CHICAGO | General Developments

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Barrelfish

Interesting tidbit (via the new book on Amazon): Apparently Chicago, Raleigh, and Philly were Amazon's 3 internal finalists for HQ2, but then Bezos went with his gut to pick NYC instead.

Source (with screenshot of the NYT excerpt): https://twitter.com/eliotwb/status/1392848608605605890

I'm imagining a man in the high castle scenario where Chicago lands HQ2 and Rahm wins another term.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ You should fulfill Steely Dan’s lifelong dream and buy a house in Schaumburg

LOL talk to me in 10 years. I can think of suburbs higher on my list though.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by marothisu

LOL talk to me in 10 years. I can think of suburbs higher on my list though.

Libertyville

And it’s more diverse than you may think. In my cul-de-sac (I know, I know...) We’ve got 3 Indians, 2 Chinese, and a partridge in a pair tree

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Libertyville

And it’s more diverse than you may think. In my cul-de-sac (I know, I know...) We’ve got 3 Indians, 2 Chinese, and a partridge in a pair tree

Sold.

Edit: I'm getting All in the Family flashbacks..

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Libertyville

Banned cannabis dispensaries. Libertyville is unironically anti-freedom.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I'm half surprised but half not. I thought he'd be more rational but my opinion of Jeff Bezos as a business person has slightly gone down now.

Are you factoring in the half-billion dollar yacht?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Are you factoring in the half-billion dollar yacht?

Well now it's obvious but I thought he wouldn't go with a knee jerk type of decision..

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Well now it's obvious but I thought he wouldn't go with a knee jerk type of decision..

Yep. The good thing is, his people on the search team who ruled out NYC and DC (too expensive, very difficult to develop, hostile political climate) were proven 100% right when AOC and her local allies decided to wage war against the HQ2 in Queens.

Amazon is still getting major offices in NYC and DC, but they are not getting the elaborate urban campus they envisioned. Their offices will be just like the ones every other company has, which makes the whole HQ2 process a multi-year waste of time and money for everyone involved. Bezos could have just signed leases with developers in NYC and DC in the first place and avoided the whole 3-ring circus.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ You should fulfill Steely Dan’s lifelong dream and buy a house in Schaumburg

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I'll rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Yep. The good thing is, his people on the search team who ruled out NYC and DC (too expensive, very difficult to develop, hostile political climate) were proven 100% right when AOC and her local allies decided to wage war against the HQ2 in Queens.

Amazon is still getting major offices in NYC and DC, but they are not getting the elaborate urban campus they envisioned. Their offices will be just like the ones every other company has, which makes the whole HQ2 process a multi-year waste of time and money for everyone involved. Bezos could have just signed leases with developers in NYC and DC in the first place and avoided the whole 3-ring circus.

I'd argue though that the Virginia campus will be more along the lines of a real-life actual hq2 (which they're still referring to it as), as opposed to just a major new secondary office:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/amaz...-virginia.html

So if the anecdote from the times is accurate, it's really interesting because it sorta flies in the face of the company's reputation for being relentlessly data-driven, far into the details. The fact that gut would prevail on something so consequential.

Also, with respect to the decision re New York, I have many questions - it will be easy to go down the rabbit hole and OT anyway, so for another time and place.

Actually, the entire competition was in a way an incredibly huge data gathering and analysis exercise for them, and I'm sure it's valuable stuff that will bring dividends.

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

So if the anecdote from the times is accurate, it's really interesting because it sorta flies in the face of the company's reputation for being relentlessly data-driven, far into the details. The fact that gut would prevail on something so consequential.

I don’t know. I haven’t read the book, but the mere existence of this anecdote reeks of face-saving.

If I had the NYC HQ2 fiasco on my site selector resumé, I’d certainly report that it was the CEO going AWOL, and that the actual list was completely different with 3 socially acceptable choices.

Instead of the probable reality of “Wink, Wink, Nod, Nod—The big boss wants to go to NYC and DC while we harvest some data.”

Amazon had plenty of opportunities to back out and change course after NYC fell through, and they didn’t...which makes the CEO-shooting-from-the-hip narrative very suspect.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

Amazon had plenty of opportunities to back out and change course after NYC fell through, and they didn’t...which makes the CEO-shooting-from-the-hip narrative very suspect.

I'm going to take a guess that they determine at that point, that opening another even half HQ2 was going to be a waste. We and others talked about it a lot but it only makes sense to kind of decentralize the entire thing (i.e. you don't have literally everything centered in one place).

I'm not sure if it's suspect really - in business you kind of have to make knee jerk decisions sometimes. At times they pay off and at other times - nope. I know that Amazon and Bezos are very data driven, but you also don't get to where Bezos is at by not doing some things like this at times.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

I don’t know. I haven’t read the book, but the mere existence of this anecdote reeks of face-saving.

If I had the NYC HQ2 fiasco on my site selector resumé, I’d certainly report that it was the CEO going AWOL, and that the actual list was completely different with 3 socially acceptable choices.

Instead of the probable reality of “Wink, Wink, Nod, Nod—The big boss wants to go to NYC and DC while we harvest some data.”

Amazon had plenty of opportunities to back out and change course after NYC fell through, and they didn’t...which makes the CEO-shooting-from-the-hip narrative very suspect.

Unfortunately a distinct possibility as well. Access reporting (because the blame, in cases in which bs gets peddled - not that I'm saying that is in fact the case here - goes to media, not the sources that spin them) has always been around, but the degree to which it dominates the fourth estate today is truly depressing (yes there is certainly still some very good investigative journalism but is dwindling with its status as a venerated loss leader being mercilessly pummeled).

[Randomguy34]

A 56 unit mixed-income building, planned for 63rd Pkwy & Halsted, is on the Plan Commission agenda for next week. The 1st floor with have either retail or a community space depending on demand. The developers received LIHTC last year, and have plans for a phase 2 on the northern half of the parcel




https://urbanize.city/chicago/post/e...t-halsted-61st

[marothisu]

New building at 3415 N Ashland looks to be moving forward. A demolition permit was issued for the 2 story industrial building at the site. To replace it will be a new 4 story, 53 unit building with 16 parking spaces. Permit still pending for that. This project received zoning approval in December. It is a block or 2 from the Paulina Brown Line stop.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ You should fulfill Steely Dan’s lifelong dream and buy a house in Schaumburg

HAHAHAHA!!!!

Thank you so much for causing me to literally spit coffee on my laptop screen!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Handro]

Originally Posted by marothisu

New building at 3415 N Ashland looks to be moving forward. A demolition permit was issued for the 2 story industrial building at the site. To replace it will be a new 4 story, 53 unit building with 16 parking spaces. Permit still pending for that. This project received zoning approval in December. It is a block or 2 from the Paulina Brown Line stop.

What the...



What is with putting at grade doors and patios on a busy four-lane road? This is like that ugly AF building at Ashland/Madison.

[the urban politician]

^ It's better than parking.

Also, I actually think it's possible to have too much ground level retail

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Handro

What the...



What is with putting at grade doors and patios on a busy four-lane road? This is like that ugly AF building at Ashland/Madison.

I agree, I understand why retail space is a loser here but the building should be 1/2 story above grade with a full or partial basement. Presumably this building is big enough to have an elevator so there shouldn't be an ADA issue.

On the other hand, this may end up like a "garden apartment" situation where the landlord has to charge below-market rents to fill the units. That's good for people who otherwise could not afford to live in this wealthy neighborhood full of amenities.

[the urban politician]

^ I don't know about below market rents for these garden apartments, as it looks like they all will get a patio. A patio where you can sip a drink on a summer day and enjoy looking at all the hotties walk by.....