Amazon HQ2

[Scott5114]

Seeing people moan about Amazon destroying small businesses while happily shopping at Walmart or Home Depot is hilarious.  Particularly since the loss of independent hardware stores, electronics stores, etc. is actually to the detriment of anyone who needs help diagnosing a problem and has to rely on the minimum-wage bots employed by these chains who don't know a damn thing about fuses or toilet handles.  And I'm not sure the actual bookstores who have found a second life by selling books through Amazon are complaining.

Not to mention that many of the small, local bookstores are doing just fine because they specialize in providing a solid customer experience rather than the lowest price.

One maxim you hear when you get advice from small-business groups is to never try to compete on price. The bigger businesses have the means to beat you every time, and you'll lose. Instead, focus on what small businesses can do better, which is customer service and quality products.

[Bruce]

A little preview of what HQ2 might bring to the chosen city:

Amazon's new Seattle headquarters campus has three giant glass domes that house a few thousand tropical plants. It's a giant employee lounge that is open to the public on a very limited basis (at least for now), but I was lucky enough to get a tour through the official headquarters tour.


Amazon Spheres from Day 1 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Amazon Spheres from Doppler by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Amazon Spheres from Doppler by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Birds' nest inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


View from inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Humidity control inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Humidity control inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Plant label inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Amazon Tower III from inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[Duke87]

Amazon's new Seattle headquarters campus has three giant glass domes that house a few thousand tropical plants.

Because it's Amazon. Hahahaha...ha.....ha............ I see what they did there.

[Mrt90]

That reminds me of the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory (aka "The Domes") in Milwaukee.

https://www.milwaukeemag.com/ideas-ways-transform-domes/

[triplemultiplex]

Yeah, those copycats.

Unlike Amazon, though, the Mitchell Park Domes are very much open to the public.

[Bruce]

The Amazon Spheres are actually open to the public, you just have to make a reservation (and it's free). Access is limited, since it's mainly an employee workspace and Amazon is not required to grant public access indoors. Heck, the turf lawn and plaza space between the spheres and building is a POPS that Amazon allows for all use, even for anti-Amazon protests that happen from time to time:

https://twitter.com/MarcusQ13Fox/status/983872541323214848

[abefroman329]

We just moved into a new house, and for reasons that are too boring to get into, we have an extra king-sized box spring set, but are in need of a mattress and frame so we can set up a place to sleep in our in-law suite.  We went to the local mattress company's outlet store, and told them we weren't interested in spending a lot of money on a mattress that would be slept on, at most, by one person, once a week.  Numerous times.  After 20 minutes of the salesman trying to upsell us to a mattress we were not interested in buying, we left and bought what we needed on Amazon.  It'll be at our front door on Thursday.

The worst part was, we're probably going to need to replace our current mattress in a few years, and if the salesman hadn't been such a, well, salesman about the transaction, I would've gone back to him personally to buy the much more expensive mattress.

[Bruce]

...Since when did this turn into a catch-all Amazon thread? Can we at least keep this to Amazon's headquarters?

[jakeroot]

Can we at least keep this to Amazon's headquarters?

Here's something related to "large buildings that house white-collar Amazon employees" (but aren't necessarily headquarters):

https://twitter.com/NEWS1130/status/990995554049048576

[Bruce]

With the Seattle City Council trying to pass a head tax that is targeted at large employers (basically just Amazon), the company has put its foot down and suspended construction on its fifth tower.

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/amazon-pauses-seattle-construction-pending-city-hall-head-tax-vote/

[Scott5114]

Seems kind of silly. Even if they wanted to reverse expansion plans in Seattle, it would be easier to sell off (or rent out) a completed building they have no use for than a half-built one.

[kkt]

Seems kind of silly. Even if they wanted to reverse expansion plans in Seattle, it would be easier to sell off (or rent out) a completed building they have no use for than a half-built one.

I'm sure the building will be finished eventually, by someone.  Amazon is just stomping its feet.

[jakeroot]

Seems kind of silly. Even if they wanted to reverse expansion plans in Seattle, it would be easier to sell off (or rent out) a completed building they have no use for than a half-built one.

I'm sure the building will be finished eventually, by someone.  Amazon is just stomping its feet.

Considering how many jobs Amazon has brought to Seattle, I think it's wise to give in to a few of its demands.

[Scott5114]

Seems kind of silly. Even if they wanted to reverse expansion plans in Seattle, it would be easier to sell off (or rent out) a completed building they have no use for than a half-built one.

I'm sure the building will be finished eventually, by someone.  Amazon is just stomping its feet.

