Little Rock to try for Amazon's $5 billion 2nd headquarters
'Challenge' worth it for 'transformational' project, mayor says
The mayor of Arkansas' capital city says Little Rock will submit an application to become the location of Amazon's second headquarters.
Mark Stodola wrote on Twitter on Monday afternoon that the city "will Think Big and Be Creative" as it creates its bid to attract the tech giant.
In a statement, Stodola acknowledged the effort would be a "challenge" but said landing the headquarters would amount to a "transformational project for Little Rock and Arkansas."
Amazon said Thursday that it plans to spend more than $5 billion to build a second headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees, The Associated Press previously reported.
The company's requirements: It wants to be near a metropolitan area with more than 1 million people; be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and wants to be able to expand that headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade. Its original headquarters is in Seattle.
Little Rock's airport does not have United States Customs Service or direct international flights, according to its website. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metro area had a population of 731,612 in 2015.
But in the statement, Stodola noted that the city "sits geographically in the middle of the country with access to road, rail, river, and runway at our disposal."
"Our local and regional talent in software and related fields is strong and getting stronger," he said. "Amazon is particularly interested in entrepreneurs who are seizing the opportunity of the digital economy. With our Venture Center, the Tech Park, the Innovation Hub, Acxiom and Merkel, FIS, and the UA-Little Rock's Emerging Analytics Center, among many others, Little Rock fits the bill. The city has shown leadership in other areas Amazon values including sustainability and a push for 'smart cities.'"
Stodola said the city will work with the economic development team at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to make its bid. He said more details would be released when the team meets next week.
Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, said his city will "absolutely make a bid." Other reportedly interested cities include Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago.