DC. MoCo and NoVa among Top 20 Cities Left to Amazon HQ2 (Washington: purchasing, cost of)
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Yeah, SLU wasn't much 10 years ago and can still feel pretty sterile, cookie cutter. But, it was downtown adjacent and easily walk-able to hip core neighborhoods like Cap Hill, PikePine, Lower Queen Anne. I'm not sure if that matters to Amazon or not. But, CC won't be able to match the 30-min walk urban radius. As you say, NoMa is a closer analogy. DT-adjacent, close to hip urban areas: H Street, Union Market, and not so far from Shaw, Mt Vernon. My only concern is with the height limit, Amazon will eat up most of the free real estate and turn NoMa into an office district.
Yet... this could finally be the impetus to change the height limit. I think navy yard might be the best fit because it has ample space to keep transforming into a mixed use neighborhood even with taking 8 million sq feet off the market.
Yeah, your post makes a lot of sense to me. A few random thoughts I had while reading your post over:
1) Crystal City is a good compromise site- it has the land availability that is hard to find in the District, but it is still walk-able and close enough to the District that urbanites can still live along the Green Line and be to work in a reasonable commute. 2) the main downside- is CC is is it urban enough? Yeah, it has metro/TOD walk-ability. But, do they want to be in a charmless office district dominated by defense contractors and the Jefferson-Davis Highway. Its not really urban in the way Google's Chelsea office or even Amazon's current Seattle location. If this is a big issue, that would seem to favor NoMa or Chi, Philly, NYC. 3) This could really help Arlington-Alexandria to feel more cohesively urban- Beyond spurring growth in the Pentagon City/Crystal City areas, this would also spur infill housing on Columbia Pike and down along the blue line (Potomac Yards, Braddock, Carlyle) 4) DC really needs to revise the height limit- technically DC could accommodate Amazon. But, it would eat up a lot of the last remaining land in the urban core for more office space. DC already has too many 9-5 office ghettos, not enough "downtown-style housing." Modifying the height limit in some way, would allow the city to add more office space without crowding out desperately needed housing. 5) Could Amazon pick a couple sites? Does Amazon really need to only pick one spot. All 50,000 people wont be working directly with each other on a daily basis. Rather than create one mega campus, perhaps they will chose a couple different close in metro accessible locations.
Let's see. On the riverfront (I say Poplar Point) with gorgeous river views, a new Frederick Douglas bridge, literally minutes to recreational amenities at the Wharf, Haine's Point, Arena Stage, Nat's Park, the new soccer stadium, National and Georgetown Harbors by ferry, and minutes from Capitol Hill and all its pomp and circumstance.
Or, a glorified suburban office park in a state struggling to shed its conservative personality.
If all three jurisdictions want to benefit, put it in DC, the riverfront location will impact both states positively.
My guess is that most employees will be REI types. They can use their kayaks, bikes, sailboats, etc. within relative proximity to their job. They can walk to a Nat's game.
PS. I could see height restrictions relaxed across the river in SE.
Last edited by adelphi_sky; 05-04-2018 at 12:40 PM..
Hahaha! Changing the Height Act would require Congressional legislation; the House Oversight committee that would introduce it includes the Congressmen who represent the CIT (Fairfax-Loudoun) and White Flint (Montgomery) sites. The last time this was attempted, in 2013, the DC Council almost unanimouslydenounced the idea.
Again, a location that works for a company that needs more room than the Pentagon is very different than a location that might work for you or me. Hint: just the Green Line isn't going to cut it.
Hahaha! Changing the Height Act would require Congressional legislation; the House Oversight committee that would introduce it includes the Congressmen who represent the CIT (Fairfax-Loudoun) and White Flint (Montgomery) sites. The last time this was attempted, in 2013, the DC Council almost unanimouslydenounced the idea.
Again, a location that works for a company that needs more room than the Pentagon is very different than a location that might work for you or me. Hint: just the Green Line isn't going to cut it.
Hahaha! Changing the Height Act would require Congressional legislation; the House Oversight committee that would introduce it includes the Congressmen who represent the CIT (Fairfax-Loudoun) and White Flint (Montgomery) sites. The last time this was attempted, in 2013, the DC Council almost unanimouslydenounced the idea.
Again, a location that works for a company that needs more room than the Pentagon is very different than a location that might work for you or me. Hint: just the Green Line isn't going to cut it.
In your pov, do you think a serious discussion about the height limit could happen, say during Bowser's second term or after the 2020 census? What will it take?
In your pov, do you think a serious discussion about the height limit could happen
Not until the small-c conservative Baby Boomers are off the council. Even then, every single group polled in 2014 was against the idea; men, younger people, recent arrivals (<5 years), and wards 7/8 were less broadly opposed.
The previous serious discussion was mostly Darrell Issa's (libertarian) idea. Two ideas of paths where I could see it happening:
- a broader home-rule bill from a Democratic Congress, that would keep the status quo but shift authority from Congress to DC Council
- additional site-specific exemptions in Ward 7/8, tied to specific development proposals with quantifiable community benefits (although these exemptions have a checkered history)
Not until the small-c conservative Baby Boomers are off the council. Even then, every single group polled in 2014 was against the idea; men, younger people, recent arrivals (<5 years), and wards 7/8 were less broadly opposed.
The previous serious discussion was mostly Darrell Issa's (libertarian) idea. Two ideas of paths where I could see it happening:
- a broader home-rule bill from a Democratic Congress, that would keep the status quo but shift authority from Congress to DC Council
- additional site-specific exemptions in Ward 7/8, tied to specific development proposals with quantifiable community benefits (although these exemptions have a checkered history)
How can you only consider a discussion serious if no one opposes the idea?
Ok, so it's been roughly a year since Amazon announced its competition for a second North American HQ, dubbed HQ2. Oddsmakers have pointed to the DC area, specifically, Nova. Besides owning the Washington Post and renovating his home in Kalorama, Bezos is joining the D.C. Economic Club for dinner and making a key address. So, do people think our region has got HQ2 in the bag, or will it go somewhere else? Say it goes to Nova, what effects would it have on DC proper? Thoughts?
Ok, so it's been roughly a year since Amazon announced its competition for a second North American HQ, dubbed HQ2. Oddsmakers have pointed to the DC area, specifically, Nova. Besides owning the Washington Post and renovating his home in Kalorama, Bezos is joining the D.C. Economic Club for dinner and making a key address. So, do people think our region has got HQ2 in the bag, or will it go somewhere else? Say it goes to Nova, what effects would it have on DC proper? Thoughts?
There are multiple sites in NoVa. When you say, it is going to NoVa, where? Loudoun County? Crystal City? Alexandria? Fairfax? Arlington? Leesburg?
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