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MARTA is terrible! I lived in ATL prior to moving to DC and I can't think of one person I know who is familiar with ATL that thinks the MARTA is great.
I know they are mainly speaking in terms of coverage; MARTA should be a lot more extensive for a metro the size of Atlanta. However MARTA has direct connections to almost all of the major job centers and universities in the metro, as well as to the world's busiest airport. And voters did approve expansion of the system which has seen drastic improvements in the past few years.
At any rate, no objective person can deny that Atlanta is a very strong contender for HQ2:
On paper the metro seems like a good match, but the sites they've proposed aren't exactly exciting -- the strongest candidates seem to be Fort MacPherson and the Doraville GM factory, neither of which have surrounding urban fabric.
Same for Boston, which is pinning its hopes on an old racetrack surrounded by chemical storage facilities.
On paper the metro seems like a good match, but the sites they've proposed aren't exactly exciting -- the strongest candidates seem to be Fort MacPherson and the Doraville GM factory, neither of which have surrounding urban fabric.
Same for Boston, which is pinning its hopes on an old racetrack surrounded by chemical storage facilities.
I'm assuming you know nothing about the Gulch proposal, smack dab in the heart of downtown.
On paper the metro seems like a good match, but the sites they've proposed aren't exactly exciting -- the strongest candidates seem to be Fort MacPherson and the Doraville GM factory, neither of which have surrounding urban fabric.
Same for Boston, which is pinning its hopes on an old racetrack surrounded by chemical storage facilities.
They have the Gulch and read about some sites in Midtown as well which would be totally awesome!
I'm assuming you know nothing about the Gulch proposal, smack dab in the heart of downtown.
That site requires a whole lot of site work, including viaducts above and new utility lines below, plus probably clearing some soil contamination (common on railroad land); there's no chance of having the required 500,000+ square feet in 2019. To get space that fast requires either clean dirt and a set of blueprints, or a monster of a cold-shell building that already has construction crews hard at work.
For perspective: the TSA just awarded a build-to-suit contract for a 625,000 sq. ft. headquarters on a greenfield site in Springfield, Virginia, where the buildings are drawn, the developer has cash in the bank, the land is already cleared, and the office will open in late 2020.
The assortment of Midtown properties is a bit more intriguing, but like the NoMA proposal here it's a pretty tight fit -- it assumes that nobody else, except Amazon, will ever move into the neighborhood.
That site requires a whole lot of site work, including viaducts above and new utility lines below, plus probably clearing some soil contamination (common on railroad land); there's no chance of having the required 500,000+ square feet in 2019. To get space that fast requires either clean dirt and a set of blueprints, or a monster of a cold-shell building that already has construction crews hard at work.
For perspective: the TSA just awarded a build-to-suit contract for a 625,000 sq. ft. headquarters on a greenfield site in Springfield, Virginia, where the buildings are drawn, the developer has cash in the bank, the land is already cleared, and the office will open in late 2020.
The assortment of Midtown properties is a bit more intriguing, but like the NoMA proposal here it's a pretty tight fit -- it assumes that nobody else, except Amazon, will ever move into the neighborhood.
The Gulch itself could accommodate the future expansion while the first phase could be housed in the old Norfolk Southern building (with an expansion), adjacent to the Gulch. Along with the South Downtown and Underground redevelopment plans, this would be an absolutely boon for downtown Atlanta.
No. Although it would be interesting from a economic diversification standpoint. Then again that may not be much of an issue since you already have that diversification in Virginia and Maryland.
I doubt that DC's height limits have anything to do with it. More of an issue of where to put it, and what needs to be done with existing infrastructure if there is no where to put it (eminent domain) although I'm not sure that would ever happen.
All of this hand wringing over which inner city could actually support the Amazon headquarters. Best bet would be in the Rust Belt where you already have underutilized land, because of blight, vacant blocks, etc. Maybe a city like Detroit. Get the land cheap, and those areas would be more than willing to build out the public transportation if it does not exist. Give Detroit's Qline somewhere to go. Might even bring that city out of some of the financial issues they have there. Doubtful it would ever happen but it would be interesting if it did. Baltimore might be another option.
Last edited by goofy328; 10-28-2017 at 09:49 AM..
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