urbanSTL

How can St.Louis change its very poor national image even poor local image?
Think of all the negative feedback and backlash Amazon would get if they actually chose St.Louis!

St.Louis is one of those cities that could easily catch fire but theres something definitely keeping it from sparking

St.Louis1764 wrote: ↑

Oct 25, 2017

Think of all the negative feedback and backlash Amazon would get if they actually chose St.Louis!

i don't think there would be any backlash. i think it would actually cause people to question their negative perceptions of St. Louis.

St.Louis1764 wrote: ↑

Oct 25, 2017

How can St.Louis change its very poor national image even poor local image?
Think of all the negative feedback and backlash Amazon would get if they actually chose St.Louis!

St.Louis is one of those cities that could easily catch fire but theres something definitely keeping it from sparking

I think the best way to get locals to think differently about their own town is to improve our crime ranking one way or another. Even if it isn't fair to rank an inner core city like ours against a near metro-size city like San Antonio, say, (which has higher metro area crime), the locals buy into the story that we are the most dangerous place on earth. And that is all we seem to be known for nationally. When President's visit here, they only discuss crime and poverty, promoting that reputation. Our suburbs are actually very safe, and property crime seems to be lower here than most metros. Our overall crime, violent plus property, is in the better half of all metros -- better than KC for instance.

That said, we do have too many murders here. How can we get that down? (But, actually, how often is a visitor murdered here?) They usually aren't random. Most are within families or acquaintances. I heard someone discuss requiring cameras on Police guns instead of wearable cameras. What if we go one step further and require them on all guns in the city. I don't see that outlawed in the 2nd amendment.

^ we definitely need guns to start incorporating technology that only allows use by licensed owners. it's completely doable and has been discussed in the media, but my perception is that--as usual--the NRA opposes anything that might limit gun sales.

Chicago site for AHQ2 revealed - and it looks pretty cool - 70 acres between Bucktown and Lincoln Park and what is called Lincoln Yards - given the development in those neighborhoods this is s pretty good site - It includes an "Amazon Stadium" presumably for the Fire, it looks pretty bad ass


https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/10/30/1 ... ts-stadium

http://www.sterlingbay.com/property/lincoln-yards

beer city wrote: ↑

Oct 31, 2017

Chicago site for AHQ2 revealed - and it looks pretty cool - 70 acres between Bucktown and Lincoln Park and what is called Lincoln Yards - given the development in those neighborhoods this is s pretty good site - It includes an "Amazon Stadium" presumably for the Fire, it looks pretty bad ass


https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/10/30/1 ... ts-stadium

http://www.sterlingbay.com/property/lincoln-yards

Those buildings are hideous. It looks exactly like the Camden and Newark proposals. Very futuristic- but tacky.
I haven't yet been wowed by any of the proposals. They're all very ambitious, but simply that. Newark and Camden's bids are complete pipe dreams in terms of design. 90+ story towers in Newark, which I think could very well be an FAA hazard, and what looks like a rainforest on the banks of the Delaware in Camden.

I believe that STL will release renderings sometime in November per recent interviews.

Chalupas54 wrote: ↑

Oct 31, 2017

I believe that STL will release renderings sometime in November per recent interviews.

I wonder what they'll do (if anything) with the SW Bell building. I could be wrong, but my gut feeling is that 1980's skyscraper style is not at the top of the list for Amazon's style. ...Maybe they'll clad the exterior in something... ...And then maybe 50 years from now the current generation will remove the cladding and criticize past generations for cladding the awesome original exterior...

^Yep. That's the way the cycle works.

I was very surprised to hear San Antonio had pulled out of the bidding race which i had pegged S.A. and STL as my wild card/dark horse cities.

I'm hoping the STL rendering not only shows reimagined north riverfront however a significant reconnection to downtown it is sad that the interstate cuts through downtown however that can be remedied.
Everything cost money and nothing is ever cheap but i do think its possible.

Chicago getting “creative.” At what point is the cost too much?

And check out the Fresno offer:
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/a ... by-amazon/

And of course, if ever there was a state that could afford to give away $1 billion in tax money, it's Illinois.

