Amazon HQ2 Location

Denver has always seemed like a strong candidate to me, seems to have what amazon is looking for. I mean it is even sorta similar to Seattle.

Not sure. Which city is handing over the most of its people's money to kiss Jeff Bezos' ass and line his pockets?

It's been hilarious AND very sad to see how these cities are humiliating themselves to get Bezos to pay attention to them.

I mean it isn't surprising every city would love to have the Amazon headquarters r3. That is a lot of jobs being added into their economy.

My friend is a Commercial Broker in Dallas and he told me they're all abuzz there because an Amazon holding co. just bought a large piece of land in this little town of Bluff Dale, which is right outside DFW. They don't know if it's for HQ, fulfillment or both.

R5 I also heard that about D/FW

Not New York City.

It's probably for just a huge fulfillment center, R5. Amazon claims a huge portion of its customers are located within a one-day delivery (via ground) from DFW, and they're been having huge logistical problems with their existing centers in the area.

The thing to keep in mind about Amazon is that it is not a retailer but more a logistics company, and it's run by engineers. They will look at access to transportation via land, sea and air before they look at where it would be good (for them personally, their customers or the country) to put their money. They will look to a coastal city with a good port less susceptible to bad weather; they'll look at where they could buy a huge swath of cheap land located equidistant to the sea and air ports; and they will, of course, look for massive tax, labor, and other regulatory relief.

Hence, Texas is a possibility, just not Dallas. Atlanta is another. You can rule out any west coast city, as well as the Northeast Corridor. I'd guess if you could map the correlation between a deeply religious (hence uneducated), huge labor force in a state with vast open space and little to no regulation (obviously Republican), you'd have a pretty clear picture of where the new HQ will land.

R6 apparently word has got out and people are snapping up all the real estate in that little town.

They will want something centrally located - and Texas has been giving free blowjobs and embarrassing tax credits to any corporation that will move there.

Texas is amoral and will do the most corrupt bullshit to ensure they will choose Texas.

Win for Amazon - and a lose for Texas, but it won't be written that way.

I'm a little confused by your comment R8. Are you describing what you think Amazon wants in a fulfillment center or in a second headquarters?

Your description doesn't fit second headquarters.

It would be a departure for Amazon not to locate within a major city. But a major city that has average or slightly below average costs of operations. For example Seattle is right at the national baseline. New York City and San Francisco above. Austin, Baltimore and some industrial cities are below. Interesting enough the least expensive side are Toronto and Montreal.

R5 - doubtful. Bluff Dale is an unincorporated community in Texas. In other words no way they have the deep pockets necessary to attract Amazon's headquarters decision. Also Amazon's headquarters will certainly create new jobs. People will certainly move to the area, but Amazon is also looking for a strong tech labor pool. Difficult to imagine a community of 2,000 like Bluff Dale has that. Also Amazon has integrated their Seattle headquarters into the city. For example their cafeteria is set-up to serve 1/3 of staff. A boon for the surrounding food service outlets. Does that sound like Bluff Dale to you?

The city leaders here in San Antonio made a point that they weren't gonna suck Amazon's cock with huge tax incentives and pointed out they weren't really in contention because the airport didn't have enough flights to diverse locations.

And keep in mind that it has to be a city that will attract technical talent. Right now, that talent is in high demand. They're not going to move to BumFuckesVille even if that's what Amazon wants because it keeps costs down.

Yep, you heard it here first.

Amazon has said they want an urban location with transit access. I highly doubt that HQ2 (if it is ever built) will be in some greenfield in exurbia. They are looking at urban sites in every city on their list.

And this is not set to be a fulfillment center so low education quotients are not a plus.

So, I’m thinking NC. Either Raleigh or Charlotte.

That is my final answer.

Atlanta will be the runner up.

I have a spare bedroom they could use.

I would love it if the picked some run down city like Detroit and gave that area something to live for.

R15, Bluff Dale essentially means Dallas-Fort Worth.

I agree that they should give it to a shithole city and help bring part of the US back.

All the corporations should be ashamed for what they’ve done to the rust belt.

Agree with R16, Raleigh or Charlotte. NC is business friendly (take that as you will). Land around Charlotte and the Research Triangle is still relatively cheap. I-73 is brand new, I-85 is in good shape. Good airports. Labor force is an unusual combo of plenty of non-union workers and workers with tech skills. Plus, it's on the east coast.

