Amazon is looking to have a second headquarters (HQ2). It is expected to be a $5 billion investment and offer up to 50,000 jobs. The folks in many cities would like it to be in their city. In choosing the location for HQ2, Amazon has a preference for:
-Metropolitan areas with more than one million people
-A stable and business-friendly environment
-Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent
-Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options
HQ2 could be, but does not have to be:
-An urban or downtown campus
-A similar layout to Amazon’s Seattle campus
-A development-prepped site (link).
That is very sketchy. But several websites have given opinions about the leading candidates. According to BloombergView, there are six possible cities that are most likely to become the home of HQ2: Toronto, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and Denver. Along with some candidates, this one shows a neat table of data for different criteria, such as tech talent rank and office price per square foot.
My metro area Cleveland is not a leading contender, but its Plain-Dealer on Sep 24 had an interesting article about some of the considerations that Amazon will face at some time. Cleveland's airport at present doesn't have the kind of capacity that could handle a big increase in flights and number of passengers.
Wherever HQ2 goes it will likely boost housing prices.
There is the issue of state and local governments providing incentives, especially tax breaks, to Amazon for locating HQ2 in their state or local area. Amazon has been awarded more than $1 billion in state and local subsidies since 2000, according to estimates by watchdog Good Jobs First.
My next post will consider the pluses and minuses of having HQ2 nearby at a more individual level.
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