Surprised we didn’t have a topic about HQ2 (or if we did, search didn’t find it). The latest news is that HQ2 is going to now be HQ2 and 3, split evenly between two cities:
NoVA and one other area are the likely candidates and could be announced this week. Amazon cites the potential issue of wrecking the tech talent, housing, and transportation of an area if they brought all 50k jobs to one locale.
Here’s my cynical take: This was always the plan, but it was pitched as one location to get “best and finals” for absurd tax breaks that would be above and beyond the offerings if it was known that there were two locations being picked. Amazon will announce that the executives are going to stay in Seattle while the logistics of adding a third location are worked out, and then eventually decide that it’s too difficult to set up a structure with three equally important offices and quietly drop the HQ designations from sites two and three.
If they do try and force it, culturally the two new locations will be seen as lessers, especially given that they’re now split and only half the size of the “true” HQ.
I do wonder how much politics went into it? Bezos is getting attacked from Shitgibbon constantly, and the GOP is happy to go along with it, or at the very least say nothing with the occasional furrowed brow. A red state could be seen as rewarding that kind of behavior…
But, yeah, I think Seattle taught Amazon a lesson. No US city can really deal with a massive and rapid influx of 50,000 tech workers.
True, adding 25k jobs anywhere is going to be an issue. But NYC seems insane to me, at least options like Austin or Detroit have room to grow, land-usage wise.
If you live in either of those areas, and are looking to buy a home, do so now before it is impossible.
Apparently the NY HQ will be in Long Island City, Queens, so the housing / commuting issues are slightly less horrible than if they had been targeting Manhattan. In theory people could live in Queens and commute internally there, or live in Manhattan and reverse-commute to Queens.
Or, the most likely situation, they live in Brooklyn and then cry because they have to take the G train.
I used to love taking the G train. Catch the G, transfer to the L and get to 14th street. Saved quite a few minutes. It was always empty as well so easy to catch a seat.
NYC actually has a falling real estate market recently.
I guess new amazon workers could live in Sunnyside. Or compete for Astoria space.
It initially seems crazy to pay a company to come to NYC, because everybody wants to be here anyway. But we’re talking LIC here, which other than seriously fantastic Greek food and the less crowded Costco doesn’t have a whole heck of a lot going on. This deal could vitalize Queens, turn it into a tech hub, and ultimately be worth the expense.
Could you imagine if they had chosen Detroit out of the blue? They could have revitalized a nice chunk of that city and been the start of something good.
I work in Crystal City (or National Landing as it is apparently now being rebranded to) and live about 2 miles away. Should be interesting to see how things change here over the next year. I imagine I’ll be priced out of my neighborhood pretty soon. Maybe I’ll try to get me one of them Amazon jobs, though I don’t think there’s any word yet about what kind of jobs they are intending to bring here.
When they say they are adding 25,000 jobs, won’t a lot of those be new hires? I would think a lot of people living in NY now might get a lot of those jobs.
None of the people responsible for maintenance are going to be flown in. This is good for regular people. Not so good for people who rent right in that neighborhood.
