The hunt for Amazon’s second headquarters location is likely going to result in a “pick two” situation. Amazon.com plans to split its second headquarters evenly between two locations, The Wall Street Journal reports.
If Amazon does split its planned, massive second headquarters between two cities, that would split the workforce and the economic boom it’s promised between the two cities. Each city would then add about 25,000 employees, instead of the originally planned 50,000. The two additional headquarters, rather than only one, could also help ease issues in housing, transit, and other issues from massive inbound growth coming into a market, analysts say.
Amazon has yet to make a final decision, but The Wall Street Journal and other outlets are reporting that Amazon is in final talks with community officials in Crystal City, Va.; Dallas; and New York. A final announcement is expected to come later this week.
Northern Virginia’s Crystal City—a neighborhood in Arlington County and in the Washington, D.C., metro—is reportedly already in negotiating talks with government officials on incentives as well as with JBG Smith Properties, a real estate investment trust, about the Crystal City real estate it owns, WSJ reports.
Dallas is offering a lower cost of living than the other two top picks. City officials are also trying to lure Amazon with public-private partnership incentives in the forms of tax abatements, grants, infrastructure cost sharing, and more.
Amazon officials are also rumored to be eyeing Long Island City in Queens—within New York City—as another top choice to house its second headquarters, or at least part of it.
A year ago, Amazon announced plans for creating a second headquarters outside its current Seattle headquarters. That announcement set off a fervor among 238 cities that submitted plans, offering tax incentives, commercial real estate perks, and more while vying to be the chosen city.
This spring, ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm, ranked the 20 Amazon HQ2 finalists by housing market health. Here’s a snapshot of the reported top three in the running:
Dallas
- Q4 2017 Median Home Price: $284,619
- 5-Year Home Price Appreciation: 246%
- Price to Income Ratio: 5.21
- Effective Property Tax Rate: 2.23%
Crystal City, Va.
- Q4 2017 Median Home Price: $395,000
- 5-Year Home Price Appreciation: 14%
- Price to Income Ratio: 3.83
- Effective Property Tax Rate: 1%
New York
- Q4 2017 Median Home Price: $1,445,000
- 5-Year Home Price Appreciation: 21%
- Price to Income Ratio: 6.47
- Effective Property Tax Rate: 0.64%
by Amy Wong
