Gary, IN, Makes 'Far-Fetched' Bid For Amazon Headquarters

GARY, IN — Gary, Indiana is making a bid to be the home of Amazon's much-talked-about second headquarters. The online retail giant is based in Seattle but looking to add a second home base — an announcement that has cities including Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, Tuscon and others across the U.S. and Canada courting Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The new headquarters represents a $5 billion investment by Amazon and is expected to create 50,000 jobs.

“We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters,” Bezos said earlier this month month. “Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs." Amazon said it's looking for an area with more than a million people, along with urban and suburban spots that would be attractive to "strong technical talent."

Last week, the City of Gary made its intentions known to Amazon with an ad in the New York Times asking Bezos to consider the self-proclaimed "City of the Century." In the ad, the city makes a first-person pitch to become the site of the new HQ, telling Bezos, "My name is Gary and I am a legacy city in the northwest corner of Indiana. I was born in 1906 and my parents were Elbert Gary and U.S. Steel."

The ad acknowledges that the city's proposal may seem far-fetched, "but 'far-fetched' is what we do in America." It continues:

Recently, you announced that you were looking for a new community partner. Conventional wisdom says based on the qualifications outlined in the RFP, I would not make the grade. But that is because you don’t know about my natural assets—my location 30 miles from Chicago at the population center of North America, three class-one rail lines, an international airport, the port, a commuter rail line that gets people to Chicago in less than an hour and four interstate highway in a state with a pro-business environment. And land? Jeff, I have all the land you need. ... But the best part about me are my people—resilient, eager to work. I am ready to welcome a new business to town—but not just any business, one like Amazon that will transform me for my citizens.

Gary has some in-state competition in the form of proposals from Boone County, which is submitting five location possibilities to Amazon, and a regional proposal from Indianapolis-area leaders. Nearby Chicago is also making a play to be Amazon's new home base.

Proposals are due to Amazon by Oct. 19, 2017.

Image via Amazon.com