ATLANTA — Atlanta's mayor says Georgia's proposal to land Amazon's second headquarters is the metro’s latest “Olympic moment.”
The state posted a video late Thursday afternoon showing Georgia’s Department of Economic Development take the pitch from Atlanta to Seattle.
Anyone interested in landing Amazon's HQ2 had to submit their bid by Thursday.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliot has learned that Georgia’s bid is in, and that part of that bid gives Amazon multiple site options for its headquarters.
The state’s video shows Brittany Holtzclaw, director of the logistics, energy, agribusiness and food, or LEAF, team, which is part of the Department of Economic Development, taking the bid from Technology Square at Georgia Tech, traveling via MARTA and Delta Air Lines and eventually arriving at the front doors of Amazon's main headquarters in Seattle.
Winning Amazon's East Coast headquarters could mean $5 billion in investments and 50,000 brand new jobs.
“I think we make terrific sense for Amazon,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told Elliot.
He also hinted at what is contained in that secret bid. He called the state’s economic incentives package the most aggressive Georgia has ever seen.
The city, Reed said, is offering its own incentives too.
“I know from the city’s side, we have never put what we put on the table today in front of any other company, certainly in the history of the city,” Reed said.
The mayor confirmed that they're not offering Amazon a single potential site for HQ2, rather multiple potential sites.
Those sites could include The Gulch in downtown Atlanta, the old GM plant in Doraville or a lot near the Dunwoody MARTA station.
“There are definitely multiple options available. I think I can say that without violating confidence,” Reed said.
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Amazon announced it's looking for a large metro area that has mass transit and a friendly business environment.
Reed thinks winning Amazon would be like winning the Olympics all over again.
“The sheer volume of jobs and businesses that are moving here, including an Amazon business in the technology space, I think shows that we’re well-positioned to win,” Reed said.
In 2018, Amazon plans to whittle down the number of potential cities.
Cox Media Group