R19, no way in hell this isn't a warehouse

R22 it probably is a warehouse or fulfillment

They will go for a red state because they already have a blue one. They need to hedge across party lines. Otherwise, what’s the point of two headquarters?

I could be wrong but I am not seeing Texas as possibility. It’s too volitale.

R23 Yeah apparently it'll be a fulfillment warehouse only from west of DFW to El Paso

R11 I don't think anyone ever thought that the HQ2 would be that little town, but just a large warehouse outside DFW. Obviously the HQ will be closer to an the Dallas area.

Heard of a large acreage purchase in Fayetteville, GA outside Atlanta. Wonder if either these purchases make any sense to where the HQ will be or if they're just picking up more land for fulfillment centers.

R28 that's a tiny ass town too, not sure why they would buy in these places. These are only fulfillment

ANn Arbor!

Or Flint, Michigan

I can’t believe that disgusting Michigan Governor didn’t work to get Amazon to come to Ann Arbor. Google is here. That would be my one mission if I were gov of even mayor of Ann Arbor. That would be it. Then I step down.

It will be Austin. It’s almost a guarantee.

Fayetteville wouldn't be a great location for a fulfillment center as it is quite distant from any interstates. Pinewood Studios Atlanta and the giant neighborhood they're building around it is located there, though.

I think Chicago has a real shot. The #3 US city with significant air, rail, road and port transportation. It's a blue state. (And I think that matters.) There will be no labor issue. There are excellent universities nearby (U of Chicago, Northwestern and U of Illinois) that have top business, tech and creative programs. The city itself has good public transportation, arts and culture, restaurants. Great North Shore public schools. And there are even still bars and bathhouses for the gays.

They also have several amazing parcels of real estate available for an impressive Amazon campus.

I'm hearing that it's Atlanta.

Chicago, Atlanta, Austin...I think Philadelphia could be a dark horse.

Atlanta.

I vote for Ann Arbor too.

Enough

I support Ann Arbor.

Y'all are forgetting Pittsburgh.

R42 is obviously not from Pittsburgh, or he would have written, " Yinz are forgetting Pittsburgh."

Vancouver. That’s what I heard.

Gary, Indiana.

R35 I’d agree with you but Houston will soon become the 3rd largest city in the US. It has all that you mention about Chicago but cheaper labor and better climate. I think an East Coast city like Philly or even Detroit has a better chance.

Toronto.

It is a major international city with established , efficient infrastructure; it already has international talent, who have international expertise (finance, law, ecommerce, real estate, marketing, technology, etc.); and there are no such things as DACA, Immigration Reform, or a chump. It is also a stone's throw from NYC and WADC. Its geographic location is perfectly situated for far more efficient international travel to such destinations as Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, and the US West Coast.

Another bonus: its international, globally diverse population.

Why not SF? Or LA? or Portland? 0r Seattle? Is the west coast out?

Camden, NJ.

Northern VA near DC.

You're half right, r43, I'm from Pittsburgh but by way of NYC. I seriously hope Pittsburgh doesn't get it, but it seems like it's one of the top contenders.

R47- I was thinking of Toronto too. Google announced that they've chosen Toronto for their Sidewalk Labs project of remaking a part of Toronto's waterfront as a new, cutting edge urban center. It was just dubbed "Silicon Valley North" because of it's booming venture capital status. Best of all, Trump hasn't set foot in Canada and likely won't be invited. How could Bezos turn that down?

Why is Detroit the ONLY location people have to build in? I’m over Detroit. There are other places in Michigan. Detroit is Gary, Indiana for crying out loud.

A major part of the selection criteria is 'existing international talent/expertise.'

Agree that Toronto is likely to be it. The CEO of Sidewalk Labs Dan Doctoroff thinks the city is a shoo-in:

[quote]"“We really saw this as the perfect confluence of ambition, and experience, and location, and alignment. I gotta tell you something, that if Amazon sees what we do, it won’t even be a close call.”

They should actually go to Detroit.

No. The city tax, the cost of parking — eff you!

Detroit is becoming an up and coming tech hub. If Dan Gilbert is involved, he could dangle some very lucrative carrots in front of Google.

From what I gather its various sites around the US mainland. Amazon has been on a roll buying land everywhere in North America.

