Region made a big pitch for Amazon HQ
Business groups put out proposals to lure online shopping behemoth’s second headquarters to the Delaware Valley
The Philadelphia region was no different than many areas of the country this year when it heard the news: Amazon was inviting offers for a second headquarters.
Suddenly, the future held a vastly different set of possibilities.
Could the Philadelphia area, in one stroke, become an “it” city and region, the East Coast home to a West Coast online shopping juggernaut? A place that attracts millennials in droves? Or is it a pipe dream? As of the end of 2017, that answer is still not known, but the flurry of activity to lure Amazon’s massive HQ2 project to the region made it one of the year’s top business stories.
The Seattle-based online retailer kicked off its hunt for a second home base in September, promising to bring 50,000 new jobs and spend more than $5 billion on construction. Proposals were due in October, and Amazon made clear that tax breaks and grants would be a big deciding factor on where it chooses to land. It is expected to announce its decision some time next year.
Besides looking for financial incentives, Amazon had stipulated that it was seeking to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people; be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and be able to expand that headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade.
The company said it received 238 proposals from dis-
tricts and regions in states and territories across the U.S. It did not list the applicants, but said the proposals came from 43 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, three Mexican states and six Canadian provinces. In a tweet, the company said it was “excited to review each of them.”
At least seven of those proposals came from Pennsylvania, according to a report from Keystone Edge, a proPennsylvania online publication that includes partners like Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Pennsylvania Economic Development Association and Team Pennsylvania.
In an article late last month, it looked at the state’s contestants. The state’s big cities — Pittsburgh and Philadelphia — each mounted a bid. So did the Lehigh Valley, South Central Pennsylvania Harrisburg, Northeast Pennsylvania, Delaware County, even tiny Bensalem Township.
Without taking sides, the state threw its support behind
the Pennsylvania bids, rounding up political support and launching an Amazon in PA website that touts the commonwealth’s location, workforce, education, infrastructure, quality of life and other advantages. It also noted that Amazon already has a presence in Pennsylvania, with 13 large fulfillment centers around the state employing thousands.
According to public information, the proposed HQ2 sites vary widely. Pittsburgh and Lehigh Valley have not publicly identified their specific locations. Philadelphia has put forward three options: uCitySquare and Schuylkill Yards, both in
West Philadelphia’s University City, and The Navy Yard in southernmost Philadelphia. Harrisburg is proposing the former Harrisburg State Hospital that features 147 acres of developable land. Northeast Pennsylvania assembled a list of six possible sites all near I-81 in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Monroe and Schuylkill counties. Delaware County proffered a Delaware waterfront site in Chester City and open land in Middletown Township. Bensalem’s proposed site is mostly undeveloped riverfront land along the Delaware.
Suburban county officials in southeastern Pennsylvania had input into the regional effort.
Chester County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Michelle Kichline said the counties were contacted by Matt Cabrey, executive director of Select Greater Philadelphia Council, asking them to be part of a regional response to Amazon’s Request for Proposal.
Kichline and other county officials in the area also spoke with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney to present Amazon with a regional front.
Cabrey released a letter sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pitching the region for the project. It was signed by political leaders in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties as well as representatives of counties in southern New Jersey and northern Delaware.
“As leaders of our respective counties across Greater Philadelphia, we encourage you and your team to establish Amazon HQ2 within our collective community,” the letter to Bezos read. “The collaborative process we have engaged in as we have reviewed the criteria for this project has enhanced even more how we work in unison as a dynamic, diverse, and interconnected neighborhood made up of 11 counties across three states. While several responses from our region to the Amazon HQ2 RFP may be submitted to your team for consideration, please know that we each will support completely the site(s) within our 11-county region of northern Delaware, southern New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania that you and your team determine is the best fit for HQ2. As a community, we are excited to showcase for you the creative, innovative, and distinctive assets that make Greater Philadelphia the perfect place for Amazon HQ2.”
Philadelphia followed up by sending representatives to Seattle to meet with Amazon officials and by taking out advertisements on Seattle buses.