Amazon New HQ (50k jobs), MA? (Boston, Cambridge: condos, to live in, pricing)

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by massnative71

And we also know the state of MA will not give any incentives to bring Amazon to anyplace that does not start and end with Boston.

Yes it would; the benefits to the state from inducing a colossal employer to locate in Springfield or Fall River or (you name it) would be huge. And much less infrastructure investment necessary than in Boston which is already bursting and where the state would have to make some expensive rail, road and ferry investments to absorb a 50,000 employee Amazon HQ. As Shirley Leung writes today, if it's Suffolk Downs then they'll need to do the blue line-red line connector plus a ferry over to the South Boston waterfront. If its Weymouth or Quincy then moving on the North Station-South Station connector would make it much easier to commute to the site for people all over the metro area. Same with Malden or Somerville-- North South link would have a big impact on rail access from almost anywhere. If Allston or Brighton then they'll need a rail link to Cambridge over the existing rail bridge by BU Bridge. And so on...

Plenty of room in Springfield and other lesser cities and the existing highways can handle more traffic. Problem is, the execs who decide these things are already reported to be favoring Boston over other places around north america, let alone Springfield, Hartford or Fall River. So the state is going to be responding to what it thinks Amazon wants, not what we think would be good for our region.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Connecticut has awful transportation infrastructure. It's stuck in a 1955 time warp and the rich NIMBY people sue to block any transportation project.

Amazon has been dealing with the Seattle issues. Gridlock. Lousy public transportation. An airport on the wrong side of the city. The cities east of the Mississippi with good public transportation and a world class airport are Boston, NYC, Philly, DC, and Chicago. Anywhere else, the employees are going to be sitting in traffic jams commuting.

I will say this for CT, it is pretty easy to commute in the Hartford area, it is once you get to Waterbury and further down the Merrit that it becomes a head ache. The CTTransit express commuter busses work very well, and I enjoyed there HOV lanes. Very easy to drive around Hartford compared to Boston. Also this is partially due to the fact that it is a dead and pretty hollowed out city.

I think by putting Amazon in Boston it would only further hurt CT RI and much of MA..Capital-all forms of it would only run further to Boston which I honestly don't think is good in the long haul.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

I will say this for CT, it is pretty easy to commute in the Hartford area, it is once you get to Waterbury and further down the Merrit that it becomes a head ache. The CTTransit express commuter busses work very well, and I enjoyed there HOV lanes. Very easy to drive around Hartford compared to Boston. Also this is partially due to the fact that it is a dead and pretty hollowed out city.

Two things to say on that. 1, they had terrible traffic in the '80s and earlier when Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford had 20,000 people (or whatever it was) arriving for the 8 o'clock shift and when I-91 from Spfld to Htfd and I-84 from Hartford to the Mass line were both only 2 lanes in each direction. Now you could land a 747 on 84 in E Htfd, Manchester, etc!
2, I spent a day in downtown Hartford recently and I kind of liked it. Still has the bones of the wealthy city it once was. It will come back--if not soon enough to satisfy the bigwigs at Aetna.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by massnative71

The problem is the final decision rests on the executives, and they do not want to go to Springfield or Hartford. As per the Bloomberg article, the regular employees are longing for a more affordable area with less congestion. They might actually go for a place like Western Mass. or CT, although most would probably prefer a warmer and already "cool" city like Austin or Raleigh-Durham. Of course the executives must consider this, but they will simply not settle for a non high profile city. And we also know the state of MA will not give any incentives to bring Amazon to anyplace that does not start and end with Boston. "Fall River was lucky to get the fulfillment center, now don't be pushing your luck", they would say...

I'm not sure they'll locate in a state like NC or TX -- remember the companies that pulled out of NC due to the bathroom bills? Both those states have those problems. Amazon is a Seattle based tech company that has some progressive values (not in all ways, but in some) and I could absolutely see them considering this sort of thing a major issue. They're not going to go to a state where LBGT employees won't move.

[bjimmy24]

Speaking of CT: https://www.statnews.com/2017/09/12/...job-cuts-move/

Alexion calling it quits too! Losing out to Boston again.

Nobody is going to move IN to CT. Its days are over.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

I'm not sure they'll locate in a state like NC or TX -- remember the companies that pulled out of NC due to the bathroom bills? Both those states have those problems. Amazon is a Seattle based tech company that has some progressive values (not in all ways, but in some) and I could absolutely see them considering this sort of thing a major issue. They're not going to go to a state where LBGT employees won't move.

Where, in your own world?

https://www.curbed.com/2016/12/6/138...housing-market


Charlotte is #2 in the US for growth behind guess where, Austin! Check out the link I attached. That is where the employees of Amazon (based on an informal survey) WANT to go. They are tired of Seattle's high costs and congestion. Do you think Boston will be an improvement???


And FYI, MA was one of the first states to impose a (watered down) bathroom bill. It is now FEDERAL, across all 50 states.

[CaseyB]

I can see why Charlotte is popular with the employees, everyone seems pretty young there (late 20's, early 30's). The traffic is getting really congested, though. And the real estate is becoming more expensive. Nice airport, though.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I can see why Charlotte is popular with the employees, everyone seems pretty young there (late 20's, early 30's). The traffic is getting really congested, though. And the real estate is becoming more expensive. Nice airport, though.

I actually meant Austin, that is what the article said anyway. Austin is also getting more expensive and crowded, nothing on the level of Boston, NYC or DC. But both places would work good for them, Charlotte having an advantage in the airport department.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Where, in your own world?

https://www.curbed.com/2016/12/6/138...housing-market


Charlotte is #2 in the US for growth behind guess where, Austin! Check out the link I attached. That is where the employees of Amazon (based on an informal survey) WANT to go. They are tired of Seattle's high costs and congestion. Do you think Boston will be an improvement???


And FYI, MA was one of the first states to impose a (watered down) bathroom bill. It is now FEDERAL, across all 50 states.

As one example:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/bath...6-billion.html

Much easier not to move there at all than to leave once you're there.

I don't think Boston will be an improvement to Seattle, and that is why I said earlier that I don't think they'll pick Boston.

[robr2]

Lots to reply to:

Suffolk Downs - remember that the 50K worker number is 10-15 year plan. Lots of time to connect the Red Line to the Blue Line. Until then, Silver Line Express from South Station, Haymarket, and Chelsea as well as

Springfield - it would be a great idea to be able to bring something line Amazon to that area but it would be a car-centric development. How are 40K+ cars going to get in and out an office campus? Same thing with Weymouth - little mass transit. Also, an airport that can get to Seattle, DC, and overseas non-stop isn't available within a 45 minute drive.

NC or TX - I brought up the political climate as well. IMHO, Amazon will consider those things on the state level as it's important to them to promote an inclusive company culture. But maybe Bezos thinks he can change political views by dangling the biggest carrot ever.

Amazon employees - this HQ won't be located on where current employees want to move to. The plan is for the vast majority of the employees to come from the local area - few will be moved.

Charlotte - it has the issue of being a car-centric area. Amazon isn't looking for that.

Austin - same issue as Charlotte, car-centric and the airport isn't up the Amazon requirements.

IMHO, it comes down to Denver, Boston, Toronto.