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Amazon's next offices in Virginia will include a spiraling rooftop forest
Amazon has unveiled the second phase of its HQ2 headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and the buildings will revolve around nature and sustainability.
‘Frontline’ documentary tackles Jeff Bezos and the ‘Amazon Empire’
Amazon is the subject of the latest Frontline documentary, which airs on PBS today at 9PM ET and is probably worth checking out if you have any interest in the tech giant. From the same team that was behind a 2018 Frontline examination of Facebook, Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos charts the rise of Bezos and his company from shipping books from a Washington garage in the mid-'90s through to its current status as a trillion-dollar colossus.
New York offered to pay part of Amazon workers' salaries in early HQ2 bid
It's no secret that New York's bid for Amazon's HQ2 fell apart due to objections from officials and activists, but it now appears that the state was initially prepared to make far more concessions than you might have expected. The Wall Street Journal has obtained Empire State Development documents indicating that New York was ready to provide $800 million more of incentives for HQ2 than previously mentioned. This included $500 million for a "Center for Commercial Innovation" near the headquarters to help Amazon partner with colleges on research, and even an offer to pay 25 percent of some graduates' first-year salaries. This was reportedly meant to help Amazon achieve workplace diversity.
Despite the HQ2 debacle, Amazon will add office space in Manhattan
Early this year, Amazon pulled the plug on plans to build an "HQ2" in Queens after a number of local leaders and activists pushed back against the $3 billion in tax breaks and incentives it would receive. Now the online retail giant has confirmed plans to lease 335,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The new NYC expansion will be located in the Hudson Yards neighborhood with more than 1,500 employees. It's a much smaller footprint than what Amazon had proposed for HQ2 -- which shifted to other locations in Virginia and Tennessee -- but it comes with no tax breaks or incentives, and no nationwide contest to lure the company's business. US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in response to the news "Won't you look at that: Amazon is coming to NYC anyway - *without* requiring the public to finance shady deals, helipad handouts for Jeff Bezos, & corporate giveaways."
Amazon opens its largest campus to date in India
Amazon has opened its largest campus to date as it cut the ribbon on a building in Hyderabad, India. The subcontinent is one of the company's fastest-growing markets. Its latest campus spreads over 9.5 acres with 1.8 million sq ft of office space giving room for more than 15,000 employees to work there.
Amazon plans to build its tallest skyscraper in Bellevue, WA
Amazon is preparing to build a big presence in Bellevue, WA, the affluent suburb of Seattle where it was originally founded. The company on Tuesday began the permitting process for Bellevue 600, a 43-story tower in the city's downtown that will accommodate an estimated 4,200 workers, reported The Seattle Times. Not only will the building be the largest built by Amazon, it will be the largest in the city. The anticipated completion date for the tower is 2024.
Amazon's Virginia headquarters clears a key political hurdle
Amazon just took a large step closer to establishing a second headquarters in Virginia. The Arlington County Board has voted unanimously in favor of granting Amazon an estimated $51 million incentive package that includes $23 million in cash over 15 years as well as a $28 million, 10-year investment for infrastructure and open space. It's just a small portion of the $481 million the county has ultimately promised (95 percent of which is indirect), but it gets the process underway.
Amazon’s HQ2 New York plans didn’t need to end this way
After the pageantry of searching for a new spot for its headquarters, some had expected Amazon's decision to move to New York be a done deal. Not so. It took Amazon months to decide to bring one of two new headquarters to Long Island City, and mere moments to end those plans completely.
Amazon won't build its HQ2 in NYC after all
Amazon is officially pulling out of its plan to build a second headquarters (aka HQ2) in New York. Reports suggested last week the company was having doubts about the project in Long Island City, Queens, following stern opposition from residents and lawmakers.
Following backlash, Amazon might back out of New York-based HQ 2 plans
Amazon is said to be having second thoughts about its plan to set up a second headquarters in New York City following significant pushback from politicians and residents. Executives have considered alternative options, the Washington Post reports.
Amazon will provide computer science classes for NYC high schools
The local response to Amazon's plan to put its next headquarters in New York City has been lukewarm at best. Now the company is doing some community outreach: it announced today a plan to fund computer science courses for more than 130 schools in NYC area high schools. The initiative will bring introductory and advanced placement courses to school in all five of the city's boroughs, including 30 schools in Queens, where the company is setting up shop for its new headquarters.
Amazon's two new headquarters will only be half-full of tech workers
In total, Amazon has promised to bring roughly 50,000 jobs to its two new headquarters in New York and Virginia. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, though, only half of those jobs -- about 12,500 at each campus -- will be the sort of tech-heavy roles you'd expect from an e-commerce titan with significant investments in consumer hardware, cloud services and AI. The remaining jobs fall into the include the usual corporate buckets, like HR, finance, marketing and legal, as well as administrative, custodial and support services.
