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Amazon has not revealed why he rejected Atlanta.
But, by choosing where to install his highly sought-after second seat, the tech giant pointed out what he had liked from both sites that he finally decided to share with 50,000 jobs combined .
Beyond the draw of talented workers, the technology giant has evoked the urban sensation of places in New York and the Washington DC metro and their rapid access to the subway, trains, buses, airports, ferries , bike sharing and walking.
What he did not mention in his official statement: highways.
In fact, it is not quite true. He highlighted the projects to improve the experience of pedestrians who were crossing one.
Amazon's nationwide search to find an ideal location only magnifies the problem. Cities in Atlanta and other cities are struggling more and more: the growing demand from businesses and communities for attractive urban locations offering a host of amenities nearby as well as easy ways to get around without car.
Part of the thrust is that the best workers – especially the bright, tech-savvy young people – are waiting for workplaces that fit their way of life. This can mean places with a variety of choices: trendy restaurants, entertainment venues, bars, public spaces, vibrant cultural venues, grocery stores, transit stations, and more.
The work to set the stage for this atmosphere in Atlanta is not just left to the developers.
Earlier this month, Atlanta City Council approved $ 1.9 billion in grants for the Gulch Project, a private project of office towers, homes, hotels and businesses retail worth $ 5 billion, located in a barren downtown near CNN Center.
The city continues to add to the Atlanta Beltline the partially built and incredibly popular loop that will connect neighborhoods.
And last month, the MARTA board approved a $ 2.7 billion plan to develop public transit in the city over the next 40 years. It is expected to be funded by a sales tax increase of a half penny approved by Atlanta voters in 2016.
The downtown boosters also proposed creating intriguing public spaces and an urban network recreated on a 14-acre downtown connector platform. Georgia Tech, already an attraction hub for companies wishing to be closer to students and recent graduates, will be a major tenant of the new 21-storey Coda building.
designed to expand the school's successful area, Tech Square.
Amazon is not alone in wanting cool and connected sites. In recent years, several other large employers – Kaiser Permanente, Athenahealth, NCR, PulteGroup, State Farm, and Mercedes-Benz – have been looking for dense urban sites or suburbs in Atlanta that are close to public transit and, often, accessible amenities. walk.
Still, "Amazon is the 300-kilogram gorilla that has caught the attention of all who were not paying attention to this trend," said Atlanta lawyer and lawyer and MARTA board chairman Robbie Ashe.
Hardest competition
Amazon's unusually public searches on a HQ2 campus lasted more than a year.
"It was probably the toughest competition in the history of site selection," said Andy Levine, president of Development Counselors International, which helps cities and states commercialize their economic development strategies.
Georgia and city officials have offered Seattle-based Amazon nearly $ 2 billion in bonuses and benefits.
However, as attractive as Amazon's project is, officials warn communities not to redefine their overall transportation and land-use strategies in the hope of finding another employer of this type.
"You can be too caught up in the mania of a project like this and go too far and try to learn from an opportunity that could be once a decade or even longer," he said. Bert Brantley, Director of Operations. at the Department of Economic Development of Georgia.
Nevertheless, he said, "many things that Amazon was looking for are things that other companies are looking for."
Amazon was just more direct on what he was looking for.
State representative Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, is wary of the growing pressure to expand the expensive traditional public transportation in Cobb County and other suburbs, where many residents want a development less dense.
Many companies are still looking for suburban areas and attracting employees who would find it easier to drive than to walk to work, he said.
Some, however, are tired of long journeys. Andy Powell was a committed suburban who loved to live south of Atlanta, Fayetteville.
But the Georgia Tech graduate has created his small technology company, CallRail. His office is located near Woodruff Park downtown, where concerts, events and food trucks are part of everyday life.
Geographical location is crucial to attract the type of workers his marketing analysis software business requires, he said.
Atlanta's urban offerings and public transit options are expected to expand, Powell said, but Amazon's non-Amazon companies should not be courted.
"In order for Atlanta to continue to grow, we must become a denser city. This is how we will welcome more businesses, more people, more culture. We can not continue to put more cars on the road. "
What did Amazon want
Amazon was open to the suburbs and cities, according to its initial request for proposals.
But when Amazon officials visited Georgian sites earlier this year, they chose to skip the suburbs and see only internal options relatively close to MARTA. They visited Midtown's booming neighborhood, the old fourth hall, and a project called Quarry Yards near Bankhead Station.
They also examined the Gulch site and the south of downtown Atlanta, an area that has recently attracted much interest from developers.
Last time, a big company with a lot of jobs moved its head office in the same cleaned up area of downtown Atlanta?
Perhaps more than three decades ago, when Georgia-Pacific came to town, according to A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress, a downtown organization.
He said he was convinced that downtown and downtown Atlanta were doing what Amazon had said.
And he added that Amazon's search at Amazon HQ2's head office was one of the crucial events behind the state's support for public transit in Atlanta. .
"Suddenly, everyone is ready to do something," Robinson said.
But building a transit takes years.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Ralston, suggested that Amazon's decision to transfer Atlanta as head office would have been tied to the limits of the infrastructure.
"We arrived at the transit match, but we could not go back and catch up with all those years before some of us were holding leadership positions," Ralston said. "I think we are now aggressively moving forward to build a state that is moving to the transit stage. And I think it will pay dividends in the future. "
State officials have spoken to the Amazon leaders about the decision of QG2. "They could not have been more complimentary and, frankly, be more excited about the future growth of what they have here now," Brantley said.
The company's officials did not mention local flaws, but said the decision was based on the choice of leaders who thought they had the best chance of finding the workers they needed, Brantley said.
Brantley said Amazon had also revealed that Atlanta was not considered for a 5,000-strong Eastern Regional Logistics Center announced for downtown Nashville, a city where voters shot down a referendum on transportation. in common earlier this year.
Brantley said that Georgian officials had learned that the project was not necessarily linked to the decision of QG2, although it was announced at the same time.
Meanwhile, Atlanta boosters are reporting many more announcements regarding jobs in the city, especially in Midtown.
"I think our city has grown enormously," said Christa Huffstickler, General Manager of the residential real estate company Engel & Volkers Atlanta. She quoted everything from beltline jobs to restaurants and festivals. "There are a lot of attractions that attract people to Atlanta. At the same time, you had this urban workforce that built. "
– James Salzer and Michael Kanell contributed to this report.
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