I don't see a single compelling reason for Amazon to move to Chicago, and I doubt most people in Chicago would even want them there. Too much traffic already.

Ebsy wrote: ↑

Nov 27, 2017

I don't see a single compelling reason for Amazon to move to Chicago, and I doubt most people in Chicago would even want them there. Too much traffic already.

1) Biggest metro area between West and East Coast with large workforce, diverse region w significant Hispanic community but close enough to Canada to be cold during the winter
2) Large downtown, signature skyline with shoreline parks, museums, and all the urban amenities that Amazon is supposedly looking for
3) Large Hub airport with significant number of direct North American & International flights Plus Amazon can threaten to use Southwest/Midway for second tier employees if legacy airlines don't want to give a good deal on corporate tickets

Why Chicago wants it. They same reason why Boeing HQ is in downtown Chicago.

dredger wrote: ↑

Nov 27, 2017

Ebsy wrote: ↑

Nov 27, 2017

I don't see a single compelling reason for Amazon to move to Chicago, and I doubt most people in Chicago would even want them there. Too much traffic already.

1) Biggest metro area between West and East Coast with large workforce, diverse region w significant Hispanic community but close enough to Canada to be cold during the winter
2) Large downtown, signature skyline with shoreline parks, museums, and all the urban amenities that Amazon is supposedly looking for
3) Large Hub airport with significant number of direct North American & International flights Plus Amazon can threaten to use Southwest/Midway for second tier employees if legacy airlines don't want to give a good deal on corporate tickets

Why Chicago wants it. They same reason why Boeing HQ is in downtown Chicago.

This, but also part of me thinks Chicago and some of these other meccas are not in the running. If Amazon wanted to go to one of those cities, why would they set the floor at one million people? Why not just set it at 3?

Chalupas54 wrote: ↑

Nov 28, 2017

This, but also part of me thinks Chicago and some of these other meccas are not in the running. If Amazon wanted to go to one of those cities, why would they set the floor at one million people? Why not just set it at 3?

Because you'd limit yourself on competition for it. Make everyone drop their pants. Why limit being flattered?

^ exactly.....it's called competition


As an aside, I know one person who has seen the STL proposal and that person said, when the Chicago state tax payback was revealed, that the STL committee "didn't even bat an eye."


Makes me think we're giving Amazon the world also....

Chalupas54 wrote: ↑

Nov 28, 2017

This, but also part of me thinks Chicago and some of these other meccas are not in the running. If Amazon wanted to go to one of those cities, why would they set the floor at one million people? Why not just set it at 3?

I agree, but the skeptical answer is that the cities of 3 million offer up better incentives when they're competing against the cities of 1 million.

jstriebel wrote: ↑

Nov 28, 2017

Chalupas54 wrote: ↑

Nov 28, 2017

This, but also part of me thinks Chicago and some of these other meccas are not in the running. If Amazon wanted to go to one of those cities, why would they set the floor at one million people? Why not just set it at 3?

I agree, but the skeptical answer is that the cities of 3 million offer up better incentives when they're competing against the cities of 1 million.

Much easier, and less costly, to have a person determine that than to miss out on hundreds of millions in incentives, no?

Detroit HQ2 proposal has been revealed. Looks like they want Amazon in the heart of downtown by Campus Martius. Also a framework for a $120 million talent initiative. Full plan in the article.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20 ... am-transit

^ the decent-sized Windsor component gives it a unique, international pitch.

elsewhere, it looks like Amazon's hiring of a lobbyist for the Georgia statehouse has created more speculation that Atlanta is the favorite.

It’ll be interesting to see who the finalists are.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking at Detroit's incentives, Michigan offers quite a bit and the city does give up its local corporate income tax but I'm pretty impressed it would keep the employee income tax, which is 2,4% for city residents and 1,2% for non-residents. Even if the large majority of workers would live outside the city, it still would be a fiscal coup on a payroll that would exceed $1B if Amazon brings anywhere near 50,000 workers.

I'm pretty confident STL offered to exempt or at least halve the earnings tax for Amazon workers. like it already has for a number of companies and the NGA.