Why are Long Island City residents upset about Amazon HQ2?
When Amazon announced it would build its secondary headquarters in Long Island City, NY, the benefits seemed clear. Amazon will be able to more easily tap into the country's media capital; The campus will be easily accessible by three major airports. Oh, and New York's state government will give the company over $1.5 billion in grants and tax incentives to set up shop in Long Island City, Queens. While that's not the most lucrative deal state governments have offered Amazon, it certainly didn't hurt. For Amazon, the move into New York is smart business.
Amazon's HQ2 will be split between NYC and Arlington, Virginia
Amazon has announced the locations for its second headquarters following a search process that lasted over a year. As rumored, its new offices will be split between New York City and Arlington, Virginia. The NYC site is coming to Long Island City and will span 4 million square feet and make room for 25,000 new jobs, while Arlington's National Landing will get a similar amount of space and create the same number of jobs. Both sites will have the option of expanding to 8 million square feet in the future and Amazon says each will bring $2.5 billion investments to their regions. Additionally, Nashville will be the home of Amazon's new Operations Center. That site, which will feature a 1 million-square-foot office space, will bring in 5,000 full-time jobs and $230 million in investment, according to Amazon.
Amazon's split HQ2 announcement could happen later today
According to the Wall Street Journal, the location(s) for Amazon's headquarters expansion have been locked down, and will be announced later today. After opening its search process more than a year ago, "people familiar with the matter" say that the rumors are right, with New York City and Arlington, Virginia splitting the expansion. Interestingly, it also suggests that other cities could also get "major"sites, but there's no list of locations or sizes. The HQ2 plan initially came with investments of more than $5 billion and 50,000 new jobs, but clearly splitting that up between a number of cities will change the plan. Hundreds of cities made pitches for the location, opening up data and information about themselves as well as promising tax breaks only to, apparently, come up short. Whatever the final call is, we expect to find out soon, and exactly how long until Amazon's business is being run from somewhere other than just its original Seattle HQ.
Amazon may split new headquarters between two cities
Amazon may have an unexpected solution to its location for a second headquarters: split it in two. A Wall Street Journal source says Amazon has decided to divide HQ2 "evenly" between two locations, with 25,000 jobs each. It's mainly a matter of finding enough technology talent in each location, the insider claimed. It would also reduce the potential for housing and transportation problems that would come when 50,000 people are working at one facility.
Amazon's narrowed 'HQ2' picks include Dallas and NYC
Sorry, Crystal City -- you're not the only one Amazon fancies as it narrows down its choice of location for a second headquarters (aka HQ2). Wall Street Journal tipsters say the internet giant has whittled its finalists down to a "small handful" of cities, including Dallas and New York City. They're not all at the same phase, according to the insiders, but it's clear which cities are getting attention. Talks with other contenders, such as Atlanta, Denver and Toronto, have reportedly "cooled" as of late.
Amazon may place its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia (updated)
Amazon appears to be close to picking a city for its second headquarters ahead of its end-of-2018 deadline. Washington Post sources said the internet giant had "advanced discussions" about placing the coveted location in Arlington, Virginia's Crystal City neighborhood. The company's talks were "more detailed" than in other locations in the state's northern region, the insiders said, and there's been a "lot of activity." The main real estate developer in Crystal City (JBG Smith) has even taken some buildings off the leasing market, while officials have talked about how they would make an announcement later in November.
Amazon picks 20 finalist cities for its next major HQ
After poring through 238 applications in the US, Canada and Mexico, Amazon has narrowed the list of cities for its next major headquarters to 20 candidates. Most of the centers picked by the Seattle-based company for its "HQ2," like Boston, New York City and Austin already have strong tech sectors. However, there were a few dark horse picks, including Columbus, OH, Raleigh, NC and Toronto, Canada.
Mayor to review 1,000 Amazon products in bid for company's new HQ
It's been about a month since Amazon announced it was accepting bids from US cities to host its second major headquarters. A city that comes away with a new Amazon campus could potentially see a significant economy boost, so competition will certainly be fierce. And with the deadline for cities to submit their proposals exactly one week away, Kansas City, Missouri has emerged as perhaps the city with the most creative strategy. As noted by VentureBeat, Kansas City mayor Sly James purchased 1,000 products from Amazon for charity and is reviewing every single one -- and the reviews very quickly pivot into why his city would be a great place for the company's new HQ.
