State officials still bullish about bid from online giant

Stamford, Hartford pushed as potential sites

A month after submitting their bid for a second Amazon headquarters, state officials said they are confident their application would advance to the next round of the selection process.

Connecticut, which is proposing Stamford and the Hartford area as its two sites, is vying with about 240 other contenders to house a new hub for the e-commerce giant that could cover 8 million square feet and employ up to 50,000. Amazon, whose existing headquarters is in Seattle, could invest some $5 billion in the new campus.

“I feel very good about what we submitted. I think we put together a very compelling package,” Catherine Smith, the state’s economic development commissioner, said in an interview this week. “I know there are many other compelling packages, so it’s going to come down, to some degree, to the culture and fit for the senior executives and other less tangible items.”

Amazon told state officials they would use the first few weeks after the bids’ submission to narrow the field, perhaps down to 10 to 20, Smith said. She said she did not know when Amazon would announce the shortlist.

“I still consider it a bit of a long shot for us to make it to the end, but I hope we make it to round two,” Smith said. “I think we did a great job of explaining the strengths of the state.”

Stamford and HartfordEast Hartford have equal standing in the bid.

In a first phase, Amazon would occupy in Stamford some 1.3 million square feet in vacant complexes at 677 Washington Blvd., 1 Elmcroft Road and 2187 Atlantic St. Hartford is offering 560,000 square feet in two downtown towers on the Connecticut River for the initial stage. In the second and third stages, Amazon would then expand to other downtown and South End sites in Stamford or additional riverfront properties in Hartford and East Hartford.

State officials have not disclosed the specifics of the subsidies they would offer. They do not plan to announce those details, unless Connecticut wins the bidding.

“Announcing before then would kind of show our hand to our competitors,” Smith said. “It is a very competitive process.”

Stamford and Hartford emerged from a field of 17 proposals to earn the state’s endorsement.

Despite being overlooked, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim have both outlined plans for their cities to submit independent proposals. Ganim has said Bridgeport would team with New Haven for its plan.

Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media One of the buildings state officials have proposed as a site for Amazon’s second headquarters is this office space at 400 Atlantic St. in Stamford, which currently serves as the headquarters of Charter Communications.

Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Another proposed site for Amazon’s second headquarters is this empty office complex at 677 Washington Blvd., in Stamford.