Amazon Headquarters-II - The Potential cities include our region (Arlington: apartment, leases)

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

These days, lots of employers, especially those targeting Millenials/Gen X'ers, are really putting a premium on the whole live/work/play factor these days, which is why Amazon's Seattle headquarters is downtown. They know that their targeted demographics prefer to be closer to where the action is and nobody likes long commutes. They aren't averse to suburban locations, but prefer closer-in suburban locations. In that respect, it's hard to see HQ2 going out any farther than Tysons if they pick NoVA.

I didn't know they moved downtown. It has been a while and I still thought they were in Pacific Tower.

[rome99]

well, things will change if they elect nova area.

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

^^^This

Loudoun County will not win. Think Seattle. Can the Dulles Corridor offer what downtown Seattle offers? no. There is no culture, nightlife, sports, or anything that a major city like DC can offer. Sure, there is Dulles airport, but less than 1% of Amazon employees will ever need the use of an airport. And a 30-40 minute ride to an airport is not unreasonable.

DC proper gets the nod in my opinion out of the three locations. If located in DC, MD and VA benefit anyway. And because they benefit, Metro would get a huge infusion of cash. Locate it in Loudoun County and you exacerbate the east-west traffic congestion. If you locate it in east DC, there's more balance.

Loudoun County lacks local access to educational institutions. Whereas DC has GW, American, Howard, Georgetown, Catholic U., and Gallaudet within its borders. ANd UMD not far away on the Green Line. THat's impressive.

Two of the sites in DC are near sports venues, Nationals, DC United, and the Wizards/Capitals.

Tell me what Loudoun County has to offer after work is over?

[LuvVA]

Originally Posted by rome99

well, things will change if they elect nova area.

I agree.... This will change if HQ2 comes here. There is lot of scope for improvements here. More developments, including night life etc will come around HQ2. Look at Loudoun One !!

[NC211]

I may not quite understand the scope of size for the sites under consideration, but I struggle to see how a downtown setting can meet the request for up to 8 million additional square feet of office space for potential expansion. That figure alone seems to speak to a "campus" like setting over all else, which would mean the need for a lot of land. Given DC's height restrictions on construction, they'll be blocked for a high-rise. One of the tallest buildings in the country, the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) is 4.5m SF. So, think two of those.


Tysons is very interesting, especially given the plans for around the Greensboro metro station that I've seen in the past. But I don't think that's zoned or capable of 8m SF of potential new development either.


Amazon needs land, and lots of it.

[lchoro]

It depends on the density allowed on the land.

There is a new development on 85 acres adjacent to the proposed Dulles site that will allow for 3.5 million square feet.

https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...un-for-85.html

The land offered to Amazon is about the same size when other adjacent private land is included. About half of the land is on the other side of the street about 60 feet from the metro station and is zoned for twice the density of the above property.


The Dulles site will have the new metro station open pretty soon. The state also has plans for light rail that run from Manassas along Route 28 to the airport. Workers will be able to get a direct bus ride to work since the Route 28 station is expected to be a bus terminal for many of the towns to get connections to the rail network.

The sports venue is a non-factor. The music venues are also a non-factor despite there being three near the Dulles site.

Only University of Maryland at College Park is considered a top-notch school for engineering and technology in the metropolitan area. The other major engineering and technology schools one would expect Amazon to draw resumes from would include Virginia Tech and NC State farther south.

Loudoun County will have more to appeal to the young workers who have families. Downtown would appeal to young people or people who move in from out of town.

If east-west traffic was a big concern, Amazon would be moving their offices to far suburbs and creating more sprawl. That has already occurred since the late 80's with the western sprawl reaching the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

Regardless of where they select, there will probably not be enough housing in the short-term. In the long run, there is much more development planned in the Dulles area over the next 10-20 years.

[Old Dominionite]

Originally Posted by NC211

I believe you're right as well. My wife mentioned seeing something that Texas was not in the running either, that Apple had confirmed it themselves.


Who knows! Can you imagine if DC area landed both Amazon and Apple! Kaboom!

Yes, "Kaboom!" indeed. That's the sound of everyone's property tax bill within a 30-mile radius of the selected site(s)...

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

Yes, "Kaboom!" indeed. That's the sound of everyone's property tax bill within a 30-mile radius of the selected site(s)...

I think many people would cope with that.

[Mike From NIU]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

Yes, "Kaboom!" indeed. That's the sound of everyone's property tax bill within a 30-mile radius of the selected site(s)...

Not necessarily. If property values go up significantly, many jurisdictions would reduce the rate of taxation to offset at least part of that amount. For example, my property assessment in Prince William County has gone up ~45% over the last eight years, but my real estate taxes have only risen ~25% over that span. The Board of Supervisors has been reducing the mill rate a little bit each year.

[NC211]

Originally Posted by lchoro

It depends on the density allowed on the land.

There is a new development on 85 acres adjacent to the proposed Dulles site that will allow for 3.5 million square feet.

https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...un-for-85.html

The land offered to Amazon is about the same size when other adjacent private land is included. About half of the land is on the other side of the street about 60 feet from the metro station and is zoned for twice the density of the above property.


The Dulles site will have the new metro station open pretty soon. The state also has plans for light rail that run from Manassas along Route 28 to the airport. Workers will be able to get a direct bus ride to work since the Route 28 station is expected to be a bus terminal for many of the towns to get connections to the rail network.

The sports venue is a non-factor. The music venues are also a non-factor despite there being three near the Dulles site.

Only University of Maryland at College Park is considered a top-notch school for engineering and technology in the metropolitan area. The other major engineering and technology schools one would expect Amazon to draw resumes from would include Virginia Tech and NC State farther south.

Loudoun County will have more to appeal to the young workers who have families. Downtown would appeal to young people or people who move in from out of town.

If east-west traffic was a big concern, Amazon would be moving their offices to far suburbs and creating more sprawl. That has already occurred since the late 80's with the western sprawl reaching the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

Regardless of where they select, there will probably not be enough housing in the short-term. In the long run, there is much more development planned in the Dulles area over the next 10-20 years.

You and I are on the same page! I know that site you mention very very well, and is in play for sure. My point about size though was more aligned to the more densely populated places already (Tysons and downtown). I just don't see how those locations can meet the 8m SF requirement without breaching the height restrictions in general. Can't go upward, and not enough continuous space to go outward either to get 8m SF, ever. For DC in general to win it, wherever it goes, is going to need a good bit of elbow room.


I agree on the tax values. They would certainly skyrocket, but the counties would likely counter the increase with a reduced milrate in the calculation. Doesn't do much good for them if they can't actually collect because nobody can afford it anymore. They'd just pick up the extra tax revenue via more revenue generating units being added into the tax population in general. But, market value would be the more impressive adjustment. Given how expensive land is already (assuming Loudoun county here), a demand of this magnitude from either one (apple or amazon) in that area, would almost certainly mean Loudoun county becomes a sea of townhouses, and the existing single family detached would jump up significantly.

[ACWhite]

Arlington and Alexandria also submitted a proposal that was part of the NoVA package. I could see how Amazon might go in that direction. It meets a lot of the criteria. There is a lot of vacant office space in Crystal City and Rosslyn, plus land that can be developed nearby.