After 11 months of hoping, praying, and more than a little begging, 18 finalist cities came away empty handed from the lottery for Amazon’s second headquarters, which promised the winner a Powerball of 50,000 high-paying jobs, $5 billion in direct investment, and an economic boon.
On Nov. 12, Amazon confirmed that it had chosen two locations—Long Island City in the New York borough of Queens, and the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va.—where it will split its hiring and investment plans for its second homes.
Amazon’s overhyped yet secretive selection process—starting with the announcement of its plans in September 2017, followed by a six-week pitch period that drew bids from 238 cities—produced a short list of metros whose elected officials and business leaders pleaded their cases and promised the moon: tax breaks, land grants, and infrastructure improvements in the billions of dollars. (Why this largesse should be bestowed on one company is a topic for another time.)
As it turned out, though, Amazon’s HQ2 picks may have been preordained. The two cities already had the greatest number of Amazon employees outside of Seattle, and they offer a robust talent pool. Arlington is also near Washington, D.C., where Amazon’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos lords over the Washington Post.
See Also: Amazon selects HQ2 cities
If, in fact, the two winners were always the frontrunners, and this whole exercise was a charade (as some of the chagrined cities suspect), Amazon pulled off a masterful act of manipulation and mass hypnosis, convincing the other contenders they had a legit shot. Officials in places like Denver, Chicago, and Boston—which were among the “leaders” cited in media speculation—are probably still scratching their heads about why their cities were also-rans.
During its vetting process, the tech giant gained access to troves of financial and demographic data about the cities it was considering. I don’t think it’s too cynical to suggest that Amazon will eventually use this information for other business purposes.
What, exactly, will the two winning cities be getting for their efforts, aside from more mass transit congestion? Probably not equal to what Amazon’s 14-million-sf presence has meant to Seattle’s economy and growth.
The stage has been set for Round 2, where developers and AEC firms trip over each other trying to get a piece of whatever Amazon is planning to either build or renovate. (The New York Times reported that Amazon informed the winners that it wants 500,000 sf of office space available in 2019.)
But before any firms enter the fray, it’s worth remembering that Seattle-based NBBJ has designed a number of buildings for Amazon, including its Spheres glass domes in Seattle, for which Magnusson Klemencic Associates was the structural engineer.
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
Full Steam Ahead for Sustainable Power Plant
An innovative restoration turns a historic but inoperable coal-burning steam plant into a modern, energy-efficient marvel at Duke University.
| Oct 6, 2010
From grocery store to culinary school
A former West Philadelphia supermarket is moving up the food chain, transitioning from grocery store to the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a business culinary training school.
| Sep 30, 2010
Luxury hotels lead industry in green accommodations
Results from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2010 Lodging Survey showed that luxury and upper-upscale hotels are most likely to feature green amenities and earn green certifications. Results were tallied from 8,800 respondents, for a very respectable 18% response rate. Questions focused on 14 green-related categories, including allergy-free rooms, water-saving programs, energy management systems, recycling programs, green certification, and green renovation.
| Sep 22, 2010
Michael Van Valkenburg Assoc. wins St. Louis Gateway Arch design competition
Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh and a multidisciplinary team of experts in “urban renewal, preservation, commemoration, social connections and ecological restoration” have been picked for the planning phase of The City+The Arch+The River 2015 International Design Competition.
| Sep 21, 2010
Forecast: Existing buildings to earn 50% of green building certifications
A new report from Pike Research forecasts that by 2020, nearly half the green building certifications will be for existing buildings—accounting for 25 billion sf. The study, “Green Building Certification Programs,” analyzed current market and regulatory conditions related to green building certification programs, and found that green building remain robust during the recession and that certifications for existing buildings are an increasing area of focus.
| Sep 16, 2010
Gehry’s Santa Monica Place gets a wave of changes
Omniplan, in association with Jerde Partnership, created an updated design for Santa Monica Place, a shopping mall designed by Frank Gehry in 1980.
| Sep 13, 2010
Campus housing fosters community connection
A 600,000-sf complex on the University of Washington's Seattle campus will include four residence halls for 1,650 students and a 100-seat cafe, 8,000-sf grocery store, and conference center with 200-seat auditorium for both student and community use.
| Sep 13, 2010
Second Time Around
A Building Team preserves the historic facade of a Broadway theater en route to creating the first green playhouse on the Great White Way.
| Sep 13, 2010
Palos Community Hospital plans upgrades, expansion
A laboratory, pharmacy, critical care unit, perioperative services, and 192 new patient beds are part of Palos (Ill.) Community Hospital's 617,500-sf expansion and renovation.
