MaxConcrete Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 4 hours ago, 102IAHexpress said: Apple just announced they are investing 350 billion in the US over the next five years, hiring 20K news jobs in the US and are planning a new campus outside of the bay area. Apple HQ2. Amazing. From the Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-to-pay-38-billion-in-repatriation-tax-plans-new-u-s-campus-1516215419 Quote The company said it would offer more information later this year on its planned new campus. The facility is expected to be located outside of California and Texas, where the company already operates campuses: in Austin, Texas, and its new $5 billion headquarters, Apple Park, in Cupertino, Calif. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 We're unfortunately out of the running :-( I never thought we had much of a chance, but I'm a little surprised we didn't make the top 20. I'm guessing they want a lot of competition between states with incentives, and they've already got Texas in the game with Dallas and Austin. The silver lining is we no longer need to waste time and resources dangling ever-larger incentives for a winner's curse. NYT: Amazon Chooses 20 Locations as Finalists for New Headquarters https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/technology/amazon-finalists-headquarters.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 eh it was a long shot for Houston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Good. Didn't want to see Bezosillionaire get any tax breaks from us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
102IAHexpress Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 22 minutes ago, ToryGattis said: We're unfortunately out of the running :-( I never thought we had much of a chance, but I'm a little surprised we didn't make the top 20. I'm guessing they want a lot of competition between states with incentives, and they've already got Texas in the game with Dallas and Austin. I agree with you about their state strategy, that's the only explanation for Miami making the top 20. Also, I think the Apple announcement was a factor for announcing the top 20 today. Amazon is probably looking for cities to commit early on one company vs the other. I thought the Apple announcement would help Houston. It had the opposite affect. It made Amazon move faster and maybe even changed their strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htownbro Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Harvey scared them away. Austin may get it. http://www.chron.com/business/article/Houston-misses-Amazon-cut-Austin-Dallas-still-in-12507106.php?ipid=happening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Quote In October, Moody's Analytics ranked Houston 52nd among the cities vying for Amazon's second headquarters, giving Houston low marks for its mass transit system and quality of life, two key criteria Amazon considered. It would be nice to get confirmation from Amazon if this is why, but if it is true - we need to work on our public transit (at least inside 610) to try to attract more businesses. What do they mean by quality of life? Is that code for "it gets hot in July and August"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Well, one thing this plan won't have to deal with, is the Amazon headquarters, because we didn't make the final cut. Its down to 20 cities, and Austin and Dallas made it as I suspected they would. We didn't as I said before we wouldn't mainly because of our lack of mass transit that is incomplete, and the negativity after Harvey. Dallas just seems to be better situated centrally and always seems to shine in these kinds of beauty contests. Austin is Austin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 1 hour ago, cspwal said: It would be nice to get confirmation from Amazon if this is why, but if it is true - we need to work on our public transit (at least inside 610) to try to attract more businesses. What do they mean by quality of life? Is that code for "it gets hot in July and August"? It's a stigma not a fact. Yeah in the past the quality of life wasn't great but now that's clearly not that case. Houston is growing in to a nice urban city that is changing for the better. As for mass transit, though it isn't regional transit, for the city I think our system is adequate. Once the BRT line is finished in Uptown and buses begin transferring people from there, there will be more connectivity within the inner city. I think Houston should have marketed the KBR site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Silver lining for Houston: http://www.urbanophile.com/2018/01/18/amazon-hq2-first-cut-designed-to-keep-america-guessing/ "The cities which made this list may also regret it. Putting together an initial bid only required a limited amount of money and civic time and attention. Now the costs start going up for the losers. It may well have been better to be one of the people who got cut early than to keep making through all these rounds only to lose (or potentially even to win)." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 37 minutes ago, ToryGattis said: Silver lining for Houston: http://www.urbanophile.com/2018/01/18/amazon-hq2-first-cut-designed-to-keep-america-guessing/ "The cities which made this list may also regret it. Putting together an initial bid only required a limited amount of money and civic time and attention. Now the costs start going up for the losers. It may well have been better to be one of the people who got cut early than to keep making through all these rounds only to lose (or potentially even to win)." How many rounds will Amazon have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 6 hours ago, bobruss said: Well, one thing this plan won't have to deal with, is the Amazon headquarters, because we didn't make the final cut. Its down to 20 cities, and Austin and Dallas made it as I suspected they would. We didn't as I said before we wouldn't mainly because of our lack of mass transit that is incomplete, and the negativity after Harvey. Dallas just seems to be better situated centrally and always seems to shine in these kinds of beauty contests. Austin is Austin. ^^^ what an absolute DISGRACE... that AMAZON would name both DALLAS and AUSTIN as this state's two top 20 finalists! houston, is this state's largest city... and you mean to tell me that we cannot even make the AMAZON listing? talk about presenting DALLAS with absolute bragging rights within this state! this is an ABSOLUTE NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT for the city of houston. austin does not harbor a NATIONAL and MONUMENTAL mode of transportation throughout their fair city. yet, we can still present austin with the benefit of the doubt as a young city that is built for young urban professionals and such. however, dallas shall never allow for houston to live this monumental embarrassment down. it just does not get any worse than this for us.... period! