Growing & Changing: The Triangle is an Amazon HQ2 Finalist
It was announced yesterday that "Raleigh" is a finalist for Amazon's new corporate headquarters. If you haven't been following along, Amazon, based in Seattle, is conducting a reality-show-like search for a city that will be home to its second North American headquarters. More than 238 cities and regions applied for consideration and 20 made the initial cut. Details haven't been released, but it's pretty safe to assume that "Raleigh" actually means the Triangle in general. Sure, the new Amazon HQ could open somewhere just outside of downtown Raleigh, but I think RTP is the more likely location being considered.
So, how does this affect life in Durham? Certainly, if Amazon moves here, city plans will have to adjust significantly. Current traffic studies will completely undershoot future needs. There will be a need for much more housing inventory, as well as a plan for affordable housing as real estate prices shoot up even more than they already have. The Durham-Orange Light Rail will be hugely important, but even more important might be the Durham-Wake commuter rail, with stops in Cary and RTP (currently not planned to begin construction until the 2030s!). The lack of public transportation is probably the most obvious shortcoming in the race for the Triangle to "win" the bid for Amazon's HQ2.
If HQ2 does come to the Triangle, the city governments of the area will have to be nimble in updating their plans. So will RDU. RDU is an international airport, but its direct international flights are limited (London, Paris, Cancun, Toronto). It does have a direct flight to Seattle, but RDU will have to grow significantly.
It's clear that winning the bid for HQ2 is a double-edged sword. Amazon promises to create over 50,000. On the other hand, the Triangle is already looking at years of road and development construction, even without HQ2. Winning the bid would accelerate that exponentially. There are legitimate concerns regarding gentrification as well.
If the headquarters were to be in RTP, Durham might get a lot of the upside, while tempering the construction insanity a bit. Overall, I personally lean towards hoping that "Raleigh" does win the bid, but I understand the other side as well.
Plus, what if Amazon commits to being a good community member? It has the resources to do a lot for the area, creating public spaces, donating to local nonprofits, and testing out new programs and retail outlets locally that could improve our quality of life. It might even sponsor a startup incubator in the new Durham WeWork space, creating an even more robust startup scene here. Of course, that's a big "what if".
For those interested in the growth and prosperity of the area without the instant explosion of HQ2, the fact that Raleigh made the list of finalists at all is fantastic. More and more, the Triangle is on the map for places that companies should consider moving to. It certainly offers a high quality of life for a relatively low cost of living. Being a finalist could be really good PR. It will be interested in seeing what happens next with large employers. Did I mention that Apple is looking for a new HQ as well?
