Amazon Opens Search for Amazon HQ2

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The majority wouldn't be living in Seattle itself, but rather the metro area which has 4 million people.

That isn't bad then.

[JSWolf]

I would say Boston is the best choice. That way there is an Amazon HQ on the east and west coasts of America.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would say Boston is the best choice. That way there is an Amazon HQ on the east and west coasts of America.

And they're connected by the longest highway in the US, I-90.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The city tax is unconstitutional at the state level and not a likely factor.
Nor is it the minimum wage an issue because Amazon isn't looking for a warehouse site but a corporate HQ. White collar jobs; powerpoint rangers and keyboard jockeys. I don't think the cost of janitorial services is going to weigh too heavily.
Otherwise, California would've made the list.

The cost of living overall will be a factor. And many employees will be on the lower half of the pay scale. The company's pencil pushers will want to keep it that way especially when you add in healthcare. Btw, how many janitors are needed for a 8 million sq ft campus?

And city (in)stability was one of Amazon's criteria. Taxes weigh heavily on that. Sure Amazon will receive a 10-year abatement on property taxes but what happens after? You can't relocate a $5 billion hdqrs and 50,000 employees overnight.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Fbone

You can't relocate a $5 billion hdqrs and 50,000 employees overnight.

I simply don't think HQ2 has anything to do with Seattle politics. Those are trivial compared to Amazon's global reach.

Amazon isn't a unitary company. At this point, it is more properly considered a consortium. An empire of separate and distinct businesses and facilities scattered all over the world. There is no significant advantage to having all HQ staff in one city, one time zone. Or even one country. (Toronto!)

HQ2 is most likely a prelude to future moves. Like a split between the retail and technology functions. Or the growth in business to business or in personal services. Or in their international operations. Maybe all of the above.

[fjtorres]

Here's the AP handicapping the players:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...Z00?li=BBnbfcN

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I simply don't think HQ2 has anything to do with Seattle politics. Those are trivial compared to Amazon's global reach.

But their using Seattle as a comparison/standard to their future site.

If the local government of one of the proposed cities, is contemplating tax changes, mandatory wage increases or green initiatives Amazon will take a hard look at them and may reject them. Amazon will demand guarantees not promises.

[cfrizz]

I can't see it coming to Boston, our infrastructure is a mess. Crumbling highways and bridges, as well as an ancient public transportation system that is going to take YEARS to make right. DC's public transportation is in just as bad shape, and it's much younger than Boston's.

They built these systems but never bothered to think that things needed to be maintained, changed and updated, and the money is tight to put into what needs to be done. So they are doing it piecemeal.

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

I can't see it coming to Boston, our infrastructure is a mess. Crumbling highways and bridges, as well as an ancient public transportation system that is going to take YEARS to make right. DC's public transportation is in just as bad shape, and it's much younger than Boston's.

As bad as they are, DC and Boston are still 2 of the top 5 public transportation systems in the US. New York is the only American city on the list with a clearly better system, with Chicago maybe (it's basically in the same realm as DC/Boston, plus or minus a little).

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by sjfan

As bad as they are, DC and Boston are still 2 of the top 5 public transportation systems in the US. New York is the only American city on the list with a clearly better system, with Chicago maybe (it's basically in the same realm as DC/Boston, plus or minus a little).

That's quite unbelievable! I'm forced to rely on 40-60 year old trains to get me into Boston, add in snow or just plain frigid temperatures and everything can slow to a crawl or stop all together!

Then we have idiot train operators that forget to set brakes on trains so they go flying out of the station with no one on them to control them! So they have to cut power to the entire system to get the train to stop.

Those same trains have to go over a 112 year old bridge that someone finally realized was in need of desperate maintenance, which they are now working on.

I truly hate to think about even more people utilizing it. Unless Amazon is going to cough up a lot of money to help us fix all this I say go somewhere else!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Amazon Opens Search for Amazon HQ2 – A Second Headquarters City in North America

Ahem.

