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Well, DC mayor represents the district. Not Maryland or Virginia. This is part of the dynamic that makes it so interesting to me. DMV needs to submit one proposal, so whomever is leading that charge will need to coordinate amongst all municipalities and decide on a primary site. Sure they can offer up multiple sites but I believe the RFP asked for one proposal per MSA highlighting a best site. Not everyone will follow the exact guidelines but that's what they are.
The way Amazon pointed out that the city must have plenty of flights to New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. makes me believe that while Amazon will probably look at bids from these cities that it seems to be skewing towards not putting it in any of these cities. Perhaps I'm wrong on that but that's the impression they give off with that one criteria point IMO.
Honestly, if I had it my way I would just keep Amazon in Seattle. I would get Amazon to double down on Seattle and expand its footprint there. If not Seattle then one of the other major cities of the Pudget Sound Region like Tacoma or Bellevue. Seattle always comes through for its major corporations and has done everything it possibly can for Amazon. I would just keep HQ1 and HQ2 in the Greater Seattle Area.
If they must leave that metropolitan area then my personal preference would be that they pick one of the other two major Pacific Northwest cities of Vancouver or Portland, if not these then New York.
That being said, from purely an objective assessment point of view, I do believe they will go to an area similar in tech scene to Seattle where the talent is in place and so is the creative class infrastructure so places like Boston, New York, Austin, Denver, Toronto would be my guess. I also consider Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago to be noteworthy challengers for their track record in pulling in major corporate headquarters and them all having nearly met all of Amazon's stated criteria (almost all), plus with a lower cost of living and access to more space to build out. I think in the end it will be one of Boston, New York, Austin, Denver, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, or Atlanta. The frontrunner IMO is probably Boston because of the talent pool already there and because it is larger than Seattle with roughly similar cost of living. If Amazon employees can afford to live in Seattle in HQ1, then they can do the same with Boston for HQ2.
My first three paragraphs are my own opinions, where that organ nestled inside the chest is telling me they should put HQ2. The last paragraph comes from that other body organ nestled within the cranium and it is my objective assessment, where I think they actually will put HQ2 IMO. I got the cities in the last paragraph by scanning for the tech scenes most similar to Seattle (Boston, Austin, Denver), in addition to the global center of commerce (New York), a Canadian city with favorable immigration policies and a massive tech talent pool (Toronto), and 3 cities that will throw the brinks truck at Amazon and have a track record for closing out deals that involve corporate headquarter relocations (Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta). Just to explain my logic.
Though in the end I hope they reconsider and just keep it all in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest in general instead, if not, then New York, that's what the heart says at least. We'll see though, we'll see.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 09-15-2017 at 05:23 PM..
The way Amazon pointed out that the city must have plenty of flights to New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. makes me believe that while Amazon will probably look at bids from these cities that it seems to be skewing towards not putting it in any of these cities. Perhaps I'm wrong on that but that's the impression they give off with that one criteria point IMO.
Honestly, if I had it my way I would just keep Amazon in Seattle. I would get Amazon to double down on Seattle and expand its footprint there. If not Seattle then one of the other major cities of the Pudget Sound Region like Tacoma or Bellevue. Seattle always comes through for its major corporations and has done everything it possibly can for Amazon. I would just keep HQ1 and HQ2 in the Greater Seattle Area.
If they must leave that metropolitan area then my personal preference would be that they pick one of the other two major Pacific Northwest cities of Vancouver or Portland, if not these then New York.
That being said, from purely an objective assessment point of view, I do believe they will go to an area similar in tech scene to Seattle where the talent is in place and so is the creative class infrastructure so places like Boston, New York, Austin, Denver, Toronto would be my guess. I also consider Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago to be noteworthy challengers for their track record in pulling in major corporate headquarters and them all having nearly met all of Amazon's stated criteria (almost all), plus with a lower cost of living and access to more space to build out. I think in the end it will be one of Boston, New York, Austin, Denver, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, or Atlanta. The frontrunner IMO is probably Boston because of the talent pool already there and because it is larger than Seattle with roughly similar cost of living. If Amazon employees can afford to live in Seattle in HQ1, then they can do the same with Boston for HQ2.
My first three paragraphs are my own opinions, where that organ nestled inside the chest is telling me they should put HQ2. The last paragraph comes from that other body organ nestled within the cranium and it is my objective assessment, where I think they actually will put HQ2 IMO. I got the cities in the last paragraph by scanning for the tech scenes most similar to Seattle (Boston, Austin, Denver), in addition to the global center of commerce (New York), a Canadian city with favorable immigration policies and a massive tech talent pool (Toronto), and 3 cities that will throw the brinks truck at Amazon and have a track record for closing out deals that involve corporate headquarter relocations (Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta). Just to explain my logic.
Though in the end I hope they reconsider and just keep it all in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest in general instead, if not, then New York, that's what the heart says at least. We'll see though, we'll see.
"If they must leave that metropolitan area then my personal preference would be that they pick one of the other two major Pacific Northwest cities of Vancouver or Portland, if not these then New York".
I tend to agree with your point of keeping it all in Seattle, but I doubt they would move HQ positions to Portland or Vancouver. After reading your post, I get a sense you think Amazon may be deserting Seattle. That is not the case. Tremendous investment there. They are simply looking for 2nd HQ, on a 15-20 year buildout. Please correct me if I'm not interpreting your words clearly.
After reading your post, I get a sense you think Amazon is deserting Seattle. That is not the case. Tremendous investment there. They are simply looking for 2nd HQ, on a 15-20 year buildout.
No, I don't think they are deserting Seattle. Perhaps my wording was a little off, what I meant by "leave the metropolitan area" was with regard to looking for a site to serve as HQ2, not a relocation of their original headquarters. Sorry for the wording, intention was not to confuse. I read where they said that they are going to continue further investing in Seattle at HQ1 there. What I was saying is that I am not a fan of their "separate but equal" dual headquarters model.
My stated personal preference is that they grow everything they need to grow in Seattle itself. They have what, like 33 buildings and like 15 million square feet of office space in Seattle? Well, I'd like to see them grow that out even more, if possible. In fact, put HQ2 in Seattle itself. Double down, maybe triple down on Seattle. Perhaps another section of the city or another city in Greater Seattle if they are limited on space in the downtown area.
If they feel talent is strained and hard to come by, then I can sort of understand, in that case I'd prefer they keep Amazon's second headquarter operations as purely a Pacific Northwestern thing (Vancouver or Portland) or head to the global center of commerce itself, New York. Amazon was successful from the beginning because Bezos extracted all the resources that he could from not only Seattle but also the surrounding areas in the Pacific Northwest. He had a lot of supplies and materials sent to him from warehouses and distribution centers in Oregon, for example, which helped the company grow at a healthy clip and they extracted a lot of Vancouver's computer science and engineering talent when the company began to grow. As a feel good story, I'd love it if Amazon stayed a purely Pacific Northwest thing IMO. Not realistic at all but that's really how I feel regardless.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 09-15-2017 at 05:52 PM..
Seattle doesn't help at all. Amazon's new buildings are subject to all the same height and FAR limits, lengthy entitlement processes, and countless millions in development fees (which have multiplied) as anyone else. If anything we're trying to profit from the golden goose, and use them to solve our problems. Other cities would encourage them, and actively subsidize them vs. the other way around. Maybe even streamline permitting.
Not sure Amazon even cares about regulations and permitting. They are looking for the perfect city, and if they can get some of those bonus items, all the better. In the end, my belief is they will choose a 2nd HQ that has similar qualities to Seattle, and the business regs are secondary, but still somewhat important.
Again, look to Texas.
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