Earlier this month, Amazon released their list of 20 cities
for its second headquarters (HQ2) and Houston was not among them. Should we be
concerned that the 5th largest company in the U.S. will not be
seeking 8 million square feet of Class A office space and providing potentially
50,000 jobs to the Houston area? Or, are we primed for an economic boost despite
Amazon’s dismissal?
From business reporters and columnists to commercial real
estate heavy hitters and economic development organizations - they have all been weighing in on why Houston
did not make Amazon’s HQ2 short list. Most point to lack of mass transit
infrastructure, technology talent, and incentives. Hurricane Harvey did not
help our bid either.
Energy, finance and technology are just a few of the
strongest driving forces of the U.S. economy. As the energy capital of the
world, Houston has always attracted Fortune 500 companies in the oil and gas industry
such as Phillips 66, Halliburton and Marathon Oil. In fact, there are 25
Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Houston. Healthcare has also been an
emerging economic driver and Houston is home to the largest medical center of
the world, the Texas Medical Center (TMC).
The TMC may be Houston’s best kept economic secret despite
being home to the world’s largest children’s hospital and the world’s largest
cancer hospital. Healthcare is the fastest growing industry and has more
potential for growth. It averages about
10,000 open positions throughout the year. And, we are not talking about just
nursing jobs, where there is currently a shortage, but also technical jobs in
research and development and education.
Currently, the TMC has $3 billion in construction projects
underway and more to come. By uniting the collective renowned hospitals, public
health organizations, universities, medical, dental and pharmacy schools and
academic and research institutions, the TMC is poised to transform health, education
and research needs of Texas and the world. And, it’s all taking place right
here in Houston.
The Houston technology labor
market’s primary focus is energy and healthcare, perhaps a labor market that
Amazon is not willing to compete with, and that’s okay. Ultimately, Amazon may not
have felt at home here, but the outlook for Houston remains positive. If 2017
showed us anything, it’s resilience.
(Rand Stephens is a Principal of Avison Young and Managing Director of the company’s Houston office.)
