4 ms·

> Google HQ2 is rumored to be looking at Dallas. Do you mean Apple? Dallas should be a very credible option, even if it might be #2 in Texas, behind Austin.

pwinnski 9y ago
Austin's airport makes it difficult to see that city working for Amazon. I hope it goes anywhere but Dallas! I live in Dallas.
- crx087 9y ago
  What's wrong with ABIA? It's a reclaimed airforce base with new facilities and better service ratings than LAX or JFK.
  - pwinnski 9y ago
    Nothing's particularly wrong with it. I'm just not sure it's major enough to support Amazon. I mean, I definitely hope it is, because Dallas doesn't need Amazon setting up shop here. But Chicago and Dallas seem like they have more infrastructure to support a major project like Amazon's HQ2.
    - crx087 9y ago
      I grew up in a small town and have a hard time understanding why it's so contentious to add another major facility in a big city like Dallas or Austin. It makes almost no impact on things like traffic or social services at a population scale. (In reality, even a HQ1 type facility is just another +0.3% for DFW or +1% for ATX, which is equivalent to hastening net growth by a few months at most.)
      - pwinnski 9y ago
        That's a great observation! I'm making a few assumptions that I think are pretty safe, namely that an HQ2 would not be distributed geographically around the city in many small buildings, and that the single campus would not be built in various areas of the city that are unlikely to meet the requirements. Because of those assumptions, I'm not thinking of an influx of employees being mixed among the millions of existing residents. I think it's much more likely that the HQ2 would be built in a northern suburb of Dallas, like Frisco. There are roughly 160k people in Frisco right now[0], and it's already dramatically driven up property values, commute times, restaurant wait times, and construction delays. I might be letting my skepticism of the entire concept of an "HQ2" color my impressions of the economic impact of an HQ2, but a history of sports stadium construction in this country, and the various incentives cities have paid for them combined with the never-quite-what-was-promised results suggests to me whichever city ends up giving away a pile of money for Amazon's HQ2 will likely someday regret it. [0] http://www.friscotexas.gov/578/Population-Estimates-Projections http://www.friscotexas.gov/578/Population-Estimates-Projecti...
- bfuller 9y ago
  Same. We have come so far culturally from the 90s that we actually have our own urban environment. I don't want to see it watered down when we are just getting something so good.
larrydag 9y ago
No Google. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2018/01/09/report-dallas-could-sights-another-tech-giant-google https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2018/01/09/re...
unexpected 9y ago
I can't see Amazon moving to Austin. Austin is a very popular "2nd Campus" for tech companies, but it's not a great "HQ". 1) Poor airport connectivity 2) Seriously bad traffic options, with limited ability for build out 3) Not a lot of great public transit options 4) Limited ability for free land/property tax abatements/government handouts Austin is a strong candidate because of UT Austin, but UT Austin students primarily come from Austin or Dallas (not like they are trapped on an island) unwilling to move out.
- txsh 9y ago
  On the other hand Austin is the headquarters of Whole Foods Market which owns a lot of real estate. Until recently they built stores with cash and often owned the shopping centers their stores were built in. Texas has no state income tax which wouldn’t be a public reason for the choice but is obviously going to be a factor. Austin is also a good culture fit with Seattle and is a startup hub.
  - unexpected 9y ago
    I'm from Texas; I live in Dallas. I think Dallas is a much stronger option than Austin. Building a grocery store is far different than building a corporate campus. The interesting thing is that Amazon already has a presence in a lot of these cities, so they're intimately familiar with the day to day workings. There's not going to be any "sugar coating" by city officials. 1) Austin - Whole Foods 2) Newark - Audible 3) Dallas - HUGE Amazon logistics hub 4) NoVa - AWS location and on, and on, and on. Austin has horrible traffic issues right now - look at the other guys on this thread that are from Austin. None of them are eager to have Amazon move there. I would welcome Amazon with open arms.
    - jrnichols 9y ago
      I wonder if they meant the city of Dallas itself. I'm not really sure where they'd even put a large HQ campus. Frisco/Plano/etc? absolutely. But in the City of Dallas proper? Hmmm.

