Amazon $5 bil co-HQ's in play

[CityLife]

Jax didn't even make the top 20. Hopefully this is a wake up call.

Atlanta
Austin, Tex.
Boston
Chicago
Columbus, Ohio
Dallas
Denver
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montgomery County, Md.
Nashville
Newark
New York
Northern Virginia
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Raleigh, N.C.
Toronto, Canada
Washington, D.C.

[pierre]

Not surprising, at all

[thelakelander]

Miami and Indy may be surprises but this list basically mirrors most early predictions.

[BenderRodriguez]

Jax didn't even make the top 20. Hopefully this is a wake up call.

It won't be. Stubbornness knows no bounds as far as the people in charge are concerned. I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon is watching this whole District debacle play out while face palming and rejoicing at the same time since they know that they won't have to go through something similar.

It's time for an actual look in the mirror and figuring out how to become a major player in the new modern world view. We can't do that by what we're currently serving.

[ProjectMaximus]

the Apple announcement comes just in time!

[thelakelander]

Jax didn't even make the top 20. Hopefully this is a wake up call.

It won't be. Stubbornness knows no bounds as far as the people in charge are concerned. I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon is watching this whole District debacle play out while face palming and rejoicing at the same time since they know that they won't have to go through something similar.

It's time for an actual look in the mirror and figuring out how to become a major player in the new modern world view. We can't do that by what we're currently serving.

I doubt Jax was ever on their radar for this. We're way too small, don't have the education base, have no real plans for major transit initiatives and don't have anywhere near the amount of money to give away that many of these larger places are willing to part with. Hopefully, Miami or Atlanta wins. That would improve the chances of something like Brightline being successful and expanding to the point that Jax benefits indirectly.

[JaxAvondale]

It should not be a surprise that we didn't make the shortlist. These other cities have a lot more to offer. However, it should be a wake call to the city & citizens to improve our infrastructure downtown.

[TimmyB]

the Apple announcement comes just in time!

Time to resurrect this design, Max?

[CityLife]

I heard a few weeks ago from someone that is very plugged into statewide economic development that Orlando's proposal was substantially better than Jax's, and to not expect Jax to be anywhere close to the short list. Jax is miles behind Orlando and South Florida in terms of innovation, tech, and R&D, so that is not a surprise. It really is a shame that the City and its leaders put so much effort into One Spark, instead of creating something more feasible and sustainable long term. Orlando has long utilized proximity to NASA for spinoff research. Jax should be doing the same with the military. Or partnering more with UF and/or FSU, who both want larger footprints in big cities in the state.

Jax's economy is so reliant on the financial services sector that it could be extremely vulnerable to a major disruption in that field, like Blockchain and Cryptocurrency could potentially have. The City really needs to make some kind of bold, innovative long term move, or it could be left in the dust in 20 years.

[KenFSU]

No surprise, but I'm happy.

On top of the 200 acres of prime riverfront property that we were ready to give to one of the world's largest, wealthiest corporations for free, can you even imagine how beholden any mid-sized city would be to Amazon if they were to be selected?

Plus, the world is rapidly changing.

Who's to say someone doesn't come around a decade from now and disrupt retail in the same way Amazon has in the last decade.

Sounds like a recipe for Flint 2.0.

No thanks.

Ditto Apple.

I'd much rather attract a handful of diverse, smaller corporations the old fashioned way than beg a megacorp to take over the city and suck its coffers dry.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Miami seems to be the only FL city still in the running...



https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/amazon-narrows-list-of-candidates-for-new-headquarters-hq2-to-20.html

[Todd_Parker]

Jax's economy is so reliant on the financial services sector that it could be extremely vulnerable to a major disruption in that field, like Blockchain and Cryptocurrency could potentially have. The City really needs to make some kind of bold, innovative long term move, or it could be left in the dust in 20 years.

Isn't the city being left in the dust right now? Unless the next Amazon/Apple/Google is developed locally, the city seems set to remain in the mid-tier status for quite some time (not that that is necessarily a bad thing) and should be content with and embrace any upgrades such as the Laura St. trio, IKEA, Brightline stopover between Miami and Atlanta, etc. The goal shouldn't be to become like an Atlanta or Orlando, but to become a better Jacksonville.

[Sonic101]

I think I'm the most surprised about Detroit not making the short list, especially since Columbus did. Dan Gilbert must be pretty angry at that.

What confuses me is that three places in the DC metro made the list. They couldn't just choose one or say 'DC metro'?

[KenFSU]

Jax's economy is so reliant on the financial services sector that it could be extremely vulnerable to a major disruption in that field, like Blockchain and Cryptocurrency could potentially have. The City really needs to make some kind of bold, innovative long term move, or it could be left in the dust in 20 years.

Isn't the city being left in the dust right now? Unless the next Amazon/Apple/Google is developed locally, the city seems set to remain in the mid-tier status for quite some time (not that that is necessarily a bad thing) and should be content with and embrace any upgrades such as the Laura St. trio, IKEA, Brightline stopover between Miami and Atlanta, etc. The goal shouldn't be to become like an Atlanta or Orlando, but to become a better Jacksonville.

100% agree, Todd.

Put continued focus on infrastructure, transit, and general quality of life improvements for the 1.6 million people and thousands of business already in the Jax metro, and businesses will be begging us to move here, rather than vice versa.

[thelakelander]

^Bingo! Btw, that's exactly how I feel about DT as well. Focus on getting the simple basics right for the people there and those that want to be there. Do that, and you'll get further for less investment than reaching for expensive gimmicks to make it sexy and cool for suburbanites.