"Incentives offered by the state/province and local communities to offset initial capital outlay and ongoing operational costs will be significant factors in the decision-making process", the initial request read.
Amazon said it will also apply for existing incentive programs that could add almost $1 billion to the subsidies from NY. The city proposed to build an "Amazon U" behind Dallas City Hall.
But the cost is high, and it will be borne by taxpayers. They have always been available to other companies, too, as a way of incentivizing growth and development outside Manhattan's crowded business districts. In the past few days, however, the company opted for a surprise switch, divvying up its second headquarters between two places.
"Amazon in Arlington is a win for D.C.", Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement.
In announcing Amazon's intention to come to New York, Cuomo predicted the company would hire 40,000 workers within 25 years, instead of the 25,000 jobs Amazon has promised in the next 10 years.
Some of the incentives are subject to approval by state and local legislative bodies, setting up a likely political fight over how much public money to give away in exchange for thousands of high-paying tech jobs.
New York's 7-train is already known for crush loads; just wait until swarms of lanyard wearing lackeys hit Long Island City's primary subway line.
When Gov. Andrew Cuomo joked that he'd change his name to Amazon Cuomo if it would convince the tech behemoth to build its second headquarters in NY, I rolled my eyes. The program, open to all companies, could be worth as much as $900 million to Amazon over 12 years, on top of the state incentives. "New York must not join that race to the bottom".
Another $28 million in forecast property tax revenues will be dedicated to infrastructure investments around National Landing, the new branding for the collective developments of Potomac Yards, Pentagon City and Crystal City, all across the Potomac River but still within view of downtown Washington DC. The facility was floated as a means of providing Amazon with a pipeline of continuous skilled talent including the engineers they prioritize above others.
Tom Stringer, who advises companies on site-selection decisions for the consulting firm BDO, said high-cost places such as NY and Virginia needed to offer incentives to compete with cheaper areas.
Nicole Gelinas of New York-based Manhattan Institute tells OneNewsNow it's always a compliment when a major company chooses your city to find workers and invest in the community. The headquarters will occupy between 4-8 million square feet of office space. NY was able to extract from Amazon some land for a school in exchange for its $2.4 billion grift package. Roughly one-third of residents in Washington, D.C., and 40 percent in NY pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing, the groups, which include LeRoy's Good Jobs First, pointed out.
"We have over one million New Yorkers living in student debt-living with student debt, unable to pay the minimum amount, barely getting by", Kim said. "So I don't have an idea about how they put together their transaction". Google plans to double its NY workforce over the next decade to more than 14,000 employees, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, said on Monday. Amazon had promised 50,000 jobs averaging at least $100,000 to the victor. The agreement also includes requirements for participation by minority and women-owned businesses in the construction process.
Crystal City, once a home to junkyards and motels, was developed during the 1960s amid an increase in demand for office space and named after the chandelier in the lobby of an early apartment building called Crystal House.
One such ancillary project was revealed by today's press release: a new base of operations for "customer fulfilment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities" expected to employ 5,000 Tennesseeans.
Both the city and the state components of the incentive package will have to be approved by various legislative bodies.
