Charlotte Makes Pitch for Amazon HQ2

CHARLOTTE, NC — We now know more about a Charlotte bid to land a second Amazon headquarters. But we don’t know what kind of tax incentives may be thrown at the retail giant.

It’s an opportunity that could be transformational for the region, with 50,000 new jobs and a more than $5 billion investment.

This video is part of the package, shipped in a custom-made wooden box, to Amazon Headquarters in Seattle.

“From our written response, our website, and our video, I think this region has put its best foot forward,” says Charlotte Regional Partnership Senior Project Manager Steven Pearce. “And we look forward to what this opportunity would mean for us in the future.”

The internet retail giant is looking to place a second headquarters on the East Coast. Searching for a site in a metro area, with a business-friendly environment, available technical talent, with international airport and mass transit access.

“We have to be a community that can support their workforce growth, and give them the quality of life that they want,” says Charlotte Regional Partnership CEO Ronnie Bryant.

The competition will be fierce. The CRP will not discuss potential tax incentives that may be thrown at Amazon, but the group feels they’ve made a strong opening statement.

“I’m very confident that our overall package is competitive,” says Bryant. “This is not, as some of you want to believe, a ‘bidding war’.”

“The other things that we have, that fit all the other criteria—transportation, low cost of living, incredible workforce, universities in the area, climate—all those things put together, you can’t buy some of that stuff,” says Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts. “It’s just here.”

Amazon plans to narrow down the list of potential cities for HQ2 by early December, with site visits and negotiations to follow.

Hickory, Raleigh and The Triad also submitted bids.