Amazon's Reality Check for MD

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is nothing inspiring about Maryland. To me, Maryland means traffic, especially around the Rockville, Bethesda, 270 495/270 junction. Of course no company wants to setup in White Flint. There is zero appeal to anywhere near there. That traffic is just killer. Where in VA, you at least have a few different jobs to get around.

Crystal City is appealing for its proximity to DC, its awesome views, and when you are there you are humbled by being next to the Pentagon and within sight of the monuments and Capitol.

Tysons is appealing because it's becoming a bustling, super dense metropolis on its own that represents the future. And it's a central location to a lot of things in any direction.

Maryland. Come on. There are no locations like this in Maryland except for possibly National Harbor, but that only has so much land.

Maryland needs to face facts that it's only future will be medical stuff associated with NIH and NSA stuff. It's hard to explain, but there is something just off about Maryland. The way it was planned out was not thought out well. Too much residential and not enough business districts. Not enough roads to get around.


Have you ever driven in Tyson's between 2.30pm- 6.30pm during the week?? nothing can compete with that ridiculous traffic on 496 in Tysons.


This. People complain about 270 - rightfully so. But 495 around tysons is brutal even on weekends.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Arlington was able to out-compete [Montgomery] in terms of mass transit, recruiting potential, hotel stock, all the things that Amazon seemed to care about in this process,” said economist Anirban Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group in Baltimore.

“Of all the 20 [finalist] cities, Montgomery County will have the most difficult time turning this is into a marketing campaign. … This is a bitter pill to swallow.”

He said the loss of Discovery Communications, which will soon decamp from its high-profile Silver Spring headquarters, coupled with the Amazon near-miss, amounted to a 1-2 punch, and should prompt some soul-searching north of the Potomac.

But Basu believes the benefits of Amazon may not cross the river to the extent that Maryland officials and business leaders would like.

“This will put Arlington County at the epicenter of e-commerce… There’s probably going to be some impact from a regional perspective. But I really believe the lion’s share of the positive economic impact will be captured in Northern Virginia itself,” he said.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2018/11/14/amazon-decision-to-skirt-maryland-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow/


Hit the nail on the head!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Can't help but wonder if all of these threads are started by the same person!? I remember reading earlier on it would probably be better for the areas that did not actually get the headquarters. Still have access to the jobs without the huge tax burden to pay. Amazon does not have the reputation of being a particularly good neighbor.


It's got to be. I don't know a single soul who is this OBSESSED doing a comparison of MD (MoCo especially) to NoVA and to take every opportunity to say that MD is an arm pit poverty stricken, jobless state inhabited by immigrants (all of them poor, of course).



GO BULLETS!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Arlington was able to out-compete [Montgomery] in terms of mass transit, recruiting potential, hotel stock, all the things that Amazon seemed to care about in this process,” said economist Anirban Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group in Baltimore.

“Of all the 20 [finalist] cities, Montgomery County will have the most difficult time turning this is into a marketing campaign. … This is a bitter pill to swallow.”

He said the loss of Discovery Communications, which will soon decamp from its high-profile Silver Spring headquarters, coupled with the Amazon near-miss, amounted to a 1-2 punch, and should prompt some soul-searching north of the Potomac.

But Basu believes the benefits of Amazon may not cross the river to the extent that Maryland officials and business leaders would like.

“This will put Arlington County at the epicenter of e-commerce… There’s probably going to be some impact from a regional perspective. But I really believe the lion’s share of the positive economic impact will be captured in Northern Virginia itself,” he said.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2018/11/14/amazon-decision-to-skirt-maryland-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow/


Anirban Basu gets paid by the real estate development industry to talk about the horrible business climate in Montgomery County.
Anonymous
VA has terrible traffic too. Freddie Mac a lot of folks don't want to deal with the traffic. Getting out of parking lot and on the highway is 15 minutes alone.

And getting companies does not always equal good real estate values. Also where someone is from matters too.

I know a CEO-level African American From NYC housing hunting in Potomac for his new C-level job in Tysons Corner.

First his wife is from New York, they go back and forth that way, you get a big mansion for price of VA in Potomac, wife does not work, kids want a great school. CEO starts work early and leaves last. Traffic at 630 am and 8 pm not bad. And only color in Potomac is Green.

There are a decent amount of Indian and Asian minority neighborhoods near Tysons in VA but not many black ones.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:VA has terrible traffic too. Freddie Mac a lot of folks don't want to deal with the traffic. Getting out of parking lot and on the highway is 15 minutes alone.

And getting companies does not always equal good real estate values. Also where someone is from matters too.

I know a CEO-level African American From NYC housing hunting in Potomac for his new C-level job in Tysons Corner.

First his wife is from New York, they go back and forth that way, you get a big mansion for price of VA in Potomac, wife does not work, kids want a great school. CEO starts work early and leaves last. Traffic at 630 am and 8 pm not bad. And only color in Potomac is Green.

There are a decent amount of Indian and Asian minority neighborhoods near Tysons in VA but not many black ones.


