Amazon HQ2 RFP

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^ I really like to see public/private strategic + visionary symbiosis...in other words: this could really serve to force North-South RL forward. It would weave our CBD together with some of the peripheral outgrowths of office areas (e.g., Gov. Center / West End) into one contiguous stretch of office and mixed use facilities....as opposed to the current state of clusters with no-man's-land in between.

I truly believe that several million square feet could be patched together between Bulfinch Crossing, Hub on Cuaseway, and some other redevelopment opportunities amid nearby Gov Ctr/state-owned facilities.

There would be no possible better transit access in Boston than to have red, orange, green, blue, and north/south commuter rail all within walking distance of the offices. Blue line connection gets them to the airport quickly without needing to clog the belabored silver line out of SS/seaport.
 
Arlington said:
I think costs are going to spike any coastal locations.
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Hence the desire for generous tax breaks. (Corp) Taxes in general will undoubtedly be an issue.

If they were looking to "own" a city like they do Seattle, Detroit would fit that quite nicely.
 
jklo said:
Hence the desire for generous tax breaks. (Corp) Taxes in general will undoubtedly be an issue.
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The state should be able to come up with a formula which is applicable to any company with offices in Massachusetts that takes into account in-state revenue versus in-state spending on resident salaries. With companies that spend more on salaries than they make on in-state revenue receiving some tax incentive. Thus attracting businesses that will bring money into the Massachusetts economy.
 
Chicago I could see. Detroit on the other hand would surprise me. While it has improved slightly in recent years, it still has a good bit of urban decay, no mass transit, and a bad reputation. It's not Seattle. Boston would make alot more sense for amazon versus Detroit.

Toronto, Boston, DC, Philly, NYC, Chicago, Austin, and Atlanta are the only cities in contention imho. Looking at Amazon's requirements, Boston has to be a front runner.
 
The case for Detroit is more that it's cheap and there's obviously plenty of room to build something massive. Plenty of housing available, etc.

I'd have to say Toronto is the favorite. Boston is up there though. But I think it's going to be tough to guess since (as others have mentioned) they are asking for everything plus massive incentives. Tough to say what Amazon really cares about & who will give them the best deal.
 
1. *Edit: Hood Park is intriguing, but too small?; 20 acres; 1.2 million SF of space (currently?). http://hoodpark.com/
2. Putting Amazon's first two buildings at Bulfinch Crossing & Hub doesn't make any sense to me since then they'd have to expand elsewhere .. which seems counter-productive.
3. Seaport is too small, people. A 20-story height limitation and few available parcels.
4. NorthPoint bores me - such a bland section of town. Having said that, seems as though people think it has potential. What about public transportation, though? The Green Line extension won't do it; then what? A people-mover to North Station?
5. Naval Air Station South (Southfield) has the space but it's not in Boston; may not be a deal killer but "just 20 minutes away" won't cut it, will it, even with a commuter rail station?
6. Beacon Park Yard seems the perfect location based on parcel size, access to highway(s) and public transportation, cache the result of being next to BU Harvard & MIT, etc.
7. Denver seems to close to the west coast be an option, regardless of size of city and airport, etc. Toronto seems a possibility but how do taxes work; could Amazon park $ there like they did back a couple years ago when the IRS sued them (or, the other way around) when they had money parked in .. Luxembourg? Atlanta seems a possibility but so sprawling .. blah.
8. Housing costs, Taxes, "City of No" are all against Boston but honestly, I think the weather will be a big challenge to overcome. One trip to Boston during a snowstorm and the HQ2 scouting team will head south, and fast.
 
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Boston has the characteristics of Seattle they don't want (lack of affordable housing)

For US cities, I'd think chicago is the most likely to get this. Baltimore or Philadelphia would also be able to compete, but Chicago is the city pushing the hardest to get this.

I would say Austin was a candidate but then Harvey happened. There's a whole lot of displaced people in Texas right now looking for a place to live. I have a strong feeling rents are going to be spiking in Austin soon, along with Dallas, San Antonio, and whatever didn't get affected by the storm in Houston.

I don't think Atlanta was in that strong of a position in the first place, but if irma is what it's hyped to be you're going to see displaced Floridians flocking there, also driving up costs.

Chicago on the other hand does not see major natural disasters, and Illinois as a whole is the one state hemorrhaging population right now, implying there is ample empty housing, while also being a major city with good public transportation and a major airport that can pretty much get you anywhere.
 
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People talking about North Point keep forgetting that the Orange Line is close by as well, though you would probably need to work on improving that pedestrian connection.
 
tysmith95 said:
Chicago I could see. Detroit on the other hand would surprise me. While it has improved slightly in recent years, it still has a good bit of urban decay, no mass transit, and a bad reputation. It's not Seattle. Boston would make alot more sense for amazon versus Detroit.

Toronto, Boston, DC, Philly, NYC, Chicago, Austin, and Atlanta are the only cities in contention imho. Looking at Amazon's requirements, Boston has to be a front runner.
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Based on Amazon's current jobs in those cities it appears that Boston, New York and Washington DC are the likeliest top choices since they have already chosen to locate more jobs there.
 
