Leaders want Austin to bid for ‘Amazon HQ2’
Chamber chief says city will ‘compete hard’ for second headquarters.
Internet giant Amazon.com is in the market for a location for a second headquarters that it plans to build away from its Seattle hometown — and Austin economic development leaders say they want to lure it to Central Texas.
Mike Rollins, presidentandCEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, told the American-Statesman that city officials would make a bid to win what’s expected to be a huge Amazon complex.
Amazon announced its plans early Thursday and asked inter- ested cities and regions to prepare and submit proposals. The proposals are due by Oct. 19, and the winning location will be announced next year, the company said.
“Definitely we want to compete, and compete hard and would like to win,” Rollins said. “We feel like we have a great case to make, if we’re fortunate enough to be selected to make our case.”
He said Austin has the right attributes, from a talented workforce and plenty of land to one of the nation’s fastest-growing airports, among other pluses. And he said there would be synergy here, with Amazon having recently purchased Austin-based Whole Foods Market.
As for the prospects of landing the second headquarters, he said, “I would say excellent, but
I’m an optimistic person.”
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office also said Thursday that state officials will try to bring the Amazon facility to Texas.
“We will continue to aggressively court Amazon in the hopes that it expands its footprint in Texas and establishes its new headquarters here,” Abbott spokesman John Wittman said.
Wittman didn’t comment on any specific potential locations within Texas.
Amazon said it will spend more than $5 billion to build the facility — which it has dubbed “Amazon HQ2” — and will employ up to 50,000 people at it in “high-paying jobs” averaging more than $100,000 each in total compensation.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler was in a meeting Thursday and unavailable for comment. His spokesman, Jason Stanford, declined to discuss the city’s potential interest in the project.
“As much as we would like Amazon in town, we are not going to comment on whether or not we are trying to get them,” Stanford said. “We don’t do business that way.”
But other city officials voiced enthusiasm for a bid.
“I can’t think of a better place for (Amazon) than in Austin, in particular ... in District 2 with our proximity to the airport, to major thoroughfares, and to many of our working families,” City Council Member Delia Garza, who represents District 2, said in a written statement.
Gary Farmer, president of Heritage Title of Austin, has led several rounds of Opportunity Austin, the economic development recruiting effort spearheaded by the Austin chamber. He said landing the Amazon project would be “a game-changing win” for the region.
“Amazon’s stated criteria for a preferred location defines Austin and Central Texas perfectly. In my estimation, our city, our region and our state should work collaboratively to earn the right to host Amazon’s HQ2,” Farmer said. “A project of this potential magnitude could yield fantastic jobs for Central Texas families, create opportunities for Austin businesses both large and small, produce major returns for taxing jurisdictions, even after the needed incentives are reconciled, and bring a huge lift to all of our nonprofit community.”
Meanwhile, some Amazon observers already are putting Austin on short lists of locations that the company likely would find appealing, with Austin garnering the first mention in a Seattle Times story Thursday headlined “Cities that could be a good fit for Amazon’s second HQ.”
Representatives of other Texas cities said they also will try to lure Amazon. The San Antonio Economic Development Foundation released a statement saying it is “engaged and ready to pursue the opportunity,” while the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce said it has “communicated to Amazon our intent” to pursue the facility.
Amazon representatives said the planned new facility “will be a full equal to our current campus in Seattle.”
It will “create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community,” in addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment in the facility, they said.
Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, where it employs about 40,000 people, encompasses 8.1 million square feet of office space in 33 buildings. The company also said 53,000 additional jobs have been created in Seattle as a result of Amazon’s presence.
The company’s request for proposals from interested cities is aimed at finding “a suitable site and (to) establish a cost structure with a stable business climate for growth and innovation that would encourage Amazon to locate this high profile project in your community,” according to the document.
Amazon made clear that economic incentives will be key, saying “the initial cost and ongoing cost of doing business are critical decision drivers.” Incentives it plans to consider include “land, site preparation, tax credits/exemptions, relocation grants, utility incentives/grants, permitting and fee reductions.”
The new facility is expected to total about 500,000 square feet of office space in 2019, and up to 8 million square feet by 2027. Amazon said it will consider locations where it can use existing buildings or sites that will require new construction.
Rollins said he thinks Austin would be willing to consider offering economic incentives “for the right company and operation,” similar to its successful pursuits of companies such as Merck, Apple and Samsung. Moreover, he said, the Austin area is viewed as a region when it comes to economic development, so officials in other cities in Central Texas might consider making their own pitches for the huge regional project.
“I believe that this is the type of opportunity any community within the Austin region would be excited to step forward and create a partnership and have their community called home to the second Amazon headquarters,” Rollins said.