The logistics of any large American city trying to fit a proposal like this into its urban grid will knock a lot of cities out of the running. I like the idea mentioned above of anchoring the Turner Field redevelopment in Summerhill. I also think Toronto will be a leading contender and the Seaport area of Boston, which lured GE. I was there last year and it's a really cool part of the city a stone's throw from downtown and with a lot of available land. Downtown Boston is crazy expensive but cost might not be an issue since Amazon is looking for a lot of incentives. I just don't see Chicago is viable, or Dallas. One might immediately think of Austin, especially due to their recent purchase of Whole Foods, but Austin's airport is pretty small and traffic there is horrible, with little transit to speak of.
I would be stunned if Amazon, an American company wants to get the bad press for moving a second HQ to Canada.
But do we really not have enough space in Midtown for 8 million sq.ft.?
Midtown could absorb 8 million square feet of office space but it would have to be in pretty tall buildings and that's not what Amazon is looking for. The article mentions that Amazon is looking for 100 acres or something like Fort McPherson as mentioned above. And I think that will be the big challenge for most of these cities is finding an appropriate site that meets all of the criteria.
I know it does not match Amazon's preferences, but this would be a winner for the city at The Stitch.
This would be an awesome addition to the city, especially considering all of the available space in just east of Downtown in Sweet Auburn. It could even be the catalyst for redeveloping Ft. McPherson if we're lucky.
I'd love to get Amazon HQ2.0 in Atlanta... but I really would prefer to focus development on the inner neighborhoods. Ft. McPherson at 5 miles from Downtown is far (not really walkable or bikable from inner neighborhoods) and I'd rather see major developments go in at Downtown and Midtown rather than Fort McPherson. I want more of Atlanta to be knit together in a tighter fashion, not strung out even further.
I'd love to get Amazon HQ2.0 in Atlanta... but I really would prefer to focus development on the inner neighborhoods. Ft. McPherson at 5 miles from Downtown is far (not really walkable or bikable from inner neighborhoods) and I'd rather see major developments go in at Downtown and Midtown rather than Fort McPherson. I want more of Atlanta to be knit together in a tighter fashion, not strung out even further.
Plus we're talking about Amazon here, an ultra progressive company that attracts a young work force, so in-town transit must be important to them.
How so? Austin does not have a mass transit or an airport with flights to many international cities. From a tech labor perspective, Austin is extremely constrained.
I personally see Atlanta as having the best shot at this when you consider Amazon's HQ2 criterion. I hope Atlanta presents Summerhill and the gluch as potential sites. I also think Assembly/Doraville could be interesting as well.
As I mentioned before, I'm also dubious of Austin's chances. The city is choking on its traffic. It only has one major interstate running through it that's a nightmare, and the city recently rejected a measure to build a light rail system. I think Austin is reaching a point of "pause," where the people who live there are fed up with the ills that rampant growth has brought. I have a friend who moved there from NYC about 5 years ago who has expressed this to me. Plus I think Atlanta being on the East Coast is a benefit and Hartsfield for sure is a plus over Austin. Austin's airport, while nice and charming, is small and nowhere has the infrastructure or flight network to compete with ATL. Where ATX and ATL will compete is in education. If I'm not mistaken UT Austin is ranked directly behind Georgia Tech in churning out STEM talent. But UT Austin in the only major game in town in Austin. Atlanta has State, Emory, and several other colleges graduating talented people every year.
As I mentioned before, I'm also dubious of Austin's chances. The city is choking on its traffic. It only has one major interstate running through it that's a nightmare, and the city recently rejected a measure to build a light rail system. I think Austin is reaching a point of "pause," where the people who live there are fed up with the ills that rampant growth has brought. I have a friend who moved there from NYC about 5 years ago who has expressed this to me. Plus I think Atlanta being on the East Coast is a benefit and Hartsfield for sure is a plus over Austin. Austin's airport, while nice and charming, is small and nowhere has the infrastructure or flight network to compete with ATL. Where ATX and ATL will compete is in education. If I'm not mistaken UT Austin is ranked directly behind Georgia Tech in churning out STEM talent. But UT Austin in the only major game in town in Austin. Atlanta has State, Emory, and several other colleges graduating talented people every year.
Atlanta is one of the frontrunners but inevitably I think Boston will be chosen for HQ2 because, while expensive, Amazon has a greater footprint there, talent is more readily available and thus a more robust industry.
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Call Kenny Loggins, because you're in the danger zone.
I think Jeff Bezos would like to put it in Austin because he's from New Mexico and owns a ton of ranchland in Texas. But yes, they may decide against it.
Atlanta is one of the frontrunners but inevitably I think Boston will be chosen for HQ2 because, while expensive, Amazon has a greater footprint there, talent is more readily available and thus a more robust industry.
They have great EXPENSIVE talent. When you are hiring 50K tech positions. Boston would be on of the least attractive list based solely on cost. The last I read there is a 40% delta in labor cost between atlanta and Boston. Point of reference: GE located their new HQ to Boston (600 employees). However, GE selected Atlanta for two IT Divisions (Big Data and Digital Marketing) with 2000 employees.
Summerhill/GA State Development - Latest Rendering and Video
Watch the video - it looks better than the rendering.
I wish they'd gone with the plan that placed the baseball field up by the interchange. Putting it basically in the middle is just going to result in a dead zone.
The logistics of any large American city trying to fit a proposal like this into its urban grid will knock a lot of cities out of the running. I like the idea mentioned above of anchoring the Turner Field redevelopment in Summerhill. I also think Toronto will be a leading contender and the Seaport area of Boston, which lured GE. I was there last year and it's a really cool part of the city a stone's throw from downtown and with a lot of available land. Downtown Boston is crazy expensive but cost might not be an issue since Amazon is looking for a lot of incentives. I just don't see Chicago is viable, or Dallas. One might immediately think of Austin, especially due to their recent purchase of Whole Foods, but Austin's airport is pretty small and traffic there is horrible, with little transit to speak of.
Almost all of Amazon's Seattle 6-8M sf presence is downtown in a number of high-rises. The initial request is on for 500,000 sf-- a medium sized office tower--
I work in IT and used to live in Boston. I heard it was a good IT market before I moved there, but I found there were limited jobs and the companies had trouble recruiting there from outside the region. I think Amazon will be looking at Sunbelt cities or somewhere like Chicago for this headquarters, which will likely be only for IT, sales, and customer service positions.
When I first moved to Atlanta in 2004 I stayed at the Ritz for the first two months and it seemed dated back then. With that said, I have to believe Marriott has to be scouting sites in Buckhead for another Ritz. Hopefully they will revive Phase II of the 3630 Peachtree/Ritz Carlton Residences development.
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