Traffic jams, expensive housing and the homeless: how Amazon changed Seattle

In September, 2017, a group of businessmen and officials from Michigan went to Seattle (WA) to find out how much Amazon transformed the city.

Фото: Depositphotos

The trip took place in the framework of the competition announced by the company. The main prize is Amazon's second headquarters on 50 thousand people. Detroit wanted to fight for him. A few weeks before, Amazon asked government officials interested in building to show presentations of their cities, writes VC.

After the announcement began the race, which was attended by cities with a developed technology sector, such as New York and Austin, and applicants with small chances of success, like the California Vallejo.

In addition, Seattle itself was in the spotlight, where Amazon had once turned the South Lake Industrial District into a home for its employees.

While walking around the city, guests from Detroit were surprised that the Amazon buildings had merged with the urban environment - the company’s presence gave almost nothing away. Trying to understand what design decisions will help to win the favor of Jeff Bezos, they unwittingly studied the work of another local billionaire - Paul Allen.

Most are familiar with Allen as co-founder of Microsoft. In 1986, he founded Vulcan, which built Amazon headquarters in Seattle. It accounts for one-fifth of the area of ​​all good offices in the city, as well as a residential area with restaurants and shops. According to the company, in Seattle, it has created 53 thousands of jobs, reducing unemployment to 4%.

All this formed the image of Seattle as a model of urban modernization. However, in the city itself accumulates irritation. Accelerated growth exacerbated the transportation problem, housing prices rose, the number of homeless people increased.

In August, protests were held in the city against the demolition of the Showbox concert hall, where Pearl Jam and Muddy Waters performed, and the construction of an 44-storey complex in its place, in which technology workers would most likely live.

Part of the anger of the inhabitants was caused by the fact that most of the South Lake Union area could turn into a park. In 1991, the Seattle Times newspaper in a series of columns offered to create a green zone at that place.

Soon, active citizens organized a public council, which developed a plan for residential and commercial development of the area around the park, hoping to attract 15 thousands of people there. The transformation was supported by the city council and mayor.

When the project began to attract attention, supporters of the initiative turned to Allen, who by then had left Microsoft and was engaged in investments, for help. He agreed to give $ 20 million to purchase the property.

However, the extra $ 111 million that would be required from taxpayers, undermined the initiative. Residents of the city, concerned about the transport situation and the crowding out of small business, twice voted against the construction.

Allen was not considered an effective investor. In fact, he is more known their failures. The park seemed like another blunder - an investor bought 45 thousand square meters of land in South Lake Union and was left without a clear development plan.

But he continued to buy out plots. In 2001, Allen hired Ada Healy, the current vice president of Vulcan, to manage the entire property. Although Allen had land in other parts of the state, Healy focused specifically on the construction and sale of buildings in South Lake Union. She managed to attract large tenants like the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co.

She opened shops and restaurants, built at the expense of the city a tram line leading to the center. Several old buildings were restored, the sidewalks made wider. Over time, South Lake Union became known as Allentown.

"We have developed all our activities around the historical roots of the area, giving them new life,” said Ada Healy, vice president of Vulcan.

In 2007, Amazon began to miss the former office in the former hospital south of the center. The company ordered Vulcan to build a headquarters with an area of ​​around 160 thousand m² in South Lake Union. In the next ten years, 100 thousand square meters of them were added.

Subsequently, the property, which was previously rented, for example, Microsoft, also took Amazon. Today, the company's offices occupy 750 thousand square meters, including buildings that it bought from Vulcan for $ 1,2 billion. In addition, Allen sold real estate for another $ 2,5 billion and invested in the development of South Lake Union, where offices should appear soon Facebook and Google.

The concentration of the land of Allen within the same area coincided with the desire of Amazon to concentrate all workers in one place. Amazon Vice President John Shoetter admits that the company could not miss such a chance.

Schötter added that there is another reason: Vulcan had a building permit.

Today, there is more rental space in South Lake Union than in the business district of the city. But Healy is still forced to make presentations to potential tenants.

The district has increased the appeal of Seattle - from 2010, its population has increased by 114 thousand people, by making its fastest growing big city in the United States over the past decade. The city was not ready for this: there was not enough housing, which led to an increase in real estate prices.

Approximately two-thirds of the housing stock of Seattle accounts for single-family houses, cottages (in Boston, where the technology industry is also developed, they make up only 14%). Homeowners protested against changes in zoning laws aimed at increasing building density. They substantiated their position by the fact that zoning would destroy the atmosphere of areas with colorful houses.

Such nimbism (protests of residents against the construction of something in their homes) led to a shortage of real estate in the market, the average price of a house rose to $ 805 thousand. Therefore, developers have focused on offices and high-tech homes, only exacerbated the lack of affordable housing.

This is most strongly felt in the Central District, three kilometers from South Lake Union. In February, for example, Vulcan demolished a favorite grocery market to make room for a residential complex.

Only a fifth of the apartments of the new building are classified as “affordable” - thus, the project can count on tax breaks. A one-bedroom apartment will be rented for $ 1500 per month to a loner earning $ 52 650 per year, according to the minimum value set by the authorities.

"This is affordable housing for technology workers," said Preston Hampton, who worked on guidelines for the design of new buildings in the Central District.

He also notes that expensive real estate actually drove out of the area black people who settled there historically - 70% in 1960-ies against 20% today.

Healy does not disown criticism, but argues that the construction of housing for poor families in such a booming city like Seattle is not profitable due to high construction costs. According to Healy, Allen donated money to fight homelessness, and Vulcan tried to listen to public opinion, giving, for example, space for small shops to give impetus to local small businesses.

However, residents are confident that such attempts by the company are not enough, and are very concerned about the expansion of Vulcan.

City officials partly take responsibility for higher prices. Former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, who supported many initiatives that led to the boom, now believes that it would be better if the city did not develop so rapidly. “We wanted to make Seattle a place where one could find a good job without having a doctoral degree in physics. But everything will be more complicated, ”says Nickels.

Amazon donated tens of millions of dollars to build affordable housing, allocated places for local non-profit organizations, and even bought a new tram for South Lake Union.

“Creating a world-class city is impossible without change, without development,” said Schötter.

In January, Amazon published a list of 20 contenders for the new headquarters, Detroit was not in it. Therefore, the struggle of cities continues. The company asked the finalists to present plans for solving the transportation problem and low-cost housing issues.

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