Amazon in the last conversations for the HQ2 location
Amazon in the last conversations for the HQ2 location
It has progressed to last-minute talks about its second seat with a small number of communities, including Crystal City, Dallas and New York City, in northern Virginia, people familiar with the matter said, as it approaches a final decision that could reform the technological giant. and the location you choose.
Ongoing talks with some local officials occur as discussions seem to have cooled off in some of the other 20 cities on Amazon's short list, including Denver, Toronto, Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn. And Raleigh, N.C., according to people familiar with those situations.
The negotiations with the main candidates are probably in slightly different phases, according to well-informed people. In Northern Virginia, Amazon is negotiating with government officials about incentives, while also talking to
a real estate investment trust that is publicly traded, about the Crystal City real estate it owns, according to people familiar with the matter. One of the people said part of the negotiations involved setting investment goals that Amazon would have to meet to qualify for incentives.
New York is still actively talking to Amazon, although it is not clear how advanced they are in the process.
While Amazon is looking for a location for its new headquarters, called HQ2, cities across the country are trying to attract the technological giant. At stake: 50,000 jobs and $ 5 billion in investments.
Taken together, the developments are intensifying the anticipation that the list of likely options is decreasing, even when several of the people informed warned that Amazon has not made a final decision. Some also believe that Amazon can announce plans to place smaller operations in runner-up locations. The company has refused to discuss the process publicly, except to say that it will decide by the end of the year. Some people involved think that an announcement could come this month. Negotiations are fluid and move quickly since they are at an advanced stage, and conversations with individual cities could change or fail at the last minute.
Amazon is "anything but predictable," said one of the people familiar with the ongoing negotiations in Virginia.
Site selection specialists say Amazon is likely to be having last-minute conversations with two or more cities, and have other cities on hold, in case an agreement can not be completed.
A group of developers in Dallas, where advanced conversations also continue, recently purchased a property on a site they reserved for Amazon.
The position of other cities in the Amazon list of 20, such as Newark, N.J., is less clear. Chicago and Miami had been in contact with Amazon until recently, but they are not currently in negotiations, according to some people. That does not necessarily mean they are out of the race.
Amazon announced plans over a year ago to build a second headquarters, triggering an unprecedented tender process. Amazon said that the new site, destined to be a second complete headquarters for the titan of electronic commerce, would generate up to 50,000 jobs and more than $ 5 billion in investments for almost two decades.
Amazon has handled the search with intense secrecy since the announcement in January. The list of the 20 finalists. Of the 238 cities and regions that submitted proposals. Earlier this year, he visited whirlwind sites and requested a large amount of data focused on test scores from local high schools. The company asked the cities involved in the process to sign non-disclosure agreements, and officials have tried to keep procedures secret.
The process was largely silent during the summer. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Amazon had made a second visit to a handful of cities and was negotiating with some, and that it was leaning towards an urban site.
Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said last week that the decision will be made "with the intuition after collecting and studying a large amount of data." Speaking in an interview on stage with author Walter Isaacson, he said: "For a decision like that, as far as I know, the best way to do it is to collect as much data as possible, immerse yourself in that information, but then make the decision with your heart."
Amazon wants a place where it can demonstrate its economic value, but where it is not the only giant employer in the city. Each of the places that are still in discussions have advantages that could be attractive.
The area of D.C. has long been considered one of the main competitors of the process, in part because Bezos has a home there and owns the Washington Post. It was also the only area with three finalists: Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Md. And D.C. The creators of odds on the betting websites have had Northern Virginia as the favorite for most of this year.
Crystal City, located just across the Potomac River from Washington, has an urban feel, numerous government offices and a campus ready to go with empty and older offices that Amazon could use. The area has good access to technological talent and transportation, two factors that are on Amazon's wish list.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Crystal City was in advanced talks with Amazon.
Amazon wants a place where it can demonstrate its economic value, but where it is not the only giant employer in the city.
Photo:
Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
Dallas has a lower cost of living and public-private partnership incentives, in the form of tax reductions, grants, cost sharing of infrastructure and other methods to offset operating and project costs. It is also in Texas, which does not collect taxes on personal income.
A potential site there is a 7.2-acre site that was the home of the Dallas Morning News, which was sold last week for $ 33 million to a developer in Dallas. The property is located across from the Dallas Union Station tramway and the Amtrak station, a center for daily commuters, and adjacent to the intersection of Interstates 30 and 35, which would satisfy Amazon's primary preference in a Well connected urban location.
The Dallas-based developers who bought the site, led by a company called KDC, said in the regulatory reports last week that they would pay the former owner AH Belo Corp. 50% of the profits if the KDC group agrees to sell the property to Amazon before. the purchase of the group closes on December 28. They would pay 33% of the profits to Belo if the property is sold to Amazon within one year of the closing date. A KDC representative said there was no information on Amazon's plans for a possible location in Dallas.
In New York, a neighborhood that Amazon has explored is Long Island City, Queens, the Journal reported earlier. The residential neighborhood is perched on the East River overlooking Manhattan, and is being gentrified by high-rise buildings and young professionals.
Alleged leaks about the process have bothered at least one Amazon official, Mike Grella, the company's director of economic development for his cloud computing arm, who has not been involved in the search. "Remember the genius who filters information about Crystal City, VA as the # HQ2 selection" said a post about his
Account on Saturday, one of several recent complaints about articles on the subject. "You are not doing Crystal City, VA any favors, and stop treating the NDA that you signed as a used napkin.
-Shayndi Raice, Keiko Morris, Valerie Bauerlein contributed to this article.
Write to Laura Stevens in laura.stevens@wsj.com, Scott Calvert in scott.calvert@wsj.com and Tawnell D. Hobbs in Tawnell.Hobbs@wsj.com
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