ANNAPOLIS-Google picked Annapolis as one of the six cities in which it is opening a Winter Wonderlab showroom in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. The showroom will be located on the first level at Westfield Annapolis.
New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sacramento, CA and Paramus, NJ were also selected to host this concept--which is basically an interactive lab in which consumers can test out Google's latest products such as the Nexus 7 and Google Glass.
The news that Google picked Annapolis over DC must have been somewhat deflating for the city's economic development officials, who have been lauding the District as the next mecca for high-tech.
Last November DC Mayor Vincent Gray signed the Technology Sector Enhancement Act of 2012, which expanded benefits and incentives for tech companies looking to establish an office in DC. The city is also marketing itself in other ways, such as promoting its advantages at the annual SXSW show.
Then again, Google didn't pick Annapolis for its tech or R&D creds--what it is opening is a retail operation. This, too, though, was a disappointing lease to lose though, especially if Google's retail endeavors come anywhere close to the performance of Apple's stores.
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
