Looks like NOVA won Amazon HQ

[Anonymous]

Election of DJT and the GOP controlling both houses of Congress will make Amazon leery of DC itself. Congress can f#ck with him in many ways, if he's on federal land. It's crazy that we are talking about the GOP taking direct actions against private companies that won't bend the knee, but here we are.

I see Crystal City being the most obvious and safe location for Amazon. The state has turned moderate blue, which is exactly what Washington was in the late 90s when Amazon arrived. Plus, all the other reasons listed by people in here for CC - it's a great location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL @ someone seriously arguing that Bezos will have a pied a terre in Herndon. I'm actually laughing.

That was me. I mean I know it sounds funny (cause yeah, I have seen apt complexes in Herndon, and I know pied a terre sounds like a small apartment) Laughter aside, I think the idea that because he has a house in Kalorama (?) if HQ2 were build in Herndon, he would have to choose between revers commuting on the Toll Road, and flying in a helicopter, is absurd. Whatever kind of house you think he wants to sleep in when he needs to be at HQ2, if it exists in Herndon, he can afford it as one more home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL @ someone seriously arguing that Bezos will have a pied a terre in Herndon. I'm actually laughing.

That was me. I mean I know it sounds funny (cause yeah, I have seen apt complexes in Herndon, and I know pied a terre sounds like a small apartment) Laughter aside, I think the idea that because he has a house in Kalorama (?) if HQ2 were build in Herndon, he would have to choose between revers commuting on the Toll Road, and flying in a helicopter, is absurd. Whatever kind of house you think he wants to sleep in when he needs to be at HQ2, if it exists in Herndon, he can afford it as one more home.

Which is why I don't think it will be in Herdon. Plus, post 9/11 DC has pretty much eliminated all private helicopter landing pads in the District. You need to fly into MoCo or VA and then drive into the city. There are no landing pads on any District office buildings.

Bezos's plane regularly lands at DCA and then he drives into the city. I see this as his most convenient option. AWS and distribution will continue to expand bigly in the Dulles Corridor. To me, it seems that Amazon is going all-in on Virginia. They will be a huge force in state politics, perhaps remaking the Richmond state house. RoVA will lose power.

[Anonymous]

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/07/23/moco-executive-hopeful-assures-jeff-bezos-on.html

[Anonymous]

When is this announcement supposed to be made for real?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL @ someone seriously arguing that Bezos will have a pied a terre in Herndon. I'm actually laughing.

That was me. I mean I know it sounds funny (cause yeah, I have seen apt complexes in Herndon, and I know pied a terre sounds like a small apartment) Laughter aside, I think the idea that because he has a house in Kalorama (?) if HQ2 were build in Herndon, he would have to choose between revers commuting on the Toll Road, and flying in a helicopter, is absurd. Whatever kind of house you think he wants to sleep in when he needs to be at HQ2, if it exists in Herndon, he can afford it as one more home.

Which is why I don't think it will be in Herdon. Plus, post 9/11 DC has pretty much eliminated all private helicopter landing pads in the District. You need to fly into MoCo or VA and then drive into the city. There are no landing pads on any District office buildings.

Bezos's plane regularly lands at DCA and then he drives into the city. I see this as his most convenient option. AWS and distribution will continue to expand bigly in the Dulles Corridor. To me, it seems that Amazon is going all-in on Virginia. They will be a huge force in state politics, perhaps remaking the Richmond state house. RoVA will lose power.

Your remarks are bizarre. He is not going to plan his business because of where he owns a house. You don't know if he will stay in Seattle, where HQ is located choose to move or just go back and forth as needed or do everything by computer. He can easily buy a new house. At this point, they bought land for AWS which is already located out there. That's all we know. He will go with what ever makes the most financial sense for Amazon. The stuff like his transportation is trivial.

[Anonymous]

Fake news AMZN will never locate out in hillbillyville. Obviously this is just a warehouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Election of DJT and the GOP controlling both houses of Congress will make Amazon leery of DC itself. Congress can f#ck with him in many ways, if he's on federal land. It's crazy that we are talking about the GOP taking direct actions against private companies that won't bend the knee, but here we are.

I see Crystal City being the most obvious and safe location for Amazon. The state has turned moderate blue, which is exactly what Washington was in the late 90s when Amazon arrived. Plus, all the other reasons listed by people in here for CC - it's a great location.

word

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The only criterion is money. How many qualified employees can Amazon get. Housing costs, schools, etc. are not important. That is corporate spin. Amazon is going to land in Crystal City 90%. All Bezos wants are 20 and 30 something educated employees, and proximity to the world's power center, Washington, DC. Bezos is already expanding AWS in Loudoun County be a few thousand employees. HQ2 is not going there as well. DC is off the list. Maryland regulations turn off Bezos. Bezos wants a east coast time zone as well. There is so much wishful thinking, but the decision was made the moment the search for HQ2 was announced. People who think vulture billionaires like Bezos cares about housing and schools have not been paying attention to Seattle. He does not, has not, and will not weigh any factor other than talent and location to DC politicians.

