Dive Brief:
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After narrowing from 200 plus locations to its final 20 cities for HQ2, Amazon has made a visit to each one, reports NBC News. There is no date set for the e-commerce juggernaut to announce its HQ2 location, which is expected to bring 50,000 jobs and a $5 billion investment.
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But cities on Amazon's top 20 list already feel the impact. Newark, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Austin, Texas had an increase in inquiries from companies looking for another base. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka noted there is a "halo effect" around the city, especially from other technology companies, according to the report.
- Apple is also considering the addition of a campus in Northern Virginia, one of the places on Amazon's finalist list, reports The Washington Post. The company is searching for a site that will accommodate 4 million square feet to fit the 20,000 jobs it plans to fill.
Dive Insight:
Amazon published its list of its top 20 finalists in January leaving the cities that did not make the list asking, "what's wrong with our city?"
Amazon showed no restraint in its HQ2 requests: a city with top colleges, city-wide transportation and access to other large organizations. These requirements led Amazon to large North American cities, including Boston and Atlanta, but allowed cities like Detroit to fall by the wayside.
But the tech community can adapt and that is evident in the spawn of new tech hubs. Baltimore and Boulder, Colorado are among the more unlikely emerging tech hubs. But when a $2,420 one-bedroom apartment in Silicon Valley can go for $940 elsewhere, it is not hard to see why techies are looking for new places to settle down.
The cost of living increases in a city when a major corporation like Amazon decides to plant roots. Even Seattle, home to the original Amazon headquarters, is in the thick of a dispute with the e-commerce retailer. Amazon has halted construction of a downtown tower because the city is mulling a business tax that it says would help the homeless population.
