radioinstl

http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/20...video/slide/1/

iztok

They will remain in the area. I bet as most of the corporations are mostly fishing for tax incentives.

iztok

Basically they are looking for BOGO from place they will move to

sdsearch

You don't sound you're familiar with the DC area. The article says they're looking a Metro-friendly location. Metro is the name of the DC area rail-based public transportation system. IOTW, their current location isn't near a Metro station, and they're looking to move to someplace near a Metro station, so that their employees who want to can take a train to work.

You don't have anything like that in the Charlotte area, do you? And from what I'm seen in my visits to Charlotte, you don't have anywhere near as bad traffic as the DC area either.

But in the DC area, with its horrible traffic, a location near a Metro station is highly desirable for many.

Now, of course, they have many locations near Metro stations to choose from. So choosing among those may involve what you were describing. But my point is that they have a valid reason to move, not just moving for tax reasons.

iztok

I know what Metro-area is. It is obvious from the article.

My comment was that within the area (MD, VA, DC) they will choose based on tax incentive.

sdsearch

No, you still don't seem to get it. It's not "Metro-area" as in short for "metropolitan area". I was referring to this phrase in the article:
In DC speak, Metro-friendly means close access to the train (some places subway, some places above ground, so people don't call it "subway" like in NYC but rather "Metro"). What NYCers call "the subway" DCers call "the Metro" (short for "MetroRail").

So that phrase above was using a local colloquialism for:

dcchi

Not sure how you can extrapolate from his short posts whether or not he knows what the Metro is in the DC area. You're the one who brought it up and jumped all over him...

iztok

Ugh. I have daughter who lived there and we visited often. I know Metro references train system. Also have wide variety of customers there and when I go there I usually use Metro.

GUWonder

The plan is to stay in the DC Metro area and have a HQ area again that is on the WMATA Metro line or a couple minutes walk from such a Metro stop.

If I had to bet on where they are located in the 2020s, then I would bet that they move to somewhere along the Blue or Orange lines in Arlington or Alexandria in Virginia.

MD/DC Flyer

It seems to be a leverage to stress a little the state of Maryland to give them some tax breaks (read all about it in the Washington Post).

Having worked across the street from the current location for years - it is actually a great location traffic wise, very easy to get to by car. It is also reasonably accessible by Metro, as the area is a hub for many companies and have a direct bus line(s) from the Metro station which gets to the location directly.

DenverBrian

Unless there's a good site on the Red line in MD.

The issue has always been that, for those associates who live in VA, there's the ridiculous single bridge over the Potomac via the Beltway to get into Bethesda. That's been a traffic bottleneck for decades. It's caused a large number of associates to make Hobson's choices - live in the MD exurbs far away from the city core for an easier commute, or suffer in VA with cheaper housing but an atrocious commute.

This is also more of the transition away from the Marriott family as the sole deciders in Marriott's future. If Arne Sorenson has any ties to other geographic areas around the country, you can be sure that those locations will be in the mix for a move. If Hilton can move from CA to VA, Marriott could certainly move from VA to FL or wherever they want. @:-)

catocony

As long as Bill Marriott is breathing air, Marriott will remain in the DC area. Probably for a long time afterwards as well. All of the Marriott spinoffs are still here, and a lot of other major chain/property HQs are here now too. Marriott may move to Virginia, most likely to Tysons. Or they'll stay in Maryland but move over to the Rockville Pike/355 corridor.

I also used to work near the Marriott HQ. It's not very close to the Metro stops at all.

AATrout

Marriott could have considered the old Exxon campus off Gallows Rd in Fairfax (Merrifield), a short shuttle ride from the the Dunn Loring metro station, but that’s OBE since Inova wants it for a new medical research facility,
Inoval

Wont happen in Arlington either despite tons of office space in Crystal City, The master plan hipsters are more interested in extracting affordable housing paybacks from developers and tenants than landing thousands of upscale jobs these days.

sdsearch

Is that really "more urban" than their current Bethesda location?

Remember, they said "more urban" as well as "more Metro friendly".

(And on the latter, is the shuttle ride significantly easier than the bus connection at their present location?)

The way I like (for early flights out) hotels which are in the basement of the airport, I can imagine that Marriott is looking for a loaction sitting atop a Metro station!

socrates

there was a time that Marriott was moving to Frederick, MD while Bill was CEO, they owned the land up until not too long ago (and that's how the data center ended up being up there)....But Arne understands today's employee has different values/needs than those while Bill was CEO (I just can't see myself living in the city center of any city but the younger generation is migrating back to the cities)