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Local economic development group making pitch to Amazon

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Meyers holds off improved effort from Hanover Area

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Amazon, the Seattle-based online retail giant, is looking to build a second headquarters &#8212; at a cost of $5 billion with as many as 50,000 employees &#8212; and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has written a letter to company founder Jeff Bezos urging him to seriously consider Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;For generations, the hardworking people of Pennsylvania have made it a national leader in innovation and production,&#8221; said Casey, D-Scranton. &#8220;Whether manufacturing products that are used around the world, or producing world-class medical research, the people of Pennsylvania never fail to deliver. I&#8217;m confident that if Amazon selects a Pennsylvania location for their HQ2, Pennsylvanians will exceed all expectations.&#8221;</p><p>Amazon announced Thursday that the new headquarters &#8212; HQ2 &#8212; will be a full equal to Amazon&#8217;s headquarters in Seattle, and is expected to grow to 50,000 employees as part of the company&#8217;s ongoing expansion.</p><p>The Wall Street Journal reported Amazon is prioritizing locations that are within 45 minutes of an international airport and near a strong university system.</p><p>Amazon called for proposals for the new site, which is expected to create fierce competition among metropolitan areas eager to bring in new jobs. Bids are due by Oct. 19, and Amazon says it will choose one sometime next year.</p><p>In addition to Amazon&#8217;s direct hiring and investment, the construction and operation of HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in construction and related industries, and generate tens of billions in additional investment in the city where the headquarters is located.</p><p>Local and state government leaders interested in learning more about how they can bring Amazon to their community can visit www.amazon.com/amazonHQ2.</p><p><strong>Parameters</strong></p><p>Amazon estimates its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city&#8217;s economy &#8212; every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional 1.4 dollars for the city&#8217;s economy overall.</p><p>According to a Amazon news release, in choosing the location for HQ2, Amazon has a preference for:</p><p>&#8226; Metropolitan areas with more than 1 million people.</p><p>&#8226; A stable and business-friendly environment.</p><p>&#8226; Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.</p><p>&#8226; Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.</p><p>The news release further stated that HQ2 could be, but does not have to be:</p><p>&#8226; An urban or downtown campus.</p><p>&#8226; A similar layout to Amazon&#8217;s Seattle campus.</p><p>&#8226; A development-prepped site. Amazon wants to encourage states and communities to think creatively for viable real estate options, while not negatively affecting the company&#8217;s preferred timeline.</p><p><strong>Casey&#8217;s letter</strong></p><p>Casey told Bezos that not only does Pennsylvania have incredible academic institutions and a world-renowned workforce, it is home to key interstate commerce thoroughfares, critical supply-chain infrastructure, a stable business-friendly environment, and most importantly an existing relationship and significant Amazon presence.</p><p>Casey presented Pennsylvania&#8217;s case to Bezos, listing several reasons why the state would be a good fit for Amazon:</p><p>&#8226; The talented, highly-skilled workforce in Pennsylvania has designed, manufactured and distributed world class locomotives, motorcycles, musical instruments, baseball jerseys, steel, and for decades directly contributed to making major global companies into top competitors across various industries.</p><p>&#8226; Outstanding academic institutions, including but not limited to Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. They are training the next generation of tech leaders and are innovation hubs for research, technology and modernization, Casey says.</p><p>&#8226; Pennsylvania is home to three major ports and access markets, several highly traveled interstate corridors, a robust railroad network, and commercially important inland waterways.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118382395-7c1f97d478dc498f9a4aed5dfec23553.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In this April file photo, construction continues on three large, glass-covered domes as part of an expansion of the Amazon.com campus in downtown Seattle. Amazon said Thursday that it will spend more than $5 billion to build another headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_118382395-7c1f97d478dc498f9a4aed5dfec23553.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this April file photo, construction continues on three large, glass-covered domes as part of an expansion of the Amazon.com campus in downtown Seattle. Amazon said Thursday that it will spend more than $5 billion to build another headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees. </caption0><photoCredit0>(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Jeff-Bezos.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bezos</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Jeff-Bezos.jpg</photo1><caption1>Bezos</caption1><photoCredit1>(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Casey_Bob_2013_toned.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Casey </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Casey_Bob_2013_toned.jpg</photo2><caption2>Casey </caption2><photoCredit2>(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Casey urges Amazon founder to consider Pennsylvania for HQ2