Considering how many jobs Amazon has brought to Seattle, I think it's wise to give in to a few of its demands.

Yes and no. You don't want to antagonize them unnecessarily, but you also don't want to let them buy the city council. Amazon is in it for their own profits, and not the well-being of the city of Seattle. If what's best for the city doesn't match up with what's best for Amazon, the city council should cut them loose.

[kkt]

Seattle is getting very little from Amazon's development.  School enrollment is increasing rapidly, in part because of all the families moving to where Amazon jobs are.  Do the developments pay impact fees to support schools?  No, they do not.  And the schools don't get money to build new schools from the state.  Result, they don't get built until long after they're desperately needed, and when they do they are paid for by general property taxes, not development fees.

[kalvado]

Seattle is getting very little from Amazon's development.  School enrollment is increasing rapidly, in part because of all the families moving to where Amazon jobs are.  Do the developments pay impact fees to support schools?  No, they do not.  And the schools don't get money to build new schools from the state.  Result, they don't get built until long after they're desperately needed, and when they do they are paid for by general property taxes, not development fees.

Frankly speaking, city of Seattle is RICH. City budget is just shy of $10k per capita, which is also slightly below $12K federal per capita values. For comparison, our area has municipal budgets of about $2k and below.

[kkt]

Seattle is getting very little from Amazon's development.  School enrollment is increasing rapidly, in part because of all the families moving to where Amazon jobs are.  Do the developments pay impact fees to support schools?  No, they do not.  And the schools don't get money to build new schools from the state.  Result, they don't get built until long after they're desperately needed, and when they do they are paid for by general property taxes, not development fees.

Frankly speaking, city of Seattle is RICH. City budget is just shy of $10k per capita, which is also slightly below $12K federal per capita values. For comparison, our area has municipal budgets of about $2k and below.

I don't know where you get those numbers or what services they include.  I will note, however, that it's more expensive to grow than to stay static or shrink.

[kalvado]

Seattle is getting very little from Amazon's development.  School enrollment is increasing rapidly, in part because of all the families moving to where Amazon jobs are.  Do the developments pay impact fees to support schools?  No, they do not.  And the schools don't get money to build new schools from the state.  Result, they don't get built until long after they're desperately needed, and when they do they are paid for by general property taxes, not development fees.

Frankly speaking, city of Seattle is RICH. City budget is just shy of $10k per capita, which is also slightly below $12K federal per capita values. For comparison, our area has municipal budgets of about $2k and below.

I don't know where you get those numbers or what services they include.  I will note, however, that it's more expensive to grow than to stay static or shrink.

Numbers come from official Seattle budget. Yes, it costs a lot to grow - but its a question of how much can government collect from taxpayers. My impression is that with $10k per capita budget, new schools should be only that big of an issue. Asking state - e.g. mostly people outside of the area with high-tech growth - to subsidize Seattle activities, while WA state per capita budget is about  half of that for city of Seattle - is an interesting way of running things.

[vdeane]

Update: looks like Amazon executives are visiting some of the finalist cities.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/amazon-executives-revisit-hq2-shortlist-cities.html

[jakeroot]

I'm still putting my money on the DMV. Doubt they'll locate in the District, but within a stone's throw, and near the metro.

[kevinb1994]

I'm still putting my money on the DMV. Doubt they'll locate in the District, but within a stone's throw, and near the metro.

One of the proposed sites is the former site of the White Flint Mall in Kensington, MD.

[jakeroot]

I'm still putting my money on the DMV. Doubt they'll locate in the District, but within a stone's throw, and near the metro.

One of the proposed sites is the former site of the White Flint Mall in Kensington, MD.

Seems odd to want to locate outside the beltway. Not sure if they want a suburban or urban campus, but Rosslyn or Court House would make great locations. Arlington County, in general, would be my pick.

[kevinb1994]

I'm still putting my money on the DMV. Doubt they'll locate in the District, but within a stone's throw, and near the metro.

One of the proposed sites is the former site of the White Flint Mall in Kensington, MD.

Seems odd to want to locate outside the beltway. Not sure if they want a suburban or urban campus, but Rosslyn or Court House would make great locations. Arlington County, in general, would be my pick.

Yeah Arlington wouldn't be a bad place for Amazon's HQ2. The Court House location would give them a presence around the county government itself. Rosslyn would give them a presence close enough to Washington, D.C. directly across the Potomac River.

[Doctor Whom]

Crystal City also appears to be a strong contender.

[jakeroot]

Crystal City also appears to be a strong contender.

Article makes good points. Certainly less cramped than other areas of Arlington.