Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said the city will bid this week for Seattle-based Amazon.com’s second headquarters, an economic-development project that would start with 500,000 square feet of space and grow to 8 million square feet after a decade.
In September, Amazon announced it was accepting requests for proposals from metropolitan areas interested in pursuing the company’s expansion, promising a $5 billion capital investment over 15 to 17 years and 50,000 employees with an average salary of $100,000.
The bid is due Thursday, but Curry’s office is not saying what’s in it, such as the proposed sites or taxpayer incentives that would be offered.
A mayor’s office spokeswoman also declined to say which entities were assisting in crafting the bid or when the city will officially submit its package to Amazon.
However, JAX Chamber, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Jacksonville Aviation Authority and city utility JEA say they are involved.
Curry said in a statement Oct. 6 he believed “Jacksonville has all the attributes that make for a great place to do business — including a strong labor force, a low cost of doing business and a great quality of life.”
Curry did not specify if he would include the labor force extending into other North Florida counties.
He said Amazon already has created “record job numbers” in Jacksonville with two fulfillment centers, a sortation center and a delivery center. Managers said last week the fulfillment centers will create up to 5,000 jobs.
As Jacksonville prepares its submission, other cities in Florida and across the country are bidding, too.
Orlando, Miami and Palm Beach County announced their intention to bid, as did Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, which are partnering with St. Petersburg and Tampa to showcase West Florida.
Nationally, economic and legislative officials in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Washington, D.C., New York City, Dallas and others have announced their intentions to court the nation’s fourth-largest company.
Amazon’s RFP said the company would make a final site selection in 2018.
Basic preferences were that the site would need to be within 30 miles of a population center, defined as a metropolitan area of more than a million people; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; be within 2 miles of major highways and arterial roads; and have access to mass transit at the site.
The nonprofit Brookings Institution analyzed the project requirements and determined what it considers are the top contenders, which don’t include Jacksonville.
Brookings determined that West Coast contenders include Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.
East Coast candidates are Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The only Southeastern city listed was Atlanta, while three Texas cities — Austin, Dallas and Houston — made the Brookings list.
The other U.S. cities were Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago, Detroit and Denver.
Brookings also listed Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.
The Daily Record reviewed Amazon’s RFP and its “key preferences and decision drivers” and summarized how Jacksonville stacks up.
Incentives
Amazon didn’t specify the types or amount of incentives that might be needed, so it’s not clear if Jacksonville and Florida could provide them.
Amazon lists local and state incentive programs to help offset the cost of capital outlay as a “significant factor in the decision-making process” and asks prospective candidates to list specific programs and amounts it could contribute in each bid.
The company also wants cities that are applying to have a “business-friendly environment.”
Jacksonville previously committed local incentives, combined with state-backed incentives, to win the two fulfillment centers.
Together, the city and state pledged $26.7 million in taxpayer incentives in exchange for Amazon hiring 825 positions paying an average $50,000 a year at its Jacksonville facilities.
In any event, a local incentives package would need the approval of City Council.
“It’s a big deal,” said Council President Anna Lopez Brosche. “I suspect that we’ll take a hard look at that, and work with the state and figure out how we can make it happen,” she said.
Brosche said she was not involved in the bid process.
At the state level, Enterprise Florida Inc., a public-private partnership responsible for recruiting new and expanded businesses, and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity are likely to be involved with crafting a bid and assisting a city if Amazon decides to negotiate a deal.
However, Florida no longer provides state incentives directly to businesses because of changes made by the Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott during a special legislative session in June.
The new $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund provides financial incentives to municipalities for infrastructure improvements and workforce training – two items outlined in Amazon’s requirements.
Locally, JAXUSA Partnership, the economic development arm of the JAX Chamber, is responsible for business recruitment and finding potential incentive programs.
JAX Chamber spokesman Matt Galnor said the group “applauds Mayor Curry’s leadership in pursuing this important opportunity to grow jobs in our community.”
Galnor said Jacksonville has a great story to tell, and that the chamber looks forward to assisting the city in any way possible on the proposal.
Tim Cost, chair of JAXUSA Partnership and president of Jacksonville University, declined to speculate about what types of incentives or how much could be offered to bring Amazon to Jacksonville.
“We’re very well into the conversation,” Cost said. “There’s no reason to think Jacksonville shouldn’t be in the mix.”
Calls to Enterprise Florida were not returned.
Karen Smith, press secretary for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said the agency has not been directly involved with the bids by Jacksonville or any other Florida cities.
Workforce
Amazon is looking for an area with a highly educated workforce.
Its list of requirements include a strong labor pool and university system to provide 50,000 highly skilled employees over the next 10-15 years for positions that would pay average annual salaries of $100,000.
Cost said all four local university and college presidents have offered support “to show we can meet the educational challenges of the future.”
He said JU, the University of North Florida, Florida State College at Jacksonville and Edward Waters College can’t meet that demand individually.
“If we’re going to answer the call of the next generation, whether it’s cyber, robotics or engineering, we’re going to have to work together,” he said.
Cost said he was confident that as a region, North Florida eventually could provide Amazon with a workforce it wants.
“I think we can present them with a pretty compelling opportunity,” he said.
University of North Florida President John Delaney said if the city includes the Jacksonville-area universities and the University of Florida in Gainesville in its bid, “I think they can demonstrate that we have enough resources to meet that demand.”
“You can check that box off the list,” he said.
Transportation and air service
Other requirements speak to Amazon’s logistical needs, primarily the demand for mass public transit systems.
