Opinion: If Amazon builds its new HQ in L.A., say goodbye to affordable housing

To the editor: If Amazon ends up moving into Los Angeles, I and assuredly many others will likely be moving out — and not by choice. (“Amazon picks 20 possible places for its second headquarters, including L.A.,” Jan. 18)

While the most frequently quoted figures ($5 billion in investment; 50,000 new jobs) sound like a boon to any city, such a dramatic infusion of money and people does not necessarily benefit this city’s current residents.

Amazon’s cannibalization of Seattle’s real estate market, if replicated in L.A. (as it inevitably would be), would exacerbate an already unsustainable situation with respect to housing costs by driving up property values and creating even more scarcity of affordable housing than there is today.

If we want Los Angeles to become the next San Francisco, this is a surefire and irreversible way to accelerate the process.

Lisa Connolly, Los Angeles

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