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vy65 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Pretty strong repudiation of Houston when Indianapolis and Columbus, OH are seen as more desirable locations. This needs to serve as a wake up to city, county, and business officials that the city itself needs drastic changes if its to have relevance over the next several decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downtownian Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 41 minutes ago, monarch said: it just does not get any worse than this for us.... period! I would relax a little bit. I can imagine plenty of worse things than not being on a list of 20 cities that a large company wrote down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxConcrete Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Vy65 said: Pretty strong repudiation of Houston when Indianapolis and Columbus, OH are seen as more desirable locations. This needs to serve as a wake up to city, county, and business officials that the city itself needs drastic changes if its to have relevance over the next several decades. No conclusions about Houston's viability and relevance can be made unless Amazon releases details of their decision-making process, including criteria where Houston ranked poorly. It is very possible Houston was eliminated due to natural disaster risk (i.e. hurricanes and flooding). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vy65 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 17 minutes ago, MaxConcrete said: No conclusions about Houston's viability and relevance can be made unless Amazon releases details of their decision-making process, including criteria where Houston ranked poorly. It is very possible Houston was eliminated due to natural disaster risk (i.e. hurricanes and flooding). I certainly think Harvey and it’s aftermath was a factor (maybe even a substantial one) in Amazon’s mind. However, several other cities that could also have been eliminated due to natural disaster risk (Newark, NYC, Miami, LA) still made it to the list, so I question Houston’s elimination solely on that basis. Regardless, even with the risk of flooding/hurricanes, it is highly disconcerting that one of the most important companies in America views this city as less viable than Columbus, Ohio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigereye Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 I hope Atlanta gets it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 2 hours ago, downtownian said: I would relax a little bit. I can imagine plenty of worse things than not being on a list of 20 cities that a large company wrote down. @downtownian you are a great patron of this forum my pal. however, i really do believe that "relaxing a little bit" is houston's main problem. we have always been the BLUE COLLAR TOWN that just sits's back, relax, and watch DALLAS, AUSTIN, and SAN ANTONIO run rings around us. oh, and before i forget, (we are this state's largest city.. and the fourth largest city in this country), and yet, AMAZON, cannot dare to name us within their prospective TOP 20 places for future growth. realistically speaking, all AMAZON sees houston for... is to keep on constructing these larger than life warehouses upon the outskirts of our fair city to route their products around this country. their national policy-making executives obviously see houston as a blue-collar, warehouse infested, back roads kind of town. whereby, they see dallas as a sparkling high-end metropolis, as well as a magnificent city of the future. yet, houston, is supposed to be the SPACE CITY... right? THIS MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH! one can only imagine that the city officials of dallas are laughing their heads off right now at us. this is completely awful.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reporter Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Don't worry. Houston still has a few other Fortune 500 companies left I think. Hopefully they will be able to keep a few dozen people employed for a few more months. If it makes you feel any better, Houston will soon be joined by 19 of the 20 cities on Amazon's list sparkling high-end metropolises that didn't get eliminated this time. Then those cities will know what it's like to be viewed as a blue-collar, warehouse infested, back roads kind of town like Houston (and evidently San Francisco). One day Houston will show America's glamour capitals like Raleigh and Indianapolis what coolness is all about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reporter Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Be strong San Francisco. Amazon doesn't think you're as viable as Columbus. Prove them wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 So much for elementary school ties to win a bid! It does matter that we cant make a top twenty list. I wouldn't say that its the end of the world but what I would like to know is 1. Was it our approach to the bidding process. 2. What kept us out. 3. Why were mass transit and transportation issues disregarded in some cities bids that were considered deal breakers in their original list of demands. Any time we get beat out by Dallas is a big deal! Its important for Houston to make a good impression and at least make the list. It gives a positive spin for the city to play off of. By not making the grade puts us in a less desirable group. This lengthy process will have other companies looking to this list of cities when making their decisions to move or expand. I'm disappointed that we didn't make it. But I won't lose any sleep over it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 14 hours ago, Vy65 said: Pretty strong repudiation of Houston when Indianapolis and Columbus, OH are seen as more desirable locations. This needs to serve as a wake up to city, county, and business officials that the city itself needs drastic changes if its to have relevance over the next several decades. It's important to remember that economic incentives are driven far more at the state level than the city, and so Amazon wanted a wide range of states in the bidding war. Amazon knows that by including Indy and Columbus, Indiana and Ohio will go all-out on incentives, which they can then leverage over more desirable locations that aren't as likely to play the incentive game (NYC, DC, Boston, LA, Denver, etc.). It doesn't mean they're more desirable locations than Houston. Houston was not needed because Texas is already in the game with DFW and Austin, which are honestly better fits for Amazon if they choose Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 It bothers me that we are so complacent about Austin and Dallas getting all the corporate relocations that don't involve oil or heavy industry. It is a serious problem if we are not competitive in the realm of industries created after 1950. Right now our economy is such that you can still get a pretty good idea of how Houston is doing by looking at the price per barrel of crude oil, and