NH Fails To Make Amazon HQ2 List

LONDONDERRY, NH — Despite officials at the state and local level putting together an extensive proposal hoping to bring 50,000 new jobs to the state, New Hampshire is out of the process for the new Amazon headquarters, according to a press release on Business Wire. The company announced on Jan. 18, 2018, that it had narrowed down the site study down from 238 communities that submitted proposals to 20. It was a very tough process, the company stated.

“Thank you to all 238 communities that submitted proposals," said Holly Sullivan, Amazon Public Policy. "Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity. Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”

The closest site to New Hampshire still in contention is Boston, MA.

Most of the sites chosen were major metropolitan areas including Austin and Dallas TX, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Columbus, OH, Denver, CO, Los Angeles, CA, Newark, NJ, Nashville, TN, New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA, Toronto, ON CA, and Washington, DC. Northern Virginia and Montgomery County in Maryland are also still being considered.

The company stated that it evaluated all the proposals and created the 20 community list based on the criteria outline in the request for proposals.

“In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community,” the company stated. “Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018.”

More than $5 billion will be invested as part of the new headquarters and will include 50,000 new jobs. The company noted that many more jobs will be created around “direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation” of HQ2. The project is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community, the press release noted.

In reaction to the news, Gov. Chris Sununu, R-NH, issued a statement saying that he and officials knew the Londonderry proposal, though "groundbreaking" and "the most comprehensive business marketing plan our state has ever produced," it was a long shot.

“We are excited that it is already serving as a template for other businesses that now have New Hampshire on their radar," he said. "Our commitment to economic and workforce development is already yielding results. We will never stop emphasizing that New Hampshire is open for business, open for workers, and open for opportunity.”

Taylor Caswell, the Department of Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner, added, that the real value of the Amazon proposal was "putting that strategy to work on a daily basis with dozens of other companies." Caswell likened it to a national soapbox for the state, stressing a low tax/small government environment with a highly educated workforce and unbeatable quality of life.

"We will continue to take that message to companies every day, and I guarantee many of those companies will join those already here who understand the value of locating their businesses here in the strongest economy in the northeastern United States,” Caswell stated.

Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith, who was involved in the process, said he was disappointed in the decision.

"The marketing campaign, on a whole, has been largely a success, as it’s put the Woodmont site in Londonderry on the map for a similar sized companies or a contingent of smaller companies to utilize – and indeed some companies are already taking a look," he said in an email. "At this point, it’s not so much a matter of when, but rather, who will occupy the site."

Sununu yesterday afternoon posted a note on Twitter, tagging Apple, which announced a major re-investment in America due to the recent tax cut plan at the federal level, telling the company that New Hampshire not only had no broad-based taxes but also the lowest poverty rate and highest median income in the United States, as well as the fastest growing economy in New England.

"We're open for business," he stated.

Image via state of NH.