Amazon HQ2: Time To Sit Back And Watch The Show

Today officially marks the deadline for cities to send in their proposals to Amazon which essentially illustrate what incentives they have to offer and why they are better than everyone else. Tax incentives and promise of extensive development sites are of the most common offerings seen within proposals, but some cities are taking it a step further.

Dallas proposes to either build the second headquarters around a 15 billion dollar bullet train station or for the new headquarters to move inside the old Valley View Mall. Frisco, Texas had the idea of being an Amazon centralized city and evolve around the new headquarters. Stonecrest, Georgia even claimed they would rename a part of themselves as the City of Amazon.

While these cities are offering various kinds of bids and some even attempting to send gifts to Jeff Bezos including a 21-foot cactus from an Arizona economic development group, Metro Denver remains simple-minded and emphasizes their highly educated workforce, quality of life, and Denver International Airport’s ability to connect with the world.

What does this mean for Colorado’s economy? Let’s break it down to a list of pros and cons:

Pros:

• Amazon’s highlighted promise for a $5 billion investment bringing in 50,000 jobs
• In Seattle (HQ1 Location), an approximate 1 in 4 jobs is correlated with Amazon in some shape or form so the obvious fact is an increase in jobs
• With an increase in jobs and an implementation of a new company HQ, there will be a rise in demand for office spaces as well as housing
• CRE brokers can use the location of the new HQ to pinpoint where their next opportunity to invest in properties or land will be
• Amazon will create more small businesses to be developed which will need office space, retail space and warehouse space.

Cons:

• If the current traffic levels weren’t already enough for you, lets just say it probably wouldn’t hurt to start thinking about investing in Rosetta Stone for your car
• Yes, there will be new job opportunities, but if the industry trend begins to rely on Amazon for jobs then employment in other business sectors will deplete
• Colorado has always carried a passion for motivating small businesses to do well, but bringing in an overpowering company such as Amazon who covers all areas of retail, does not sound like a very comforting idea for these smaller companies

At this point in time, all we can do now is wait patiently and see where Jeff Bezos will make his mark next. Before Amazon somehow finds a way to take over the real estate market too, come visit Western Investor Network or give us a call at 720-344-1174 to find out how we can help you with your commercial real estate needs.