The Legislature might want to award a few more racing dates to Suffolk Downs to hedge against the growing view that Amazon will site its $5 billion HQ2 project somewhere other than Boston.
The online betting now leans toward Northern Virginia as the favorite to land Amazon’s projected 50,000-person workforce with a plus-$240, meaning you can bet $100 to win $240. Boston has dropped to fourth in the 20-city wagering, with a plus-$450 moneyline.
Another form of betting is also underway as real estate speculators, who know what to do with their money, are gobbling up commercial properties in some of the leading cities or lining up funding so they can make a quick hit when the expected announcement comes by the end of the year. Again, not a lot of outside activity in Boston, though part of that may be an uncertainty where Amazon would land here — East Boston, Somerville, the Seaport, or somewhere else — as well as the high cost and low availability of property.
But it’s not just the bettors reading the tea leaves as more reports show officials are revisiting a handful of cities on the shortlist, and none of the reports say Boston. Other cities, such as Denver, are also losing hope after not being asked to dance a second time.
New York, Newark, Miami, and Washington, DC, all reportedly were paid return visits by Amazon officials and observers say it’s the Washington-Northern Virginia area that
checks most of the boxes, not in small part due to Jeff Bezos’ growing ties and affinity for the region (he owns the
Washington Post).
Some are cautioning not to read too much into the second visits for a number of reasons. Maybe Amazon officials got enough information from the first go-around, for instance. After all, they are moving forward on new office space in the Seaport with room for 2,000 employees. Or maybe they have come and gone stealthily, their visit unnoticed.
“I’ve seen a lot of commentary in the media that it must mean these cities they visited have a leg up,” Katie Culp, president of an Indianapolis site selection consulting firm told the Boston Globe. “I think that’s flawed.”
Meet the Author
Senior Investigative Reporter, CommonWealth
About Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
About Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Crystal City, where the Pentagon is located, is mentioned most often as the likely landing spot. One Metro stop from the nation’s capital, and one from Reagan National Airport, as well as easy access to Dulles International Airport, it satisfies the transportation requirement. With the county having
one of the most educated workforces in the country, there will be no concerns about attracting qualified employees.
While Boston could compete with those qualities – hey, the MBTA is in no worse shape than Metro – the one area the Hub is lacking is proximity to the center of political power as well as the bipartisan shade of purple Virginia now exudes. That paints the region as a swing state that would require attention from both sides of the aisle to take care of a major employer of thousands of voters who would rely on the tech behemoth for income. It’s called covering all your bets.
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