^^i fully agree. But i'd throw Philly in there as well.

TheRifleman said:
I'm betting AMAZON is heading to BOSTON. This where all the innovation is coming out.
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Boston is epic. i can't imagine a company like Amazon not choosing Boston as the winner in a fucking landslide. Add up everything they need, then put any city up against Boston for education, history, iconic neighborhoods, beauty, location, nearby treasures, and (good, workable, improvable) transportation infrastructure.... Add it all up; what even comes close?
 
odurandina said:
^^i fully agree. But i'd throw Philly in there as well.

Boston is epic. i can't imagine a company like Amazon not choosing Boston as the winner in a fucking landslide. Add up everything they need, then put any city up against Boston for education, history, iconic neighborhoods, beauty, location, nearby treasures, and (good, workable, improvable) transportation infrastructure.... Add it all up; what even comes close?
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Agree with everything here. The more I think about this though, the more I'm thinking Raleigh or Denver wins in the end. I think they both make an aggressive bid that Boston doesn't "have" to match. I also don't think Amazon needs an HQ in Boston. They already have a lot invested in the area in terms of current workforce -- I'm sure a lot of influence at MIT, others -- and could build upon that through acquisitions if they wanted to.

Raleigh or Denver though could make more sense because they'd likely put together insane tax incentives, have tech talent that Amazon is looking for, more land and cheaper housing stock, and most importantly they could dominate the job market and would be "the place" to go for the talent that they're looking for. Boston has a lot of options, already.
 
Regardless of how it shakes out Boston-Cambridge is certainly in the running out of the gate. Hopefully Governor Baker's Office can put together a proposal with Boston and Cambridge (and others) that opens up further discussions.

Seattle does demonstrate what kind of headquarters they want and this is a great opportunity to showcase all the upcoming projects that could be a fit.
 
Options for single-location HQ

Beacon Park Yard
Union Point (Southfield)
Hood Park
NorthPoint
Suffolk Downs
Widett Circle
Flower Exchange

Only Suffolk Downs and Southfield (Weymouth Naval Station) have 100+ acres, which was part of the RFP.
 
JohnAKeith said:
Only Suffolk Downs and Southfield (Weymouth Naval Station) have 100+ acres, which was part of the RFP.
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That's a problem if that's something Amazon really wants. If they are coming here it's going to be Boston or Cambridge and on a T stop.

Northpoint still seems like the best bet. Widett Circle intrigues me although they would need to build a subway line to there.
 
NorthPoint has something like 40 acres of land; that seems to small, to me. Plus, relying o the Green Line seems unlikely. Close to North Station, but I think the state would have to promise a lot more public transportation / infrastructure upgrades than we can even imagine ever happening. Oh, and that drawbridge next to the Museum of Science? It got stuck half-closed, yesterday. #worldclass
 
Hood Park is already nearly fully occupied - I work at one of the largest tenants. The owners are shockingly backward. They have one of Boston's most successful biotech startups, Indigo, currently, but are leasing much of the space to Cambridge College. They've made it clear they don't want tech. The remaining plan is rather shockingly anti-urban (look at all those garages and the low heights).

The area east of Sullivan that Boston claims it will rezone would potentially be much better suited - a lot more area too.
 
New York and the Bay Area offer very large technical labor pools but also a very high cost of living, which will likely exclude them. The draw of Boston’s labor and university base is strong, as evidenced by General Electric’s recent arrival based on those factors. Atlanta is intriguing: its sprawling physical development may be disqualifying, but the city provides a combination of a deep white-collar labor pool, supply chain technology capabilities, Georgia Tech, and a relatively low cost of living. Toronto is Canada’s strongest contender. Going abroad would be politically controversial but Toronto would offer a diverse, cosmopolitan and educated labor force, the University of Toronto’s globally relevant computer science and business school, and a hedge against U.S. political risk. Of course, Jeff Bezos recently bought a house in Washington, DC., so that would provide a convenient east coast location for perhaps the world’s most valuable CEO.
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Source
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-...ties-are-well-positioned-to-land-amazons-hq2/

This is how Brookings weights the various factors.
For what it’s worth, I think Amazon will ultimately make this decision based on where they can get a quality technical workforce at scale, especially one that has a concentration in a key area of expansion for the firm. Regions with research universities with good business schools and computer science departments will be a logical fit, and they will likely want a site with some baseline density and vitality.
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I agree with this; the unknown is what are the key future areas of expansion? Also interesting is why JB chose Seattle.
 
JohnAKeith said:
NorthPoint has something like 40 acres of land; that seems to small, to me. Plus, relying o the Green Line seems unlikely.
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Northpoint also has Orange Line at BHCC (comparable to Fort Point <--> South Station) though given how desolate the walk is, you are forgiven for not remembering the Orange is there.

Maybe with some sprucing up to make the Gilmore Bridge less gritty and weather-beaten, could make it much more walkable.
 
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