Friday, September 29, 2017

New York City Receives More Than Two Dozen Proposals For New Amazon HQ Totaling Over 50 Million Square Feet of Commercial Space


Proposals Represent Twenty Three Neighborhoods in All Five Boroughs

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President James Patchett announced that the city has received more than two dozen proposals for possible locations for Amazon’s second headquarters. Collectively, these proposals total over 50 million square feet of commercial space across 23 different neighborhoods in all five boroughs.

These proposals were submitted in response to a Request for Expressions of Interest published by NYCEDC on September 15, which sought to identify privately controlled sites that could complement a number of publically owned properties as potential locations for Amazon’s second headquarters. Amazon has requested that cities identify sites that could provide at least 500,000 square feet of commercial space by 2019 and up to 8,000,000 square feet beyond 2027.

“We’ve gotten strong responses from all five boroughs,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “There’s no question New York City will make a powerful case to bring these jobs here.”

“From the moment Amazon released its request for proposals, New York’s real estate, business, and community leaders have worked together to best position the city to win the company’s second headquarters,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said. “Thanks to this collaborative effort, we now see the tremendous potential we have for development sites. No other city in North America has the space, the ingenuity, or the energy that we can offer Amazon.”

“We know New York is the only city that can immediately meet Amazon’s needs for 50,000 of the most talented workers in the world,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. “Now we know that New York can choose from dozens of potential headquarters sites with over 50 million square feet of office space to make the strongest possible bid. We continue to separate ourselves from the competition and demonstrate that we are the clear choice for Amazon’s second headquarters.”

More than 40 organizations and developers contributed to responses, demonstrating New Yorkers’ willingness to band together in order to attract Amazon to New York City. These proposals reflect at least 50 individual sites that span every borough, with many proposals containing multiple site options.

The City will review each proposal over the coming days and is closely coordinating this effort with the State of New York. The City will present its proposal to Amazon by October 19.

New York has a number of advantages over its competitors also vying to become Amazon’s second home. The company already has a sizable presence throughout the five boroughs, including corporate offices, a distribution and fulfillment center, and retail space. New York has a large, growing, and educated workforce from which Amazon can source over 50,000 employees. It has more Fortune 500 companies than any other city in the U.S., and is second only to the Bay Area in venture capital funding and new business starts. It also has an incredibly diverse workforce: 45 percent of the labor force is foreign-born, and over 200 languages are spoken here.

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