50,000 Jobs: Atlantic City Submits Its Proposal for Amazon’s New Headquarters
The City of Atlantic City has officially thrown its hat into the ring to get Amazon to build its second headquarters in the world's playground.
The impact of Amazon building its second headquarters in Atlantic City would be huge: it's a proposed $5 billion investment by the e-commerce company which could employ up to 50,000 people in a massive 500,000-square-foot facility.
From a press release from the city, Mayor Don Guardian said, "Atlantic City is centrally located with easy access to Philadelphia, New York and Washington DC, in a State with a growing number of Amazon fulfillment centers, and in an area with an affordable cost of living and a desirable quality of life. We have a huge international airport, convenient rail access with excess capacity, a new Stockton University campus that will open on the Boardwalk in 2018, a diverse population and outstanding recreational amenities.”
Included in their pitch was the mention of tax credits, the proximity of the city itself to Atlantic City International Airport, the New Jersey Transit rail line into the city, the FAA Tech Center at the airport, and several construction-ready sites.
But just as Atlantic City has made its pitch, so have dozens and dozens of other cities across the nation, stretching from Connecticut to Philadelphia to Texas to Utah.
The mayor of Ottawa, Canada, Jim Watson, recently said this about the competition in a New York Times article: "It’s like ‘The Amazing Race. You’ve got this cast of characters running toward the Holy Grail."
SOURCES: City of Atlantic City press release, New York Times