Dear Amazon: Please pick me
Wanted by Amazon for its second headquarters: A place with a million people and strong job growth, a diverse population, good universities, an international airport, high quality of life, excellent mass transit, room for up to 50,000 high-paid workers. Oh, and did I mention — malleable politicians and massive incentives?
Amazon has laid out in meticulous detail what it is looking for, even acknowledging that new laws may be required to get the high level of incentives necessary to hold the company’s attention. “This is the trophy deal of the decade,” said one industry expert.
Amazon’s detailed wish list for its new project, which it is calling HQ2, also includes on-site access to mass transit, a commute of 45 minutes or less to an international airport and easy access to a major highway. It wants excellent fiberoptic internet connections, strong cellular-phone service, low-traffic congestion, high-quality universities and workers, and recreational opportunities.
Political leaders in cities around the U.S wasted no time saying how badly they want Amazon to join them. Amazon has already been a beneficiary of generous public subsidies as part of its expansion of its warehouse network. It has received public subsidies totaling at least $613 million for 40 of the 77 warehouses it built from 2005 to 2014. Additional subsidies for Amazon data centers were about $147 million.
Are we in Orlando interested? Absolutely. But, you may ask, what are our chances of landing this “trophy deal”?
Here is my analysis:
There are 52 cities with more than 1 million residents — Orlando included. But not all have strong job growth like we do.
Some are sluggish. Some are Detroit, Baltimore and Birmingham that have no chance. Orlando grades an A. Quality of life is a big factor, and again we beat out much of the competition. Does Amazon really want to locate in Grand Rapids, Oklahoma City, Rochester, or St. Louis — all million-plus cities? We have the weather, the parks, the beaches, the Space Center, and reasonably priced homes. Our grade: another A.
Universities that can provide the high-tech employees needed. (These are not warehouse jobs). Between the University of Central Florida, with its 64,000 students, the University of Florida, with its new national ranking of ninth among all public universities, and the University of South Florida, also a massive employee feeder, Orlando gets an A+. Roadways, airport, and traffic
congestion. We are not in bad shape when the Interstate 4 debacle is completed in a few years. The airport is top drawer, and has nonstops to Seattle — an absolute requirement. We are near completion of a workable roadway system between the 417, 408, I-4, and 429. Mass transit is weak, though, and drags us down to a B grade. We do beat out such clogged cities as Atlanta, NYC and Miami, if that makes us feel better.
Incentives. The average incentive package from a state usually adds up to 2 percent to 3 percent of wages, although recently there have been a spate of megadeals, like the $3 billion state tax credits that Wisconsin offered Taiwan’s Foxconn. Such outsized offers have been known to outweigh the benefits, however. And supersized gifts may not even be crucial. In General Electric’s recent headquarters move to Boston, tax incentives were far from the most significant selling point. We do have to step up politically with an extremely strong package. Free land in Lake Nona, for example, would make Amazon drool.
I think we have a legitimate shot at landing Amazon. Here are my bookmaking odds: Denver takes the lead at 4-1, with Chicago and Washington. D.C., at 8 to 1. Orlando is a respectable fourth at 12 to 1.
Pick us.