Massachusetts

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh: ‘We'll Wait and See' on Amazon

The company announced Thursday that it has canceled its plans to build a headquarters in New York City

What to Know

  • Amazon has canceled its plans to build a headquarters in Long Island City and will not search for another location
  • In a statement Thursday, the tech behemoth said it had come to the decision after "much thought and deliberation"
  • Amazon is still moving forward with its plans for a headquarters in Crystal City, as well as an operation center in Nashville

Mayor Marty Walsh said Thursday that it's too soon to speculate about whether Boston could be in the running for Amazon's HQ2 now that it has canceled its plans to build a headquarters in New York City.

Amazon said in its announcement that it will not look for another location, but that hasn't stopped some from speculating that Boston could get back into the running.

"We'll wait and see what the next result is," Walsh said. "Amazon has a pretty good footprint here in the city of Boston. They're adding about 2,000 new jobs over the course of the next two years. We'll see what happens, how it moves forward."

Walsh said the planned New York City headquarters was different from what Boston originally bid on. The company had originally proposed one location but wound up deciding to split its second headquarters, known as Amazon "HQ2," between Queens and Crystal City in Virginia this past November.

"I think what they originally started with ended up being something different. I'm not sure if they're going to try a different business model or how it's going to work," Walsh said. "Trying to speculate on what their next move is wouldn't make any sense for us here in the city or anywhere in the country, quite honestly."

In a statement Thursday, Amazon said it had canceled its plans to build a headquarters in Long Island City after "much thought and deliberation." 

“For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term,” Amazon said. “While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City."

A number of New York politicians were unhappy with the nearly $3 billion in tax incentives Amazon was promised. The Seattle-based company had planned to bring 25,000 jobs to New York, and spend $2.5 billion building its offices.

Its announcement also sparked protests over concerns the new headquarters would drive up rents in Long Island City, drive out lower-income residents and increase congestion on already-overcrowded subway lines.

Amazon is still moving forward with its plans for a headquarters in Crystal City, as well as the operation center in Nashville it announced last year, it said in its Thursday statement. 

Boston was included in a list of 20 communities on Amazon's shortlist for the company's second headquarters in January of 2018, along with New York, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Boston's preferred site for Amazon's HQ2 was Suffolk Downs, the former horse racing venue in the East Boston neighborhood near Logan International Airport. But other sites were considered as well, including one in neighboring Somerville.

The company already has about 3,500 employees in Massachusetts, and the company announced a major expansion in Boston's Seaport District earlier this year that is expected to create an additional 2,000 jobs. That office is slated to open in 2021.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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