Amazon's New Location

[daveklepper]

The Boston Globe website has the full applicaton with Mayor Walsh's letter.  Transit and interecity transportation is displayed as a strong point, with the five minutes from the proposed site, Suffolk Downs, to the airport, fifteen minutes from downtown, shown immiediately, later 3-1/2 houea by train to NY also shown.

A schmatic simplified transit map is also part of the promotion, with only rail and the Silver Line express bus lines shown.  But the absence of the purple n. Sta. - S. Sta connection is obvious.

Perhaps other readers can discuss the transit-related parts of other cities' proposals on this thread?

 

[54light15]

Toronto is trying to get the Amazon development too. It would be going in an area where there already is a plan to have streetcar lines that haven't been built yet, along Queens Quay east and in the harbour lands. It might be the incentive to actually get those lines built. 

[Firelock76]

Virginia's fighting hard for that new Amazon location as well, they've even got the spots picked out. Several are in the Richmond area, but aside from buses Richmond has no transit.  A LOT of states are scrambling to get Amazon to move in, it'll be interesting to see how it all comes out.

[blue streak 1]

Atlanta has 5 or  6 locations.  A couple are iffy.  Best location appears to be old Ft. McPhearson property  100+ acres, adjaecent to MARTA rail & bus, combined CSX  and  NS main line that has siding into Fort and is south of downtown.

[daveklepper]

Regarding the Boston site, views in 1950 or 1951:

[Firelock76]

David, I can't help but think if those trolleys were still around Amazon would move there in a flash. 

Look at it this way, those trolleys wouldn't just be transportation, they'd be a ride, and a fun one at that!

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The real advantage that Amazon is seeking is how many tax breaks the state and municipal authorities are willing to give away in order to attract the new development.  Wisconsin just about gave away the whole store to attract Foxconn, whose track record in these matters is questionable at best.  I'd like to know what's really being offered in the packages from the various cities for Amazon.

[Overmod]

CSSHEGEWISCH

The real advantage that Amazon is seeking is how many tax breaks the state and municipal authorities are willing to give away in order to attract the new development...

Beat me to it by half an hour!  There were some fairly indignant stories on NPR about this issue yesterday, with total incentive 'value' perhaps being higher than $50B over the expected lifetime of the project if I heard the story details correctly in the car.

I'd like to know what's really being offered in the packages from the various cities for Amazon.

Sadder, of course, is that every dollar of offered incentive or PILOT consequence is a dollar not available for transit development or operation. 

[BaltACD]

Corporate welfare.

[rcdrye]

New Hampshire's Governor Sununu is "willing to re-evaluate" the state's historic negligence of rail transit if that helps... 

[JL Chicago]

Too late for New Hampshire. I doubt they could build a new system quick enough to meet Amazon's timeline.

It will be interesting to see who is on the short list.

[PJS1]

Most of the inducements to attract a company to a location are ad valorem and property tax abatements as well as economic development incentives. 

 

If a city, county or state grants a potential employer a tax abatement, it losses the tax revenues that would have been generated if the abatement had not been granted, assuming that another comparable entity does not take up the offer. 

 

Offsetting the taxes lost because of the abatement would be the additional taxes generated by the employees attracted to the area because of the new jobs created by the new employer. 

 

The math is the present value of the tax revenues lost because of the abatements compared to the present value of the taxes paid by additions to the area workforce. 

 

Austin believes it would come out the winner by granting Amazon the tax abatements it seeks to open its second headquarters in the city.  San Antonio, on the other hand, dropped out of the bidding because it did not believe it would be a winner.

 

Any company considering a move to Texas, with the exception of Dallas, is faced with a transit poor, auto-centric environment.  But that could be a plus for the decision makers, because most people want the freedom, convenience, and comfort of driving to work as opposed to riding transit.