Orlando makes Amazon headquarters bid

Orlando’s bid to lure Amazon’s second headquarters “hits on all of their criteria,” said Orlando Economic Partnership President and CEO Tim Giuliani.

Honing a potential second-round pitch becomes the next task, with a focus on differentiating Central Florida from the competitors it might face when Amazon narrows its choices from 238 initial applicants.

“Obviously, you want to make the short list and then win it,” Giuliani said.

Among the highlights of Orlando’s bid: A talent pipeline fueled by about 500,000 college students living within 100 miles; the redevelopment of Interstate 4; competitive cost of living; Orlando International Airport; and proximity to two seaports. In its request for proposal, Amazon said it required room for a 500,000-square-foot building, access to major highways and an airport, and proximity to a population center.

The online giant is expected to reveal its

“We are a creative city that thinks big, and we are a young city with room to grow alongside a globally recognized company like Amazon.” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer

initial decisions next year, with as many as 50,000 new jobs at stake.

“We will learn more about competing regions and get additional insights into what Amazon is really most interested in,” said Chester Kennedy, CEO of Kissimmee-based International Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research, a group that helped economic leaders craft the region’s pitch. “That combined knowledge will allow us to more fully articulate the factors which positively differentiate our region.”

Giuliani helped lead Orlando’s effort and said the goal was to take Amazon’s request for proposal, released publicly in September, and highlight how the region can fit into it.

The effort had to be collaborative, with businesses, educational leaders and city officials all brought into the mix, he said.

Giuliani added the timing, which coincides with major infrastructure projects like the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project, could not have been better for Orlando.

Even if the region does not win the competition, the exercise of gathering the region’s strong points could help lure future projects — calling the work “a galvanizer for the community to put our best foot forward.”

Orlando’s push to become reliant on renewable energy by 2050 is a facet Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer mentioned in a statement.

“We are a creative city that thinks big, and we are a young city with room to grow alongside a globally recognized company like Amazon,” Dyer said.

Other suitors include major cities, such as Boston, Chicago and New York, as well as smaller ones as nearby as Port St. Lucie.

Competitors’ bids will be difficult to predict, said Florida High Tech Corridor President Ed Schons — who is “cautiously optimistic” Central Florida will win the competition, based on strengths capable of landing the deal.

“In the end, it’ll be the decision Amazon makes,” he said. “But when they look at what we have, I think it’ll turn heads.”

Along with recent hiring sprees by relative newcomers Deloitte and Verizon, as well as expansion at Lockheed Martin, Schons said the presence of large colleges, including University of Central Florida, and a strong K-12 school system locally could appeal to Amazon’s future hiring plans. Dyer also highlighted higher education in Orlando.

Site choices between urban and suburban locations could also lend appeal for Amazon, Giuliani said. In recent weeks, the region’s leaders have mentioned downtown, Lake Nona or Osceola’s NeoCity as possibilities.

“We think there is flexibility in our proposal that will be appetizing,” he said.

One potential obstacle for Central Florida in this competition, however, will be to highlight strengths not often associated with the region.

“The challenge we face is how to tell the story of hightech in this region,” Kennedy said. “We don’t have much of a reputation for high-tech efforts as other regions.”

Continued preparation is key, he said, despite no clear time frame from Amazon.

“We don’t want to wait for that letter to come in the mail and say, ‘Come show us,’ then not be ready,” he said.