OED's Ted Carter: Compete for Amazon; return Starbucks Downtown

[thelakelander]

It's been confirmed that Amazon is opening a center just outside Tampa:

Amazon land deal in Ruskin is signed

A company that works with Amazon on developing distribution centers closed on the acquisition of land in Ruskin Wednesday, confirmed Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham.

USAA Real Estate Co., which works with Amazon in developing its distribution centers, bought the land, and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) signed a long-term lease, Higginbotham said. Construction will begin immediately. The project calls for a $200 million capital investment, with 1,000 permanent jobs and as many as 1,000 additional jobs during peak season.

full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2013/10/10/sources-amazon-land-deal-in-ruskin-is.html

[fsujax]

0-1, so far.

[Stephen]

and another one bites the dust ! Too bad ! We have the port, the rail and I-10 and I-95...What is lacking that we lost this ?

[Stephen]

There should be a group of people working at City Hall and it is their job to find a way to bring business to Jacksonville..Tuscaloosa ,Alabama has a Mercedes Plant, Mobile Alabama got Airbus....what the hell is going on here or better yet NOT going on here?

[fsujax]

In the case of auto plants a lot of it has to do with State incentives to locate those plants there.

[CityLife]

There should be a group of people working at City Hall and it is their job to find a way to bring business to Jacksonville..Tuscaloosa ,Alabama has a Mercedes Plant, Mobile Alabama got Airbus....what the hell is going on here or better yet NOT going on here?

http://www.myjaxchamber.com/

[Intuition Ale Works]

We got 7 elevens!

[urbanlibertarian]

The cheapest way to incentivize small business downtown would be to relax/eliminate zoning, signage and design review regulations.

[thelakelander]

Hmm, I guess we're out of the running. The second Amazon warehouse location has just been announced. The winner is "thelakelander's" Lakeland, which is basically right down the street from the other one in Ruskin. 

Amazon Warehouse Is Coming to Lakeland

LAKELAND | It's official: Amazon will open warehouses in Lakeland and in Hillsborough County, the Internet retailer confirmed Tuesday after months of speculation.

The announcement of the Lakeland facility ends a year-and-a half-long process by city and Polk County economic development officials to land the 1 million square-foot warehouse, officials said Tuesday after months of silence.

Many have wondered whether Amazon would open two warehouses so close to each other, but the company said the two warehouses will handle different types of merchandise.

The Lakeland warehouse will focus on large items like kayaks and televisions. The Hillsborough County warehouse will focus on smaller items like books and consumer goods.

full article: http://www.theledger.com/article/20131022/NEWS/131029810?tc=cr

[tufsu1]

I think that Amazon had said they wanted up to 3 centers....so I guess there's still a chance.

That said, if the intent is delivery in Florida, being in the center of teh state makes sense.....Jax works if you don't alreday have good coverage for south Georgia and lower Alabama