Amazon HQ2 - Houston Chances? (Dallas, Austin: how much, university, live)

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by Felt38

Although I'd love Houston to get it, I think Harvey put a damper on that and I hope they go to a city that could use a big boost to their economy so that they can revitalize more. Baltimore and Detroit come to mind. Houston will be fine either way, so give it to a city that really needs it.

Those would be tough sells -- you'd have a hard time finding top tier talent who would want to relocate to either of those places. More than likely, it'll go to a fringe top-tier city that just isn't as big as a place like Houston.

Some place like Raleigh would be my bet. Great city, great universities to recruit from, close to the coast, reasonable cost of living.

[HTownNearNative]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

Those would be tough sells -- you'd have a hard time finding top tier talent who would want to relocate to either of those places. More than likely, it'll go to a fringe top-tier city that just isn't as big as a place like Houston.

Some place like Raleigh would be my bet. Great city, great universities to recruit from, close to the coast, reasonable cost of living.

Didn't think of Raleigh, but you're right. It would be a great choice for IT recruiting/IT skilled workforce! The only con is that it doesn't have the public transportation infrastructure (rails/subway) that Boston or other east coast cities have.

[fbf2006]

I don't think that Amazon necessarily cares about the cost of living element per se. Unless their public transportation criteria really isn't a big one, then places like Houston, Dallas and Raleigh don't really have a big chance. Somewhere in the DMV area or even the Atlanta area seem more likely than any of those areas. The Boston area, not necessarily the city itself, seems like a good fit. I do like the idea of Detroit (which does have an IT scene and good universities close by) or a Midwestern (Columbus OH for example) city though. Let's spread out the jobs!

[nana053]

Here are the requirements in the rfp

Core Preferences Quantity Units Description

Site Requirements
Proximity to population center 30 Miles
Proximity to International airport Within approx. 45 Minutes
Proximity to major highways and arterial roads Not more than 1-2 Miles
Close to major arterial roads to provide optimal access
Access to mass transit at site
Direct access to rail, train, subway/metro, bus routes

Building Requirements

Initial Square Foot Requirement 500,000+ Sq. Ft. Phase I (2019)
Total Square Foot Requirement Up to 8,000,000 Sq. Ft. Beyond 2027

Houston has no prospect of the bolded part, so I think it would be out of the running.

[Johnhw2]

Amazon needs a city not a small town like Austin. Austin us back water with water issues and too small by a wide margin. Let Austin be weird people come on.

[SanJac]

Houston could get it if it self-promotes, but it won't...

Dallas leaders are already foaming at the mouth....and cheerleading.

I know they are stereotypes but .... :-)

[SanJac]

BTW Houston has been/is the 2nd HQ for Hewlett Packard, although the number of people have diminished dramatically over the last few years. There is definitely tech talent in the Houston area...would imagine quite a few of the old Compaq employees are in O&G now.

[Dopo]

Most people always ignore the need that companies like Amazon and Google have for young college graduates that are highly educated with the latest technology.

That is extremely important for that type of company.
That's why you usually find them close to colleges highly rated in STEM

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by nana053

Here are the requirements in the rfp

Core Preferences Quantity Units Description

Site Requirements
Proximity to population center 30 Miles
Proximity to International airport Within approx. 45 Minutes
Proximity to major highways and arterial roads Not more than 1-2 Miles
Close to major arterial roads to provide optimal access
Access to mass transit at site
Direct access to rail, train, subway/metro, bus routes

Building Requirements

Initial Square Foot Requirement 500,000+ Sq. Ft. Phase I (2019)
Total Square Foot Requirement Up to 8,000,000 Sq. Ft. Beyond 2027

Houston has no prospect of the bolded part, so I think it would be out of the running.

Downtown would fit the bill.

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by chris_ut

Downtown would fit the bill.

They want to build a 40,000 employee campus -- I don't think downtown would fit the bill.