City makes pitch for Amazon HQ2

Lorain is an unconventional choice for the new headquarters for online giant Amazon, but it is the right choice, said Mayor Chase Ritenauer.

Lorain is among 238 cities and regions making a pitch for Amazon HQ2, the company’s second headquarters in North America.

“It’s a moonshot, for sure,” Ritenauer said Oct. 26.

But the effect of landing Amazon’s second headquarters is so big, Lorain cannot ignore it, the mayor said.

“The way I look at it is, if you don’t submit a proposal, the answer definitely is no,” he said.

Amazon asked for proposals to be sent in by Oct. 19.

In its timeline, the company simply said 2018 is the time for final site selection and announcement.

Wherever it goes, Amazon is expected to create an economic boom.

“We expect to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs — it will be a full equal to our current campus in Seattle,” according to the company. “In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.” Is Lorain a good fit? Ritenauer thinks so, according to the proposal dated Oct. 19.

“Lorain has been hit hard by economic downturn and the loss of manufacturing jobs, but we are on the rebound,” Ritenauer said in his cover letter to the 35 page prospectus. “Amazon would complete our comeback.”

Ritenauer said his vision is for Amazon to occupy the city’s waterfront on Lake Erie and the Black River.

“Lorain is the ‘International City’ as we were built on the hard work of immigrants making their way to the Lake Erie shores in search of opportunity,” he said. “Amazon’s corporate culture would fit right into the roots of Lorain’s heritage and foundings; and furthermore, Amazon’s impact in Lorain would be felt more than in other markets as its relocation would completely remake the city.

“I think of the downtown and as Lorain’s version of Amazon Village. You are near water in Seattle as well, but in Lorain, you will be right on our beautiful waterfront.”

Ritenauer noted he has visited Amazon’s Seattle campus and he knows Lorain could accommodate Amazon.

City within a city

Amazon’s Seattle headquarters sounds like a city within a city.

The company has 33 buildings totaling 8.1 million square feet, housing more than 40,000 employees.

It was $3.7 billion in capital investment and the company spends about $1.4 billion on operational expenses, while paying its workers compensation worth $25.7 billion.

There are 24 restaurants and cafes and eight other service providers locally.

Elected in 2011 at age 26, Ritenauer added he is a “millennial mayor who uses Amazon almost daily.”

“I support your business model with my wallet and want nothing more than to call you a neighbor,” he said. “I know you will thrive in Lorain and I am willing to offer whatever you may need in this endeavor.”

Apart from a milliondollar view of Lake Erie, Lorain can offer financial incentives worth millions of dollars to Amazon.

Based on numbers provided by Amazon, a tax abatement or tax increment financing could approach $20 million or more a year, Ritenauer said.

As the company creates jobs, the city could approve an income tax diversion or rebate valued at least $65 million, with Lorain diverting income taxes “to fund transit, improved infrastructure, or whatever other capital needs Amazon may have,” Ritenauer said.

He noted those figures do not include financial incentives approved by the state of Ohio.

Lorain City Hall also can move at the speed of business for Amazon, with Council special meetings possible in a day’s notice.

Ritenauer pledged his personal availability to work on the details needed to make Amazon’s expansion possible.

Lorain sits within a 36-minute drive of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Ritenauer said.

Lorain’s transit “is subpar due to lack of funding and is in need of major investment,” he added.

But if Amazon moved to the city, Lorain would use income taxes to fund a new transit system in partnership with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

The needs for infrastructure are apparent for Lorain, but also for other communities, Ritenauer said.

Based on the size of the project, local officials will scramble to accommodate 50,000 new workers, no matter where Amazon goes, he said.

Ritenauer included information about the Lorain County Community College Foundation and data about the regional workforce and academic institutions.