in a world where the oil industry is starting to get attacked the way tobacco was in the early 90's or coal was in the 00's, that's not good. To me, having lived in both Dallas and Houston, it doesn't seem obvious at all why Dallas should be so much more attractive for corporate relocations. They even beat us out for the big prize in oil (Exxon), which is rather damning. I think some effort should be made to follow-up with the companies making these decisions and find out why we weren't considered and what we might do to be considered in the future. I don't want to hear the usual explanations from local people who have settled opinions and interests on things like zoning, mass transit, or other quality of life factors. It may be quality of life or it may not be, it may be image or it may not be, but I want to hear the explanations from outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vy65 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 47 minutes ago, H-Town Man said: It bothers me that we are so complacent about Austin and Dallas getting all the corporate relocations that don't involve oil or heavy industry. It is a serious problem if we are not competitive in the realm of industries created after 1950. Right now our economy is such that you can still get a pretty good idea of how Houston is doing by looking at the price per barrel of crude oil, and in a world where the oil industry is starting to get attacked the way tobacco was in the early 90's or coal was in the 00's, that's not good. To me, having lived in both Dallas and Houston, it doesn't seem obvious at all why Dallas should be so much more attractive for corporate relocations. They even beat us out for the big prize in oil (Exxon), which is rather damning. I think some effort should be made to follow-up with the companies making these decisions and find out why we weren't considered and what we might do to be considered in the future. I don't want to hear the usual explanations from local people who have settled opinions and interests on things like zoning, mass transit, or other quality of life factors. It may be quality of life or it may not be, it may be image or it may not be, but I want to hear the explanations from outside. In fairness, there is still TMC and the Port, but otherwise, I think this is exactly right. I don't pretend to know what it would entail to right the ship viz. bringing knowledge economy businesses to Houston, but this city is poised to go the way of the dodo over the next several decades while Austin and Dallas get "richer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vy65 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 1 hour ago, ToryGattis said: It's important to remember that economic incentives are driven far more at the state level than the city, and so Amazon wanted a wide range of states in the bidding war. Amazon knows that by including Indy and Columbus, Indiana and Ohio will go all-out on incentives, which they can then leverage over more desirable locations that aren't as likely to play the incentive game (NYC, DC, Boston, LA, Denver, etc.). It doesn't mean they're more desirable locations than Houston. Houston was not needed because Texas is already in the game with DFW and Austin, which are honestly better fits for Amazon if they choose Texas. Could be, but that presumes a pretty high level of ignorance (of essentially being used) on the part of Indiana and Ohio state officials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htownbro Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 18 hours ago, Vy65 said: Pretty strong repudiation of Houston when Indianapolis and Columbus, OH are seen as more desirable locations. This needs to serve as a wake up to city, county, and business officials that the city itself needs drastic changes if its to have relevance over the next several decades. I agree. NYC, LA and Chicago considered while we are the 4th largest city and not even considered? My guess is DC or NYC will get it so that Amazon will be on both coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 3 hours ago, H-Town Man said: It bothers me that we are so complacent about Austin and Dallas getting all the corporate relocations that don't involve oil or heavy industry. It is a serious problem if we are not competitive in the realm of industries created after 1950. Right now our economy is such that you can still get a pretty good idea of how Houston is doing by looking at the price per barrel of crude oil, and in a world where the oil industry is starting to get attacked the way tobacco was in the early 90's or coal was in the 00's, that's not good. To me, having lived in both Dallas and Houston, it doesn't seem obvious at all why Dallas should be so much more attractive for corporate relocations. They even beat us out for the big prize in oil (Exxon), which is rather damning. I think some effort should be made to follow-up with the companies making these decisions and find out why we weren't considered and what we might do to be considered in the future. I don't want to hear the usual explanations from local people who have settled opinions and interests on things like zoning, mass transit, or other quality of life factors. It may be quality of life or it may not be, it may be image or it may not be, but I want to hear the explanations from outside. ExxonMobil is a bad choice for this argument. The headquarters has something like a few hundred employees, while the campus here was built for over 10,000, and they moved all of the Fairfax people here. A slap to Houston would have been the Fairfax jobs going to Dallas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 You guys are missing the biggest element with a company like Amazon. It's the cities ability to create an environment for tech startups. This city needs a tech district badly! Harvey has nothing to do with this. Hell they have a city like Miami on the list with less mass transit than us and they get hit yearly by hurricanes. It's the immense art and tech industry in those cities that's drawing Amazon, a tech company. Cities that are leading in innovation made the list. I'm glad Mayor Turner mentioned starting a Innovation District soon. We won't see any benefits from something like that for at least 5 years. Chicago was in the same boat 5 years ago and now they are a leading tech start up city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 I can't say I'm surprised we missed out, although there is a twinge of disappointment (like that moment when checking my Powerball ticket after not winning the $500 Million Jackpot). At this point, I'm rooting for Austin, although I'm not sure they have the size to pull it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Jeff Bezos Just Tossed A Nail-Studded Baseball Bat On The Floor Between The Mayors Of Pittsburgh And Kansas City And Asked Who Really Wants The Second Amazon HQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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