The City of Orlando
Local officials confirm plans to ‘aggressively pursue’ project
has been invited to bid on the chance to become home to Amazon’s second U.S. headquarters, and plans to “aggressively pursue” the project.
Retail and tech giant Amazon has invited Orlando-area leaders to bid for its second major U.S. headquarters, a plan it’s been shopping around that could create 50,000 jobs for its eventual home.
Economic leaders say they plan to “aggressively pursue this project” and have started to review potential sites for the headquarters.
“We have a great opportunity to showcase Orlando’s strong talent pipeline, top-ranked infrastructure, variety of real estate options and commitment to exceptional education, sustainability and inclusiveness,” said Tim Giuliani, Orlando Economic Partnership president and CEO, in a statement provided to the Orlando Sentinel.
The city’s competition for what has been dubbed “Amazon HQ2” will be steep. So far, major U.S. cities, including Chicago, Boston and Dallas, have been scrambling to pitch their sites. Some in St. Petersburg, Tampa and Miami also have voiced interest. The Seattle-based giant announced the “competitive site selection process” last week and will accept proposals through Oct. 19.
Billionaire CEO Jeff Bezos said the move would result in more than $5 billion of company investment in construction of the facility. City of Orlando spokeswoman Cassandra Lafser said that the city “is actively working with the Orlando Economic Partnership to submit proposed City of Orlando sites for consideration for this project.”
Some Orlando tech entrepreneurs have said they were hopeful that the city would express interest.
Amazon’s request includes several requirements that Orlando might meet:
Access to major highways and an international airport.
Proximity to a population center.
Room for a 500,000-squarefoot building, with potentially 8 million square feet of available land.
But it also includes one requirement in which the city might struggle to compete: Access to mass transit, which includes “access to rail, train, subway/metro, bus routes.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer in a statement called the city “a hub for growth and innovation with a strong and talented workforce that positions us well to be the next headquarter location for Amazon.”
Amazon’s massive Seattle headquarters includes 33 buildings on more than 180 acres.
That footprint and potential economic impact puts it in position to openly ask cities to compete with one another, which they are doing feverishly, said Dennis Pape, an Orlando entrepreneur who runs the Catalyst coworking space downtown.
“It shows the power of Amazon and the number of jobs they would be bringing,” he said.
In July, Amazon confirmed that it would bring a 2.4-million-square-foot fulfillment center — and 1,500 jobs — to Orlando next year.
Florida’s eastern-seaboard location, global commerce and workforce can meet Amazon’s needs, Enterprise Florida spokesman Nathan Edwards told the Tampa Bay Times.
“Florida will aggressively pursue this opportunity,” he said Friday.
Kunal Patel, an advocate for Central Florida’s tech community, says the city has assets that could help seal the deal.
For instance, Amazon recently launched a video-game development studio. Central Florida is home to two game-development schools that annually rank in the top group of development schools in the U.S.
The University of Central Florida has a significant pool of tech talent as well, Patel says.
Also, Bezos already located a manufacturing facility for his space company Blue Origin on the Space Coast.
“We have a lot that has changed in the past few years and we need to highlight our X factors,” Patel said.
It’s a prospect that could lead to a huge boost to the region that lands the headquarters, he added.
“Large companies like Amazon being here serve as a catalyst for economic and cultural change in our region,” Patel said. “Activity attracts more activity. If Amazon comes here, then that signals to talent that Orlando is a place to come to, other companies may also want to join the area too, and this creates a richer environment for Amazon and for the local tech and business communities.”
“Large companies like Amazon being here serve as a catalyst for economic and cultural change in our region.” Kunal Patel, Central Florida tech community advocate