@Tyler
Interesting opinion. Care to elaborate?
What makes you think or feel this way?
Tyler, agree!
Dallas in no way is an A and Raleigh is not (lived there, know it well, it’s awful and infrastructure is a mess).
CNBC is not credible at all, just opinion with no facts (CNN is a laughable joke, but CNBC is getting close to them).
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Let me guess, Fox News “IS” a legitimate source of real news?
If you think it has no credibility, why did you read it in the first place? The Apple announcement was “imminent” according to multiple sources, then the GOP reconvened with their constitutional amendment, “guaranteed right to hunt and fish” craziness not to mention the other real threats to our separation of powers clause…and then the whole Apple noise went radio silent…coincidence?
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UncleJesse, yes. All sources still say Apple is imminent. And that CNBC article is a bunch of BS, since Texas has their own HB2 Bathroom bill and they never repealed it.
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Just a thought … perhaps Apple is dead set against being collocated in Raleigh with Amazon? Perhaps they are holding up on an announcement until the HQ2 decision is finalized?
I agree the CNBC study is a joke! CNBC admit themselves that state-level stats were used which gives Austin and Dallas exactly the same score! Yes, a very worthy study with amazing insight! [Sarcasm included for additional flavor]. What’s even more amusing than the joke itself is how many other publications are quoting the results of this study like it’s a prescient revelation. Good grief … we need some real news, even the speculation has gotten stale.
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I believe rep legislators in Texas were considering the bathroom bill but it didn’t actually was put in place
In fact because North Carolina has recently cut corporate taxes if anything that alone has made it more likely for businesses to move here. To just lay blame to one side without mentioning the many good things that have been done to encourage business in North Carolina is short sighted at best. Besides the HB2 thing was resolved a year and a half ago.
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Good point. The ‘bathroom bill’ has got nothing to do with Apple or Amazon coming to Raleigh. Apple already has hundreds of employees in NC and Amazon is about to add 1,500 more employees at their new Garner center in 2019. The excellent business climate in the area is why businesses continue to come in.
It’s still looking good for Apple to build their large campus near Davis drive near 540. But will the Amazon HQ come to downtown Raleigh despite the lack of mass transit? (or maybe a promise to build a commuter rail system will be part of the deal).
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I do Hope that IF…Amazon comes to Downtown Raleigh…the Mayor/City leaders will have no choice BUT to Crank up the mass transit system into High gear. Having GoRaleigh/GoTriangle Buses run Longer Hours…maybe even 24/7 Implement a BRT line of some sort as mentioned in other topic. Something that city leaders really need to think about and not wait until Amazon is already Here in DTR. maybe there is a plan in place…maybe not. Just saying. 
the city gov’t isnt the stumbling block with public transit. it’s the state and now federal gov’t
also, these “fake news” (I can’t say that without cringing) stories speculating about Amazon HQ2 are getting so old. no one has any insight except Amazon. stop playing into the feeding frenzy and just let them make their decision.
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Media publications have been quoting this section of Amazon’s RFP ad nauseam.
In choosing the location for HQ2, Amazon has a preference for:
- Metropolitan areas with more than one million people
- A stable and business-friendly environment
- Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent
- Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options
But very little coverage has been devoted to this statement …
“Amazon may select one or more proposals and negotiate with the parties submitting such proposals before making an award decision, or it may select no proposals and enter into no agreement.”
Now wouldn’t it be a hoot … after all the hoopla … for Amazon to say, “Nah, never mind. We’ve decided against pursuing HQ2. Our sincere thanks to all for the time and attention paid to this matter!”
I’m not suggesting this will happen but, as I consider the possibility, I can’t help but snicker just a wee bit.
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Wouldn’t that be quite the prank for Amazon to not move forward with HQ2.
What did they gain? Incredible intel. All the best locations in North America have disclosed their full details of their best economic development areas… handed on a platter to the world’s richest company. For free!
You figure that competitors like Walmart would love to have that data. Amazon can now use that for optimal locating of their distribution centers, or retail stores, drone stations, etc. Priceless!
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Wow. That’s an amazing point.
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I’ve always been interested in pitch videos, how cities market themselves. I’ve been critical of Raleigh’s efforts in the past, still am, but I’ll admit it’s not easy and maybe Raleigh just doesn’t have much to work with. I think we can produce much better videos here.
To that, I enjoyed watching some of the Amazon pitch videos from other cities on this blog post.
The best I could find for the Triangle was what the N&O posted. How do you think we stack up?
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article182998261.html
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Leo , Kind of sounds like we have a Medium Chance of Amazon coming to us ! JMO !
As much as I love Raleigh , I believe many of the other cities does beat us in areas of
sports , transportation , downtown size , etc. ! JMO Again !
I really hope that I am way wrong on this , because WOW ! , what a project such as this
would change Raleigh to a big time city !
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I would be kind of astonished if HQ2 moves here, especially if Apple really is imminent. The biggest knock on Raleigh is size and I frankly think HQ2 is much too large to move here. (I’d be happy with an Amazon office, mind you, but something under 10k to get started).
All the speculation regarding Apple seems to revolve around the legislature, so I’m going to assume there’s something to that. But, with Amazon considering Texas, Georgia and other red states, I think it’s clear they aren’t afraid of socially conservative legislation. My general impression is that Amazon is much more cost-focused while Apple is a lot more brand-oriented.
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Do note that Apple has a major facility in Austin, Texas, so clearly they are willing to tolerate a conservative political climate.
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Fair point. But, I believe they moved to Austin in the early 90s? I think today is a very different world, where people pay a lot more attention to where new offices are opened, (as opposed to expanding existing offices). I doubt there were high profile PR campaigns targeting corporate expansions back then? Idk, I was a toddler.
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Isn’t the Austin facility mainly a giant tech/customer support base for Apple?
(Sure, they also have a hardware design facility there, but that doesn’t seem to be its primary function. If so, that, plus historical context, may explain why political climate didn’t matter to Apple as much when they expanded there.)
Ah, I wasn’t sure of when the Austin facility was opened. I thought it was more recent than the '90’s, but what do I know? 