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Amazon Second HQ

In Durham Region the average rent for a one bedroom is $1285, a two bedroom is $1457 and a three bedroom is $1263.


Durham is the only municipality in North America, where as your family grows and more space is needed, one can save save $18 a month on rent. This combined the fact that there is enough room there, for all 50,000 employees to have their own parking spot, makes Durham Region clearly the winner.
 
The Boston booklet is better graphic design-wise than the Toronto book, but the "Boston Yes." Slogan is awkwardness absolutely ripe for mockery.

Yeah, I have some issues with the graphic design for our bid as well - it seems everything we do of late have to be in that artsy, moody tone - e.g.


Interesting note - the Toronto bid is one of the few that didn't slap the skyline on the cover.

No disrespect but I LOL'd that Detroit has a campaign.

Can't beat Chris Christie dumping $7B of public money for it.

AoD
 
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The problem with New Jersey is that it's an anti-prestige location, kind of a storage yard for people and corporate offices that don't want too much attention.

At least with Detroit and other rust belt cities you can claim an urban renaissance vibe there.
 
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I wonder how many other cities combined a bunch of regional/outer regional sites into their bid, or anything close to the number ours has. Boston appears to have one (Suffolk Downs). We have ten (or fourteen), in ten municipalities, spread over an area almost 100km long. I'm not even sure how Toronto Global/Deloitte got some to qualify considering the RFP requirements. Maybe Toronto should've went it alone, and allowed the region to submit their own combined bid. Feel like page after page of different mayors and chairs smiling over their own areas is a bit confusing.
 
I wonder how many other cities combined a bunch of regional/outer regional sites into their bid, or anything close to the number ours has. Boston appears to have one (Suffolk Downs). We have ten (or fourteen), in ten municipalities, spread over an area almost 100km long. I'm not even sure how Toronto Global/Deloitte got some to qualify considering the RFP requirements. Maybe Toronto should've went it alone, and allowed the region to submit their own combined bid. Feel like page after page of different mayors and chairs smiling over their own areas is a bit confusing.

I see the bid book as a formality to signify interest - an organization as large and versed in data analytics is not going to rely on it for ground truth - they would be doing their homework (if not having done so already). As mentioned previously by someone at U of T Rotman - this is also about selling the city region to other interested parties - Amazon won't be the only ones reading this.

AoD
 
With Amazon bringing a potential 50,000 jobs to its HQ2... how does that compare with the banks in terms of local office employment? (I'm assuming the banks occupy the top 5 slots).
 
I see the bid book as a formality to signify interest - an organization as large and versed in data analytics is not going to rely on it for ground truth - they would be doing their homework (if not having done so already). As mentioned previously by someone at U of T Rotman - this is also about selling the city region to other interested parties - Amazon won't be the only ones reading this.

AoD

For sure. And our bid does an excellent job selling the city-region no question. But at the same time some "Toronto Region" sites could stand on their own as a viable single bid, just as Toronto's core-East Harbour does. Obviously not on the same level, but still. Mississauga being the key one imo, or as a grouped presentation with Brampton. That could easily make a viable 90p doc that would probably be better than half the bids Amazon receives. Feel like with the grouped bid things are being diluted all around.

And at the same time Toronto has its own centres and intermediate centres going back decades. Did these even get a mention? Not going to argue their merit or whatnot, but in a way our Toronto/former Metro has been its own city-region for quite some time.
 
From the Saturday Globe:

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/re...36678470/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&

Former Amazon executive James Thomson, who headed the business allowing outside companies to sell on Amazon's platform, said Friday he was more impressed by Toronto's bid than he had anticipated. He believes the city may have a shot at success because of Ontario's announced commitment to funding more university spots in high-tech programs.

Mr. Thomson said there has been too much public focus on financial incentives, and said Amazon's top internal concern is finding a large pool of technology talent. Amazon expects to hire up to 50,000 employees for its new headquarters, and is already struggling to fill all its existing jobs, with 3,000 technology positions currently open, Mr. Thomson said.

"It's just staggering, the magnitude of the problem," he said.

Mr. Thomson said he still isn't sure Amazon would put its second headquarters anywhere outside of the U.S., but said the company may like the comparative ease of attracting and moving foreign employees to Canada compared to the United States.

He also believes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would not be deterred by U.S. President Donald Trump's strong protectionist sentiments if he otherwise favoured a Canadian location for business reasons.

"Jeff Bezos is going to do what he wants to do," he said.

And Op-ed by JoTo:

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/op...the-city-continues-to-thrive/article36677927/

AoD
 
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I think above all else that this is our advantage:
the company may like the comparative ease of attracting and moving foreign employees to Canada compared to the United States.

Even post Trump, Amazon needs long term security that it can hire foreign talent and frankly, there's no better place in the world than Canada. Yes, the world. Even Europe, once a bastion for diversity and openness under the EU, is trending in the opposite direction. Canada is still countering that trend with no indication that it'll turn back.

Does Amazon want to put all of its eggs in one basket? It must be pretty scary for companies based in the US to have it all on the line dependent on one irrational President's whims.
 
He also believes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would not be deterred by U.S. President Donald Trump's strong protectionist sentiments if he otherwise favoured a Canadian location for business reasons.

Here's a little compilation of Trump's ridiculous tweets at Amazon, which will make any intelligent person feel dumber after reading them.


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