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I don't expect it to go to Atlanta. I think the suburban sprawl and the traffic nightmare are a big drawback to AMZN and MARTA is very limited in where it goes. They have stated their desire to go to a place that is more urban than suburban. If they wanted to pay the exorbitant rents at Lenox/Buckhead then the train would be "convenient". Midtown is not cheap and downtown is dead. There is one area of the Atlanta metro that I think they might be interested but I'm not saying here what that would be. I think either Downtown or Midtown Dallas has everything they're looking for with the benefit of no state income taxes.
I don't expect it to go to Atlanta. I think the suburban sprawl and the traffic nightmare are a big drawback to AMZN and MARTA is very limited in where it goes. They have stated their desire to go to a place that is more urban than suburban. If they wanted to pay the exorbitant rents at Lenox/Buckhead then the train would be "convenient". Midtown is not cheap and downtown is dead. There is one area of the Atlanta metro that I think they might be interested but I'm not saying here what that would be. I think either Downtown or Midtown Dallas has everything they're looking for with the benefit of no state income taxes.
I don't think Atlanta and Dallas are that different when it comes to urbanity, especially their Downtown areas. The so-called Midtown project in Dallas isn't even connected to rail.
I don't expect it to go to Atlanta. I think the suburban sprawl and the traffic nightmare are a big drawback to AMZN and MARTA is very limited in where it goes. They have stated their desire to go to a place that is more urban than suburban. If they wanted to pay the exorbitant rents at Lenox/Buckhead then the train would be "convenient". Midtown is not cheap and downtown is dead. There is one area of the Atlanta metro that I think they might be interested but I'm not saying here what that would be. I think either Downtown or Midtown Dallas has everything they're looking for with the benefit of no state income taxes.
The same drawbacks you list for Atlanta are just as bad or worse in Dallas.
Atlanta’s advantage over Dallas (DFW) is, while Metro Atlanta definitely has major sprawl, it’s still far more centralized than DFW. Pretty much all of Atlanta’s big urban attractions are inside 285. Most white collar companies looking to expand or relocate to Atlanta look primarily at Midtown, Buckhead and Downtown. In Dallas, you have competition with Uptown, Downtown, Frisco, Plano, Las Colinas, Southlake-Westlake area, Alliance, Fort Worth, Arlington etc..
Dallas also has no answer for Midtown Atlanta’s Tech Village and it’s proximity & collaboration with a top school like Georgia Tech.
All that said, Dallas is ALWAYS a strong contender for any corporate expansion or relocation. And, would not be surprised if HQ2 lands there.
The same drawbacks you list for Atlanta are just as bad or worse in Dallas.
Atlanta’s advantage over Dallas (DFW) is, while Metro Atlanta definitely has major sprawl, it’s still far more centralized than DFW. Pretty much all of Atlanta’s big urban attractions are inside 285. Most white collar companies looking to expand or relocate to Atlanta look primarily at Midtown, Buckhead and Downtown. In Dallas, you have competition with Uptown, Downtown, Frisco, Plano, Las Colinas, Southlake-Westlake area, Alliance, Fort Worth, Arlington etc..
Dallas also has no answer for Midtown Atlanta’s Tech Village and it’s proximity & collaboration with a top school like Georgia Tech.
All that said, Dallas is ALWAYS a strong contender for any corporate expansion or relocation. And, would not be surprised if HQ2 lands there.
DFW's advantage over Atlanta is that it isn't so centralized. Atlanta being so centralized is part of the reason traffic is so much worse in Atlanta than much larger metros, such as DFW.
DFW's advantage over Atlanta is that it isn't so centralized. Atlanta being so centralized is part of the reason traffic is so much worse in Atlanta than much larger metros, such as DFW.
Having lived a fair amount of time in both metros, I certainly wouldn’t say Atlanta’s traffic is “so much worse” than in Dallas.
I digress, this isn’t a city vs city forum and both Dallas and Atlanta are likely on a short list as they both offer many of the amenities Amazon is looking for.
DFW's advantage over Atlanta is that it isn't so centralized. Atlanta being so centralized is part of the reason traffic is so much worse in Atlanta than much larger metros, such as DFW.
Dallas also has so many more "surface" street options due to its grid pattern. Atlanta, like most cities in the East must contend with lots of natural topographical barriers/obstacles, such as hills, creeks, rivers, etc. Most of the surrounding land near DFW was already farm land 100-150 years ago because it's so flat and the trees were not so large that they couldn't just be mowed down for the ranching that occurred then. Their legacy is the relative ease with which the street grid can be extended to accommodate the growth. Yes, it's sprawled, but the houses are closer to each other than in Eastern cities' suburbs (1/4 acre average). From the air, there is comparatively little 'wasted' land.
And Dallas has what's called Silicon Prairie along US 75 (Central Expwy) running north through Richardson and Plano (and now beyond) that houses big technology companies like TI, Cisco, Att, Lucent, Ericsson, Fujitsu, so many other large companies, dozens of dot coms and other Internet support companies. Plus, the defense industry is huge in the whole DFW area. Place oozes with technology.
I don't think cost of living is a big concern for Amazon. It's relevant in terms of making the city more attractive for workers but for the corporation itself it's not that big a deal. This is not to say that Amazon is not looking for a cost effective city but I think the biggest priority for Amazon will be getting into a city where they will be able to attract and retain these highly skilled, well educated, young and liberal workers. All the incentives in the world mean absolutely nothing if they can't get the workers they need and Amazon knows it.
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