Amazon HQ2 - Houston Chances? (Dallas, San Antonio: wedding, elementary school, tax)

[kimsk112]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/?node=17044620011

I saw the discussion in the Hacker News as well, but nobody seems to give Houston any chance.

Austin forum also has a discussion about it.

Is it possible? What could Houston offer? Or do Houstonians even want the Amazon Headquarters here?

[Astoriahoney]

I don't think Houston would be in the works now. If anything Austin or Dallas have a better shot in Texas at landing the next HQ.

All that said, I think they will choose a city on the EastCoast to balance out as their HQ is on the WestCoast. Charleston, Savannah & New Jersey would be high on the list I imagine.

I also know Los Angeles is extremely thirsty for the new HQ but there is no way Amazon would go there since they already have a Seattle/WestCoast HQ.

[Mr. Clutch]

I think having the second HQ would be huge for the city, from a prestige, branding, and economic point of view. It would be a tremendous coup.

However, I put the chances at slim to none. Even before the storm, I wouldn't think Houston would have much of a shot given what Amazon's stated criteria are. I don't really think this will go in Texas, but if it did Austin would be my bet followed closely by Dallas.

I think it'll go to either Boston or the DC area, but I'm leaning more towards Boston. It just seems almost perfect for Amazon, in many ways like an East Coast version of Seattle.

[Prey521]

Plus Bezos is a diehard Lib....he may not want anything to do with a Red State, even though we have better corporate tax structure and Houston is run by Democrats LOL

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by Prey521

Plus Bezos is a diehard Lib....he may not want anything to do with a Red State, even though we have better corporate tax structure and Houston is run by Democrats LOL

I'm pretty sure politics is pretty far down on the list of things that Amazon is concerned about. It seems that they are looking for developer and other tech talent, as well as the right local culture and fit more than anything else. Those factors would be a much bigger strike against Houston than local or state level politics.

I honestly don't even think incentives will be THAT big of a factor, but may work as a kind of tiebreaker of sorts.

[chris_ut]

Austin is too small according to their stated criteria. I think Houston checks the boxes but not sure how attractive it would be versus other major cities.

[Jack Lance]

Did you know that Jeff Bezos lived in Houston as a child and attended River Oaks elementary from the 4th to the 6th grade. Maybe he has more connections here than people may think ?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos


After the wedding, the family moved to Houston, Texas and Mike worked as an engineer for Exxon. Jeff attended River Oaks Elementary School in Houston from fourth to sixth grade. As a child, he spent summers working on his grandfather's ranch in southern Texas

[Dopo]

I would think Dallas would take it, because of geographical location
Amazon gets no benefit from being next to the port of Houston

[elnina]

It didn’t take long for city leaders across the U.S. to make a run for Amazon.com’s $5 billion new campus. Now San Antonio leaders are preparing to compete for Amazon’s $5 billion HQ campus. Its small local airport and lack of direct flights would be a major drawback for a competitive bid.
Amazon’s formal request for proposal specifies that the location needs an international airport within 45 minutes, ready access to rail, train, subway and bus routes and major highways within 1 to 2 miles of the campus. It also needs up to 8 million square feet, according to the document. Bids are due by Oct. 19, and the company said it expected to announce its decision next year.
So, Houston (and Dallas) have a real great chance.

[hbcu]

sounds like a Grand Parkway location either Katy or the Woodlands that would meet the criteria.