Should Denver roll out the welcome mat for Amazon?
I hope the Front Range doesn’t go after Amazon’s recently announced 50,000 employee, 2nd headquarters. There is a point at which growth isn’t worth the price to lifestyle.
We have a historically low 2.3 percent unemployment. Anybody can get a job. We don’t “need” more of them. Air quality is bad and getting worse. Traffic is bad. Schools are worsening as we enjoy our low TABOR taxes. The airport is maxing out and wants $1.8 billion (better spent in Grand Junction?). Have fun trying to get through the Eisenhower Tunnel to enjoy Colorful Colorado on a weekend. Rents are through the roof. Water is scarce. There are houses built next to gas wells ... kaboom! While local control of drilling is banned and we give it away with the lowest severance taxes in the West. The local antelope are gone.
Things are good enough, and enough already. Please direct any growth (and tax incentives) to the vast portions of the state that need it. From Pueblo to Montrose, Lamar to Craig. Think: growth for what purpose? Having lived a couple decades in the boom-town Seattle, it was exciting to mint new millionaires every day. But you end up living in a place that has lost half its charm. Richard Opler, Parker
As the competition heats up among cities to attract the new Amazon headquarters, The New York Times has already nominated Denver as the best choice. There is one other factor no one has mentioned, which makes Denver a clear winner: its sunny weather.
Yep, I am talking about those 300plus days of sunshine a year. I know, we get those ten inch snow dumps, but it all melts off in a day or two. As a transplant myself, I have found that Denver’s beautiful weather is not something you understand until after you have moved here. The sunny weather makes for beautiful skiing in the winter and great hiking in the summer. And for a company whose business is dependent on fast and efficient shipping, great weather has got to be an advantage. Debbie Scott, Lyons
I’m surprised and concerned to see the effort to bring Amazon to the Denver metro. Why would we want to do that? The biggest complaints about life in Colorado these days are: too many people, and traffic is a nightmare. How is adding a minimum of 50K more people going to help that?
From what The Denver Post has said, the unemployment rate is below nor- mal, meaning businesses are already having trouble hiring workers. How is Amazon going to help any of these things? Do we really want even more people trampling the mountains and clogging the highways? Ken Wolff, Littleton
Why is metro Denver courting Amazon’s second headquarters? Denver does not need more growth, with more pressure on the housing market and inadequate infrastructure. I am rooting for Detroit or Pittsburgh or some other location that needs a kickstart to their economy. Meredith Gabow, Denver
The rush to win Amazon’s new headquarters facility is beginning to resemble the morning after Halloween, with the kids trying to devour as much candy as possible in the shortest time possible. Watch out for sugar shock — that bag of candy poses risks.
It’s unfashionable to urge caution to the clamoring clan, but it must be done. The greater Denver metro area has been growing at a blistering pace already, thank you. And we should ask ourselves if we really need an injection of sweets.
Ask yourself if you enjoy the drive into town during rush hour, the long waiting lines at the ski lift, trying to find parking at DIA, and the other features of an exploding economy, and pause. Amazon will exacerbate those problems and create new ones. Calm down, Colorado, and proceed with caution. Harry Puncec, Lakewood
Whoa, I recall Merrill Lynch in the ‘90’s talking about a massive building program to house a lot of their highly paid folks with the first building built in the Denver Tech Center. In fact, on behalf of a real estate group that I have been a member of since 1965, I asked the head of the effort to attend one of our meetings and tell our members about it. Then, on Jan. 3, 2002, Fox News announced that the only building in the planned “campus” would close immediately and 1,000 workers would be laid off.
Is Amazon an answer to continued Denver Metro growth? Expecting massive tax incentives, entering a state with limited water resources and a highway network in need of millions upon millions of dollars for needed upgrades and repairs? Is an ever increasing cost of home ownership ready for the “next big thing?”
To quoting an old-but-applicable bromide: Be careful what you wish for, Denver. David C. Nilges, Denver