I bet is between Chicago, Denver, and one of the coasts of Canada. Texas will definitely get something because of its size and population.

Detroit would make a nice story, but it's in a red state and it should definitely be punished by liberal West Coast businesses.

If it comes to Boston, it will drive the housing market to SF levels. NOT looking forward to that.

Won't be anywhere in the US. AMZN already has a corporate presence in the US. Bezos is a Dem. He'll do nothing more to capitalize the US economy with the financial impact of an HQ2 while the Repugs are in control. He's proven to be a strategic, long-term visionary, with lots of capital to establish HQ2 wherever he chooses.

The RFP stated "North America"; not "US."

Puerto Rico, bitches. Amazon will rebuild the island.

It’s depressing Michigan is a red state.

Bezos is a liberal who owns the WP. Let's not rule out the possibility that he wants to flip a red/purple state with this.

It would be a very bad look (especially now) for Amazon to open HQ2 in another country.

Bezos has very strong ties to Texas so it must be on the radar. Austin most certainly is but perhaps Dallas and Houston are, too. The Texas cities do lack alternative transit and Austin is seriously choking on its growth at the moment.

Tijuana!

Bentonville, AR.

Bezos is the La Pasionaria of political correctness. Virginia suburbs of DC.

Uranus!

[quote]Your description doesn't fit second headquarters. -R11

You have to look at what Amazon wants in another HQ. First, why another "HQ"? Do you believe that Bezos or senior management will work there? Do you believe that they will run Amazon from there? Or is this going to be a tech/customer/support/logistical operation center (with the knowledge in mind that Amazon's profit center is not retail, but web services)?

I believe that they want to set up another HQ in a part of the country that is as far removed from what they have in Seattle as possible, and I don't mean merely geographically. They already have to deal with a liberal government/community/workforce. They already have to deal with poor weather and a highly competitive environment, and a cost of living that exceeds the national average. Wherever they decide to set up this massive endeavor is going to have to be in an established transportation hub, if not for physical property distribution, then for ease of access to the best talent at the cheapest cost possible. Further, the vast majority of people who work for Amazon are not the best and brightest the nation has to offer; that's not a problem for Amazon as they an attract people regardless of their location (that's certainly the lesson they've learned as they have spread out across the nation).

R8 - Why make the assumption that proximity drives management when it comes to Amazon? There model in Seattle is not a "campus". Their primary business is online.

There are two costs Amazon might be looking at. Cost of living and cost of doing business. Right now Seattle is right at the national average for cost of doing business.

Everything I've read is that Amazon is looking for a local tech talent pool.

For those of you thinking a location in Canada - right now it would be a good move financially. Does the fluctuating value of the US dollar play a role in the decision?

A significant number of Amazon employees are in the US on Work Visas, including those with specialized expertise. With threats of more stringent Immigration Reform measures, coupled with the termination of the DACA program, and the US's current 'executive body,' the selected "North American" site for HQ2: Toronto.

Bezos was once asked "Why Downtown Seattle?" for its original headquarters, versus the beautiful, palatial, less-expensive Seattle suburbs, as selected by another locally-based high-tech giant; answer: the desired Amazon talent is talent that naturally thrives in 'ambitious environments and equally ambitious cultures'; not talent that is indigenous to the alternative.

R8, that is where they will look if they are setting up a distribution center. If they are looking for a corporate headquarters, they will look for a place where talent lives, where talent can easily commute to, and where talent can be attracted from other parts of the country.

That ain't Dallas.

My money is on Boston.

R8, maybe they are looking to split the company down the road or close up HQ1 because it is not cost effective.

[quote] It would be a very bad look (especially now) for Amazon to open HQ2 in another country.

Correct. Even if it's just Canada, no way will they pick a foreign country. Too much flack.

Tons of people are saying Toronto. Why not Montreal? It's really an amazing city with great nightlife, restaurants, etc.

R73, you've obviously never been to Boston, let alone lived there with all of their known commuting nightmares, bad weather and lack of indigenous talent. Further, the cost of living in Boston is substantially higher than in other, even nearby, tech centers.

The new HQ will not be located in the Northeast corridor.

I'll say it again: Amazon is run by engineers. It really is that simple. They do not have trouble finding and hiring tech talent. Frankly, if that's what they're looking for and are willing to locate near the talent, they'll be building their new HQ in India. That's not what Bezos is looking at; hence, the RFP (translating that for laymen: what state — or country — will give them the biggest incentives to locate there?).

