Suburban counties give input into region’s Amazon pitch

County officials in southeastern Pennsylvania have had input into the regional effort to attract Amazon’s second headquarters to the Philadelphia area.

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 have been speaking with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney to present Amazon with a regional front.

Cabrey released a letter sent to Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday pitching the region for the project, dubbed HQ2. 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. Thursday is the deadline for bids to be submitted to the online seller.

“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.”

After discussing it with development and business officials in the county, Kichline said it was determined that Chester County does not have an appropriate site to handle such an enormous project.

One site, on Route 100 near the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in Uwchlan owned by Vanguard, would be big enough but would not fit with Amazon’s desire for plenty of public transportation, the commissioner said.

“If you look at Amazon’s RFP and their emphasis on transportation, it would be a stretch,” Kichline said.

Instead, the county is approaching the project from a regional perspective, just as they do in Amazon’s hometown of Seattle.

“They don’t have the capability to house 50,000 (new) peo-