Amazon Plans to Split HQ2 Evenly Between Two Cities

I'm extremely curious what the cities who were working closely with Amazon think of this development, as now it seems that they'll be getting half the jobs for their concessions. Additionally, the reason cited for splitting their new HQ is the lack of enough tech talent, which means that their concessions may have been for naught if they didn't have enough talent for Amazon in the first place.

I was hoping for a significant cooling of the Seattle housing market with a full fledged hq2, but it appears it will be seattle first for quite a while I’d guess.

Ruth Graham, a writer for Slate, commented on this this morning[0]:

"

A sword was brought & Bezos said “Cut HQ2 in half. Each of you can have part of it.”

“Please don’t split HQ2,” the true host city screamed.

“Go ahead, cut it in half," the other city said.

Bezos pointed to the first city. “This is the real host. Put the headquarters here.”

"

It makes me wonder if this is another negotiation tatic by Amazon to get the final city to shell out more incentives.

[0] https://twitter.com/publicroad/status/1059533656694362115

I’m biased, but I’ve had a feeling in the beginning it was always going to be Dallas in some capacity:

1. DC area may have three potential cities, but Texas is the only other region that has two cities being considered

2. DFW airport is one of the US’s busiest airports, and American Airlines is headquartered there, so you can get a direct flight to anywhere in the country in 3 hours tops. Amazon already has multiple warehouses here and also ships freight through DFW and other airports in the area.

3. Public transit (Dallas has the largest light rail network south of DC), continued investment, world class museums, and honestly a pretty hip city with a lot of activity in the center, not unlike Seattle. Also lots of millennials moving there for its low cost of living and ample jobs.

4. You can’t beat Texas’ business environment — Bezos even praised it when he spoke at a business conference at SMU earlier this summer.

5. Establishing two offices will give Amazon influence in two places, and covering Seattle (West Coast), DC/NoVa (East Coast), Texas (South) gives them nationwide influence.

On the other hand, having lots of available empty office space just ready to go sounds like a bonus. Retail will move back in once there are customers to serve.