R77, I lived in Boston from 2005 to 2016, before moving to Ohio.

You don't know what the fuck you are talking about, please sit the fuck down. Boston has the best, most educated tech workers in the country (most of them stay put after graduating from MIT, Harvard, etc.) You give these kids a $140 monthly T-pass as part of their benefits package and they are fine.

I commuted every day into Cambridge from the North Shore from 2006 to 2011, took the Newburyport/Rockport Line to North Station, transferred to the Orange, then transferred to the Red, and made it all the way to Harvard Square in less than an hour when everything went right.

Again, you simply don't know what you are talking about.

Boston is almost east coast Seattle. I also have the sense that Amazon may be looking for a place that is not only geographically different, but culturally too. I guess we'll see.

The RFP posted in the WJS article clearly states "North America" for HQ2.

It is amazing, and depressing, how many responses are framing this as a political, rather than a business decision. In today's for some people EVERYTHING is about politics.

[quote]when everything went right

Exactly.

Hey idiot at R81, virtually all of these proposals involve some sort of taxpayer funded subsidy to Amazon and Jeff Bezos skank ass, so you'd better believe its fucking going to involve politics.

Can you be any stupider?

It's going to be in the West/Central West, and by that I am including Canada and Texas as well.

Chicago and Atlanta are the only cities "outside" of the West with realistic chances.

Why would Amazon dedicate capital to develop yet another international corporate office in the 'West/Central West' when it already has a global HQ there (Seattle)?

Ain't making no sense.

I'm tellin' ya, it's going to be Toronto! Yay!

Amazon can't pick Texas -- too many gay employees would be fucked over. Can't go for Georgia either. Has to be a gay friendly state, so that leaves out almost all the south and parts of the mideast.

Boston, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and DC suburbs are the best bets now.

I seriously hope it's not Pittsburgh. It doesn't have the infrastructure to support what it has now.

If I were Jeff Bezos, and had bought The Textile Museum in Kalorama, DC, to live in as a private residence, I would want to live in it. My vote is for DC (Virginia suburbs, actually).

Yay! Even more traffic in Alexandria et al, R88.

What a fucking nightmare that would be.

I was thinking more Tyson's, Reston, Manassas r89

I picked North Carolina on account of the weather. If they're used to Seattle, they're not going to deal well with ice and snow and real cold. NC has that clean, tech, pocket liberal vibe.

It WON"T be in a state like Illinois, known for its unions and labor strikes. It'll be in a right-to-work state, that is for damn sure. And why are you gnomes forgetting about Birmingham, Alabama? There is a reason 5 major (domestic and foreign) car manufacturers have built plants here in the last 15 years: Educated workforce, international airport, interstates, railroads, cheap cost of living, right to work state, no unions.

Atlanta makes a lot of sense. It is the logistical hub of the Southeast, an area of the country with rapid population growth, business friendly, economically strong, good weather and a large labor pool. There are some interesting areas of the city that Amazon is being offered including a major chunk of downtown. If Amazon wanted to work within a minority community to develop and spread goodwill, they could choose the HBC's of Spelman, Clark and Morehouse as partners.

I voted Atlanta in the poll but I think it could either be Atlanta or DC

You think Atlanta is the only city in America with blacks?

Most likely it'll be Chicago. They got people on the inside, and La Emmanuel really, really wants this HQ2

[quote]Why not SF? Or LA? or Portland? 0r Seattle? Is the west coast out?

Oh dear.

Can't be Atlanta.

No gay rights in the state. Amazon would never risk losing its employees over the issue.

R98, how would Amazon risk losing their employees in Atlanta? Amazon won't be firing them for being gay.

Looks like Apple is going with Raleigh, along I-540 near Davis Drive

r100, you have no Amazon HQ2 news?

Maybe Apple news deserves a thread of its own.

Apple recently visited Newark

I meant Amazon

Toromto

Just yesterday saw something on line that No. VA. has the edge.

I hope not Atlanta. It's already too congested. The metro Atlanta area is a nightmare. Freeways are horrible, all the damned time. Tell them to go to Mississippi. Alabama. Louisiana. North Carolina. South Carolina. Please.

Toronto - It's beyond Trump's reach.

Amazon probably intends to use its deliveries to influence the government!