? How do you know MD regulations turns off Bezos? Most of these big high tech companies are in blue states, those with more regulations, like WA, CA and NY.

DP. By your (1st PP's) own admission, it's about money. MD approved $8.5B (that with a B) worth of tax incentives for AHQ2 to relocate to MD. If it's all about the money, that's a much bigger deal to Amazon that anything that he can get from either DC or VA or most of the rest of the top 20.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-amazon-package-passed-20180404-story.html

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure the bet is on atlanta or nc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

In a labor market this tight, it would be the height of stupid not to care. High tech == Indian and other Asian programmers and white programmers who care a lot about education== the schools are the number one concern.

Amazon cares about schools because they are trying to recruit talented programmers. And talented programmers care a lot about schools. It is not accidental that RRMS and Carson are two of the biggest TJ feeder MSs, and that they are also the 2 AAP Center near Dulles Tech corridor.

Schools may not be Amazons problem. But not being able to fill these jobs would be a huge problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The only criterion is money. How many qualified employees can Amazon get. Housing costs, schools, etc. are not important. That is corporate spin. Amazon is going to land in Crystal City 90%. All Bezos wants are 20 and 30 something educated employees, and proximity to the world's power center, Washington, DC. Bezos is already expanding AWS in Loudoun County be a few thousand employees. HQ2 is not going there as well. DC is off the list. Maryland regulations turn off Bezos. Bezos wants a east coast time zone as well. There is so much wishful thinking, but the decision was made the moment the search for HQ2 was announced. People who think vulture billionaires like Bezos cares about housing and schools have not been paying attention to Seattle. He does not, has not, and will not weigh any factor other than talent and location to DC politicians.

? How do you know MD regulations turns off Bezos? Most of these big high tech companies are in blue states, those with more regulations, like WA, CA and NY.

DP. By your (1st PP's) own admission, it's about money. MD approved $8.5B (that with a B) worth of tax incentives for AHQ2 to relocate to MD. If it's all about the money, that's a much bigger deal to Amazon that anything that he can get from either DC or VA or most of the rest of the top 20.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-amazon-package-passed-20180404-story.html

Bingo. Amazon will go where it gets the best deal in a place that is reasonably attractive for its workers. Everything else is gravy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

In a labor market this tight, it would be the height of stupid not to care. High tech == Indian and other Asian programmers and white programmers who care a lot about education== the schools are the number one concern.

Amazon cares about schools because they are trying to recruit talented programmers. And talented programmers care a lot about schools. It is not accidental that RRMS and Carson are two of the biggest TJ feeder MSs, and that they are also the 2 AAP Center near Dulles Tech corridor.

Schools may not be Amazons problem. But not being able to fill these jobs would be a huge problem.

Why would they care about schools? If they cannot fill them with Americans, they will import folks. Companies are not worried about quality of life. They are worried about profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

Those things matter to employees, not employers. If you have no clue how long it takes from MD to VA, why are you speaking about it. Amazon is having trouble filling its positions which is why they bring people in on Visa's. There are plenty of tech jobs in MD. Most are not close in. Since you don't know, why are you speaking on what you don't know.

It matters to employees, hence to employers, who locate in part to make it easier to attract a labor force.

I don't "have no idea" just not an exact idea.

I doubt they want to staff up 100% on H1b's etc, if they are having trouble filling positions they will certainly pay attention to factors that effect the ability to attract and retain employees.

The number of tech jobs in Md is not as high as in NoVa, I am pretty sure. My point was that commuting time from residential areas in Virginia is more important to them than commute time from residential areas in Maryland. The issues for them with Crystal City are how commutable it is from Va - whether close in areas in Arlington, or more distant areas like Fairfax and beyond. I am not sure why you think commuting time from MoCo to Crystal City would be a big factor (you or another PP) I don't think it would be.

Do you know how long the commute is from Herndon to CC during the school year during rush hour? An hour. I make that commute twice a week. It sucks. The countercommute is better, but not great. My kid commutes Herndon to Alexandria (TJ) usually 45 minutes. I’m married to a software engineer. He would not sign up to commute Herndon to CC every day. They would have to bump up his pay quite a bit to get him there 1/2 time.

I know VA commute times. And times. And W. Fairfax Loudoun where the tech workers live to CC is not doable. Even Oakton to CC is bad — at least 45 minutes if you get to metro, park and ride in. More than a half hour to drive. Everyone in NOVA commutes that route. They DO NOT need to add more commuters on 495/66.

Amazon pays well. But not well enough to spend a million buck for a shitshack and put 2 kids in a school system where they might have to go to HS in shifts. Or put them in ACPS or DCPs. Hard pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Election of DJT and the GOP controlling both houses of Congress will make Amazon leery of DC itself. Congress can f#ck with him in many ways, if he's on federal land. It's crazy that we are talking about the GOP taking direct actions against private companies that won't bend the knee, but here we are.

I see Crystal City being the most obvious and safe location for Amazon. The state has turned moderate blue, which is exactly what Washington was in the late 90s when Amazon arrived. Plus, all the other reasons listed by people in here for CC - it's a great location.

word

Are you 12?