Jacksonville Transportation Authority spokeswoman Leigh Ann Rassler said the independent authority has participated in the bid process.
“In these situations, no matter what prospect the city is trying to pursue, we provide the chamber and the city with the basics,” she said.
Rassler said JTA provided information about current services offered to riders and plans the authority has for growth.
It isn’t the first time JTA has been called on to help the city prepare for Amazon.
Brosche called the authority “instrumental” in being part of the bid to bring Amazon’s current Jacksonville facilities to town.
On Aug. 7, JTA launched Route 82, a direct shuttle service between the Armsdale Park-N-Ride and the Amazon fulfillment center at 12900 Pecan Park Road. It offers direct connections to the First Coast Flyer “Green Line.”
JTA also is developing a Regional Transportation Center in LaVilla near Downtown and has plans to expand the First Coast Flyer.
Another Amazon logistical condition concerns air travel.
The company wants any potential site to be within 45 minutes of an international airport with direct flights to its hometown of Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Jacksonville Aviation Authority operates Jacksonville International Airport, although its only international flights are seasonal to Canada and the Bahamas.
JIA does offer direct flights to Washington, D.C., and New York City and 32 other destinations including major hubs in Atlanta, Charlotte and Dallas.
Flights to the West Coast require a connection.
JIA Marketing Director Barbara Halverstadt said adding more direct flights is discussed, but the decision rests with the airlines and is based on demand.
“What they primarily look at are the number of passengers who are flying between those markets already, and what they believe is the demand,” she said.
Halverstadt said West Coast cities like Seattle and Los Angeles are “high on the priority list” when it comes to adding more direct domestic flights, although there are no immediate plans in place.
She said the demand issue is greater when it comes to direct flights to European cities.
Halverstadt said if Jacksonville does end up on a short list or is selected, she has “no doubt” that a major airline would want to add direct flights from Seattle or the Bay Area.
“Again, it’s not up to us, but I think the demand would warrant it,” she said.
The right site
Amazon wants any potential site to be “development ready” with utilities already connected.
Gerri Boyce, spokeswoman for JEA, said the utility provided the administration with “information on who JEA is and how we support economic development.”
Jacksonville has potential sites that meet Amazon’s initial request, but it’s not evident which sites the mayor will present to meet the company’s long-term needs.
Amazon anticipates the first phase of the development will need 500,000 to 1 million square feet of commercial office space, with a possible eventual expansion to 8 million by 2027.
According to the requirements, the company would consider a 100-acre greenfield location with utility infrastructure already in place.
Downtown doesn’t have as much property available.
Amazon’s Downtown Seattle campus has 33 buildings comprising 8.1 million square feet of space.
Terry Durand-Stuebben, president of the Northeast Florida chapter of the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, said Duval County has the land and the infrastructure to pursue Amazon.
“There are pockets of land that could accommodate a development such as that just fine,” she said.
Durand-Stuebben said sites near Amazon’s existing facilities in North Jacksonville and at Cecil Commerce Center in West Jacksonville would work.
According to its website, Cecil Commerce Center in West Jacksonville has more than 4,700 available acres, “shovel-ready” sites and multimodal connections for new development.
Amazon’s two fulfillment centers in West and Northwest Jacksonville comprise footprints of 855,000 square feet and 1 million square feet of space and use sites of 86 to more than 150 acres.
Durand-Stuebben said landing a major corporate headquarters like Amazon would be a catalyst for Jacksonville.
“That would change the perception about Jacksonville to outside capital that maybe have a certain view of us,” she said.
She said it would place Jacksonville “in an entirely new category” for prospective developers.
Quality of life
To help lure 50,000 employees, Amazon lists “quality of life” as a major factor in its selection process, but did not define specifics.
“We want to invest in a community where our employees will enjoy living, recreational opportunities, educational opportunities and an overall high quality of life,” the requirement reads.
“Tell us what is unique about your community,” it continues.
As for natural resources, Jacksonville has three coastal communities, the St. Johns River, the Intracoastal Waterway and more than 400 public parks and facilities.
Jacksonville has one of the largest natural park systems in the country, with preserves, wetlands and nature trails throughout Duval and the surrounding counties.
According to state Rep. Clay Yarborough, “one of the best assets we have is that Southern hospitality,” which also is not easily definable.
“We know quite well that we have great people in this city,” he said. “We just need the opportunity to showcase that.”
Jacksonville’s cultural resources include a symphony, museums, performing arts venues, restaurants and other attractions.
It’s not clear if Amazon would factor in community discussions such as relocating Confederate memorials and statues and expansion of the city’s human rights ordinance to include LGBT protections.
Submitting the Bid
The mayor’s office declined to provide a copy of the city’s bid, or any specific information that could be included, citing the company’s rights under Florida law.
The law gives economic development agencies and local governments the right to protect certain information regarding the creation, expansion or relocation of a company in the state under Florida Statutes 288.075.
According to the statute, “some documents exempted from public records requests include, but are not limited to, personnel records, trade secrets, confidential commercial, financial information of a proprietary nature and records containing confidential client information and project proposals.”
Amazon’s RFP states that since certain details of the project and the company are “confidential, proprietary and constitute trade secrets,” any submissions are subject to a confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement.
The two Amazon fulfillment centers were code-named Project Rex and Project Velo. The city did not confirm their identities until Amazon announced they would open in Jacksonville.
Responses to Amazon’s request for proposals are due Thursday.
