breaks necessary, along with IN and MN (Minneapolis would also be an interesting choice). IL would be more pressed because of their budget and WI is already tied up with Foxconn.

 

(btw, I'm tentatively back on UO since I'm in OH again, I'll primarily be stopping by the southwestern Ohio stuff)

I was just thinking how nice it would be to have the 3-C rail line connecting the major cities in Ohio. Would it increase the odds of Amazon coming to Ohio? Perhaps, when you have contractors and other software companies all just a rail trip away. The HQ in any of the 3 cities would benefit the entire state.

^^Denver's cost of living is a lot lower than the other main hubs of high skilled labor, so I doubt that would be an issue.

 

I don't really understand the first cut in that NYTimes Upshot piece. Not sure a "growing workforce" is a good measure of "stable business climate for growth" in any way relevent to Amazon. I'm guessing they are worried more about political and popular pushback against corporate expansion, which has been their main complaint about Seattle. I doubt very much Chicago and the Twin cities, for instance, are off the list because they have relatively weak overall workforce growth.

KJP you could also dust off Eaton's Flats tower plans for additional space.

Actually, if one wants to dust off some old unbuilt project, and include the old Post Office facility on Huron Rd, then another opportunity to me after the May Co/Jacobs PS lot/Weston Super Block would have to be Tower City Center along Huron Rd.

 

Amazon could start with the old Post Office Building for phase 1; Phases 2, 3, 4 could all be build along Huron Rd to Ontario Ave., and if need be even include buildings along Ontario Ave. toward the Hope Memorial Bridge.

 

 

Originally from Cleveland, been living out in Seattle for nearly 17 years now. Live in the heart of Amazonia. Very fortunate to have benefited from the Amazon boom (my condo is $300k up in value over the last two years). Have actually worked at Amazon so know the culture there. (hint - it's tough but worth it)

 

Amazon's number one issue is attracting talent. Bezos is a genius, more so than Gates or any other tech titan is or was, and you can bet he'll hire that 50k. Amazon wants to attract more  and needs a city with better weather or access to a different pool of talent. So either a place with different weather than Seattle (think sun) or a different visa policy (Canada).

 

Word around Amazon is that it's either somewhere in Texas or Toronto.

 

As much as you guys like to think Cleveland has a shot, it doesn't. Cleveland could literally pay to build the campus (not like they need the money, the cost to build out is less than 1% of their market cap), give it to Amazon free, and Amazon still wouldn't locate HQ2 in Cleveland. It just doesn't compete on any level.

 

 

 

 

^^Denver's cost of living is a lot lower than the other main hubs of high skilled labor, so I doubt that would be an issue.

 

The high rate of pay in Denver more than compensates for its higher cost of living.

 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&city1=Cincinnati%2C+OH&country2=United+States&city2=Denver%2C+CO

 

BTW does anyone think that Cleveland's dysfunctional city council would scare Amazon?

 

 

BTW does anyone think that Cleveland's dysfunctional city council would scare Amazon?

 

I see you haven't been following West Coast politics.  :-)

Word around Amazon is that it's either somewhere in Texas or Toronto.

 

As much as you guys like to think Cleveland has a shot, it doesn't.

 

I don't actually "like" your post, but have to agree with your points.  I don't think it will hurt Cleveland to put a bid together; a really compelling package might earn a consolation prize.

Sorry, I Went West, but I spoke with someone today who is familiar with Amazon HQ2 search. He says Cleveland or any major city with a strong, growing urban core, a tech community and good universities turning out internationally competitive talent (CWRU etc), and an emphasis on sustainability has a good shot of winning. The incentives package will determine the winner from among these competitors. Word is that Bezos is pissed off at Seattle City officials for increasing business taxes and his public HQ2 competition is part PR for Amazon and also to rub Seattle City officials' noses in the search.

If Cleveland Clinic can attract international talent or the Cleveland Orchestra, I see no reason that Cleveland can't bring people in from Pittsburgh, Chicago, Buffalo, and Toronto to work for a tech hq like Amazon.

Mr "I went west" obviously has not been back to cleveland in 5 or so years.  I was walking around Seattle 7 years ago and it felt like Tremont or Ohio City near the capitol.  i really don't see that there is that much difference in "culture" with Seattle.

  So I don't feel workforce or "declining workforce" as a factor for Cleveland as all cities will need to bring people in. The key for Cleveland is the ability to absorb this faster than any other city.  With low prices on land and housing, Cleveland crushes that. Denver housing has skyrocketed. It is very difficult to move there right now. The market is so tight anywhere near Denver.  A person coming to Cleveland with a $100k job will find plenty of choices.

We need to stroke Besos ego with this bid. Check all the boxes on criteria, (public transit, space, universities, etc)...but he needs to know how he can improve the quality of life for many people in a city that needs that type of investment. True, human, impact. More than just setting up shop in some

City that doesn't need it.

 

 

but he needs to know how he can improve the quality of life for many people in a city that needs that type of investment. True, human, impact. More than just setting up shop in some City that doesn't need it.

 

Amazon is notorious for their frugal and non philanthropic ways. It was a shock that Amazon allowed a women's shelter to remain in an an old building that was on a lot they purchased downtown  for a year until it was torn down. An even bigger shock when Amazon set aside space for it in one of their new buildings.

 

Amazon has the worst vacation policy of any company out there. Their employees don't have the Friday off after Thanksgiving. Charitable matching? Bereavement time? Hahaha. Not at Amazon. Quality of life is not even a topic at Amazon and never has been.

 

Bezos could care less about the social or quality of life impact on an existing city they'll have. He's not wired that way and it's what makes him so successful.