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-may...d-of-just-one/

It seems the top choice--Northern Virginia's Crystal City, by latest reports--isn't up to hosting the full planned capacity. So they're looking to split the expansion.

And now it ends up Amazon may decide on creating an HQ2 and HQ3.

The company is looking to split its planned second headquarters -- dubbed HQ2 -- between two cities, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the move.

HQ2 gained enormous attention for being one of the biggest development projects in the US, with Amazon planning to hire 50,000 workers and spend $5 billion. According to the Journal report, Amazon may decide to create two separate 25,000-person campuses instead, due in part to the need to hire enough tech talent.

While two new 25,000-person offices remain massive undertakings for the company and are sure to bring huge investments to whatever cities they go to, a decision to split HQ2 undercuts Amazon and the media's year-long hype over the project. Additionally, two HQ2 projects would ensure Seattle would remain Amazon's unequivocal headquarters, instead of the city needing to share that title with another location.

Tsk tsk.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Ahem.

https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-may...d-of-just-one/

It seems the top choice--Northern Virginia's Crystal City, by latest reports--isn't up to hosting the full planned capacity. So they're looking to split the expansion.



Tsk tsk.

I am shocked, shocked I tell you to find out that Bezos decided to put it near Washington DC where they have a massive lobbying presence.

[fjtorres]

This WSJ via MSN piece has more details on the rationale and logistics.
Plus a "scary" attached video:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...ies/ar-BBPnuVN

By building two headquarters, Amazon can tap different geographic regions for talent, including some who may not want to move too far from home. It may also not be competing with other major tech giants in a given area, like it does with Microsoft Corp. in the Seattle area.

Additionally, the decision would allow it to lessen the potential headaches for chosen areas. Amazon has wanted to avoid being the only large company in town, something it has dealt with in Seattle, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking. Adding 50,000 workers—even over more than a decade—would likely cause some hiccups for transit systems and potentially lead to issues like a lack of affordable housing.

Crystal City, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., has an urban feel, numerous government offices and a ready-to-go campus with empty, older office space that Amazon could use. The area has good access to tech talent and transportation, two factors that rank high on Amazon’s wish list.

Amazon already has a massive AWS facility in the general area and AWS has been getting a lot of government contracts so they are following the money by going there. Cheaper, more liveable than DC but just as close to the dispensers of largesse.

I've been to Crystal City and it is a great business-focused project with its own metro station and an underground mall beneath it. nice hotel, too. Too small to accommodate 50,000 jobs with little room for expansion but there's plenty of space available right now so it makes sense it would still be in the running and it explains the split.

Looks like 2B might be either Texas or NYC.

Not sure the rationale for NY unless Amazon is looking to tap Wall Street for AWS contracts or looking to get into biotech.

Texas could mean all sorts of new business, not just AWS contracts but Texas has a *lot* of businesses for AWS to tap into. Or, maybe they are thinking of splitting AWS work, letting Crystal City handle customer acquisition and support and the other campus (Texas) handle R&D. Lots of ways a split makes sense if its AWS-focused.

The whole HQ2 thing is now looking to be driven by AWS so getting it out of Seattle (and away from Microsoft) makes sense. Otherwise they would be fighting over the exact same new hires. Of course, this big of an AWS expansion (even if only one of the two campuses turns out to be AWS driven) means they expect even more growth in their computing business. That would explain IBMs panic buy of RED HAT at a 60% premium. They're already way behind AWS and Azure and even Google in the cloud business.

At least it'll be a relief to the publishing/media establishment that Amazon's not growing in their direction. For now.

[Sydney's Mom]

Darn. I was hoping it would be Chicago. I really want one of those grocery stores!

[tubemonkey]

Report: Amazon picks New York and Northern Virginia for HQ2

After running a year-long competition that drew interest from hundreds of cities and a number of states, Amazon has reportedly chosen New York City and Northern Virginia to split duty as its second headquarters.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that Amazon (AMZN) has picked New York's Long Island City and Arlington County's Crystal City neighborhoods, citing people familiar with the matter.

Amazon declined to comment to CNN.