I used to live in Prince William County. Driving on I66 toward the beltway was horrible. It's far worse than Montgomery County.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:VA has terrible traffic too. Freddie Mac a lot of folks don't want to deal with the traffic. Getting out of parking lot and on the highway is 15 minutes alone.

And getting companies does not always equal good real estate values. Also where someone is from matters too.

I know a CEO-level African American From NYC housing hunting in Potomac for his new C-level job in Tysons Corner.

First his wife is from New York, they go back and forth that way, you get a big mansion for price of VA in Potomac, wife does not work, kids want a great school. CEO starts work early and leaves last. Traffic at 630 am and 8 pm not bad. And only color in Potomac is Green.

There are a decent amount of Indian and Asian minority neighborhoods near Tysons in VA but not many black ones.


And getting companies does not always equal good real estate values."

Sorry, you are just wrong.

"Searches in the other winner of Amazon's sweepstakes, Crystal City, Virginia, jumped 84 percent. Real estate agents say they're hearing from investors who'd like to become landlords and from sellers who've decided to pull their homes off the market, sit back and wait for prices to go up, up, up."

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Suddenly-a-pair-of-quiet-real-estate-markets-are-13392187.php
Anonymous
If Virginia was smart they would diversify more out of tech. The tech industry knows it’s over valued and is preparing for a correction.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:If Virginia was smart they would diversify more out of tech. The tech industry knows it’s over valued and is preparing for a correction.


Right!? Tech will be over and done with when this whole internet fad ends! Not to mention, the pentagon and fedgov have no need for technology. NOVA should diversify into social justice experiments (like MD) or maybe coal mining.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:VA has terrible traffic too. Freddie Mac a lot of folks don't want to deal with the traffic. Getting out of parking lot and on the highway is 15 minutes alone.

And getting companies does not always equal good real estate values. Also where someone is from matters too.

I know a CEO-level African American From NYC housing hunting in Potomac for his new C-level job in Tysons Corner.

First his wife is from New York, they go back and forth that way, you get a big mansion for price of VA in Potomac, wife does not work, kids want a great school. CEO starts work early and leaves last. Traffic at 630 am and 8 pm not bad. And only color in Potomac is Green.

There are a decent amount of Indian and Asian minority neighborhoods near Tysons in VA but not many black ones.


I used to live in Prince William County. Driving on I66 toward the beltway was horrible. It's far worse than Montgomery County.


oh yeah, 66 IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.....on a weekend...is usually a mess!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If Virginia was smart they would diversify more out of tech. The tech industry knows it’s over valued and is preparing for a correction.


Right!? Tech will be over and done with when this whole internet fad ends! Not to mention, the pentagon and fedgov have no need for technology. NOVA should diversify into social justice experiments (like MD) or maybe coal mining.


Haha

Look, I am from MD and can acknowledge this is a major loss. Moved to Sunnyvale in 2003 for 10 years and then Seattle for 3 years. The change is going to be pretty dramatic. Most people do not work for companies with trillion dollar market caps and can’t see their transformative power. Arlington is going to get rich, no if’s and buts.

So will DC and MD though just like Fremont did wrt San Fran. It’ll take longer than Arlington but it will happen.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If Virginia was smart they would diversify more out of tech. The tech industry knows it’s over valued and is preparing for a correction.


Right!? Tech will be over and done with when this whole internet fad ends! Not to mention, the pentagon and fedgov have no need for technology. NOVA should diversify into social justice experiments (like MD) or maybe coal mining.


Haha

Look, I am from MD and can acknowledge this is a major loss. Moved to Sunnyvale in 2003 for 10 years and then Seattle for 3 years. The change is going to be pretty dramatic. Most people do not work for companies with trillion dollar market caps and can’t see their transformative power. Arlington is going to get rich, no if’s and buts.

So will DC and MD though just like Fremont did wrt San Fran. It’ll take longer than Arlington but it will happen.

I used to live in Sunnyvale and the Bay Area in general for over 10 years. Even places like Morgan Hill and Gilroy have gotten expensive, and Gilory is over 30 miles from the center of SJ. In comparison, Rockville to CC is 22 miles. So yes, outer areas will eventually get more expensive if the tech sector around here gets bigger.

Man, who would've thought Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world would demand almost $700K for a 3 br/2ba 1700sqft house with a lotsize of 2400 sqft. Crazy.

I left the Bay Area in part because of the crazy real estate prices.
Anonymous
^ good point
Anonymous
I hope all jurisdictions stop these massive giveaways to corporations. It's pathetic. I am glad MD lost.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:People keep saying this, but in some ways CC was just a better choice in that it had existing empty buildings with a Metro stop. White Flint had a big plot of land miles from the nearest public transit.

Which...great for Crystal City but there was very little MoCo could do about that.
I thought there was a metro stop at White Flint.


There is. I get get off there sometimes—I’d guess it’s about a 10-min walk to the mall site.


It is 1/2 of a mile.


It's two longish blocks.
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