pwinnski 9y ago

Austin's airport makes it difficult to see that city working for Amazon. I hope it goes anywhere but Dallas! I live in Dallas.

crx087 9y ago
What's wrong with ABIA? It's a reclaimed airforce base with new facilities and better service ratings than LAX or JFK.
- pwinnski 9y ago
  Nothing's particularly wrong with it. I'm just not sure it's major enough to support Amazon. I mean, I definitely hope it is, because Dallas doesn't need Amazon setting up shop here. But Chicago and Dallas seem like they have more infrastructure to support a major project like Amazon's HQ2.
  - crx087 9y ago
    I grew up in a small town and have a hard time understanding why it's so contentious to add another major facility in a big city like Dallas or Austin. It makes almost no impact on things like traffic or social services at a population scale. (In reality, even a HQ1 type facility is just another +0.3% for DFW or +1% for ATX, which is equivalent to hastening net growth by a few months at most.)
    - pwinnski 9y ago
      That's a great observation! I'm making a few assumptions that I think are pretty safe, namely that an HQ2 would not be distributed geographically around the city in many small buildings, and that the single campus would not be built in various areas of the city that are unlikely to meet the requirements. Because of those assumptions, I'm not thinking of an influx of employees being mixed among the millions of existing residents. I think it's much more likely that the HQ2 would be built in a northern suburb of Dallas, like Frisco. There are roughly 160k people in Frisco right now[0], and it's already dramatically driven up property values, commute times, restaurant wait times, and construction delays. I might be letting my skepticism of the entire concept of an "HQ2" color my impressions of the economic impact of an HQ2, but a history of sports stadium construction in this country, and the various incentives cities have paid for them combined with the never-quite-what-was-promised results suggests to me whichever city ends up giving away a pile of money for Amazon's HQ2 will likely someday regret it. [0] http://www.friscotexas.gov/578/Population-Estimates-Projections http://www.friscotexas.gov/578/Population-Estimates-Projecti...
bfuller 9y ago
Same. We have come so far culturally from the 90s that we actually have our own urban environment. I don't want to see it watered down when we are just getting something so good.

larrydag 9y ago

No Google. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2018/01/09/report-dallas-could-sights-another-tech-giant-google https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2018/01/09/re...

unexpected 9y ago

I can't see Amazon moving to Austin. Austin is a very popular "2nd Campus" for tech companies, but it's not a great "HQ". 1) Poor airport connectivity 2) Seriously bad traffic options, with limited ability for build out 3) Not a lot of great public transit options 4) Limited ability for free land/property tax abatements/government handouts Austin is a strong candidate because of UT Austin, but UT Austin students primarily come from Austin or Dallas (not like they are trapped on an island) unwilling to move out.

txsh 9y ago
On the other hand Austin is the headquarters of Whole Foods Market which owns a lot of real estate. Until recently they built stores with cash and often owned the shopping centers their stores were built in. Texas has no state income tax which wouldn’t be a public reason for the choice but is obviously going to be a factor. Austin is also a good culture fit with Seattle and is a startup hub.
- unexpected 9y ago
  I'm from Texas; I live in Dallas. I think Dallas is a much stronger option than Austin. Building a grocery store is far different than building a corporate campus. The interesting thing is that Amazon already has a presence in a lot of these cities, so they're intimately familiar with the day to day workings. There's not going to be any "sugar coating" by city officials. 1) Austin - Whole Foods 2) Newark - Audible 3) Dallas - HUGE Amazon logistics hub 4) NoVa - AWS location and on, and on, and on. Austin has horrible traffic issues right now - look at the other guys on this thread that are from Austin. None of them are eager to have Amazon move there. I would welcome Amazon with open arms.
  - jrnichols 9y ago
    I wonder if they meant the city of Dallas itself. I'm not really sure where they'd even put a large HQ campus. Frisco/Plano/etc? absolutely. But in the City of Dallas proper? Hmmm.