Amazon searching for second HQ

Issues concerning Downtown as described by the Downtown Council. River to 31st Street, I-35 to Bruce R. Watkins.
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chrizow
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by chrizow »

what a joke. this is embarrassing.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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sigh.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by tower »

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... -city.html

Well, this is over already. The article is behind a paywall, so I don't know what it says, but it appears that a south KC site is being pitched.
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chrizow
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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simply speechless. on what planet does it seem like a good idea to pitch a site to amazon anywhere other than downtown KC? could the city have fucked up the RFP this badly?
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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It went from bad(the reviews) to worse(south KC location)
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by earthling »

tower wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... -city.html

Well, this is over already. The article is behind a paywall, so I don't know what it says, but it appears that a south KC site is being pitched.
It's the Oxford on the Blue site along I435. It's clear the Oxford rep is suburban car dependent minded and completely out of touch with what Amazon is seeking. But fortunately it's just one of the sites being offered.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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It was one location in the pitch.

The reviews are goofy but not going to impact any slim bid chance, just laugh at them
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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what are the others?
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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No clue. I'd assume north loop or east village
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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The article just says 'one of the sites' being offered by KCADC. None others mentioned.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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435/blue river is an insult if it's even included in the RFP response package. like the team didn't even read, or consider, what amazon wants. i hope it's a footnote at the end of 11 pages of pitching downtown-area sites.

KC's bid has always been a pipe dream, but the city at least needs to put a reasonable foot forward. this is like self-sabotage.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by beautyfromashes »

This is a nod to the suburban council members who were probably livid that an urban location was the only one being discussed. Surprised if we didn’t have a site from each council district. Dumb politicians.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by KCMOJoe89 »

Kerr is just pimping his site. He touts the access to the population center of KC, Lees Summit, JoCo and the Lees Summit and JoCo airports. He also said his site is already assembled and under control which would make it likely construction could start in 2019, which is in line with Amazon's timeline.

It was interesting he suggested the city has a great site with 60 acres on the riverfront, but he dismissed it because of the poor access for such a large workforce. Was his only mention of another site without saying what other sites are in the pitch. And I'm pretty sure he's marketing the parcels on the riverfront for the Port Authority as well, so may just be trying to play up two of his sites.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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Amazon RFP mentioned Greenfield spaces too didn't it? I agree dumb for KC to pitch though
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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What a fricking joke and disgrace they are pitching ugly/crap locations. I am really hoping Detroit or Chicago lands this 2nd HQ now and show these surban leaders what urban renewal is all about.

This city is snowflake central when it comes to anything promoting density or parking/acess
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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brewcrew1000 wrote:What a fricking joke and disgrace they are pitching ugly/crap locations. I am really hoping Detroit or Chicago lands this 2nd HQ now and show these surban leaders what urban renewal is all about.

This city is snowflake central when it comes to anything promoting density or parking/acess
It's one location of multiple that are being proposed. Until we know what the others are, I'd step back from the ledge. Who's to say they couldn't use this mediocre site to highlight the benefits of the option(s) they really want chosen, say the north loop or East village?

It's not the greenfield site I'd pitch, why not something near the speedway? Or at ridgeview and K-10? But KC's foolish to not offer one non-urban location.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by tower »

I was under the impression that Amazon only wanted one location in the RFP response? But if there are going to be multiple sites proposed, one of them would be suburban, and that site is pretty decent for a suburban site.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by dnweava »

over reactions in this thread much... lol. And there is nothing wrong with being off 435 which puts them near Cerner, Sprint, and Burns/Mac campuses. If you are going suburban, that is the area that seems to make sense, that or near the airport.

I've heard they are propsing 10-12 different sites that Amazon could pick from. Seems logical to give them options and let them decide what is best for themselves.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

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The reason why I think the greenfield pitch is bad because we are going to have to bring workers in to make this work and a good majority will be young. Also a lot of Sunbelt cities are going to have huge greenfield spots and they are all going to have better transportation/airport options and a deeper talent pool. If they are concerned about access so people from the suburbs can make it into work easier the people making this decision are simply out of touch with what Amazon is trying to achieve.
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Re: Amazon searching for second HQ

Post by Highlander »

LOL - maybe we should move this thread out of the Downtown Development Discussion.

Here's my favorite location. It's a midtown location. Between Gillham and Main and Linwood and 34th terrace. It would be a great location and Amazon would be a huge improvement over what's there now. (albeit traffic may be a bit of an issue with no nearby interstate)

Second best: Give them the entire East Loop Surface Lot Prairie.

Both these locations are sizeable contiguous stretches of land in the core and not all that far from the cities urban heart.
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