The city of Chula Vista made its pitch about bringing Amazon.com Inc.’s next headquarters to the city public during a recent City Council meeting.
The online retailer that sells clothing, electronics, home goods and just about everything else announced in September
it has plans to open a second headquarters in addition to its main building in downtown Seattle, Wash.
Chula Vista’s Head Quarters 2 (HQ2) at Millenia proposal includes $400 million in incentives, 85 acres of “shovel-ready” land and the opportunity to co-create California’s next university.
The Chula Vista site provides 8 million square feet for the tech giant in a new headquarters located in an area that is minutes from downtown San Diego, San Diego International Airport and the U.S.-Mexico border.
HQ2 at Millenia is located along California State Route 125 near Birch Road.
At the close of its Oct. 19 deadline, Amazon has received 238 proposals for its second headquarters.
Other cities that submitted a bid for Amazon include Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston; Chicago; Los Angeles; Newark, N.J.; Pittsburgh; Sacramento, St. Louis and Washington D.C.
There are four San Diego County proposals including the Chula Vista one, an Otay Mesa location, a Qualcomm Stadium site and a downtown San Diego proposal.
“Of the four San Diego (County) sites, I think Chula Vista is the top contender,” said Cindy Gompper-Graves, president and chief executive officer of the South County Economic Development Council.
Gomper-Graves said Chula Vista’s offer is the best because of the unique opportunities it presents to Amazon, such as inviting the monolithic company to help create a university.
Amazon has said they will pick the next location sometime next year.
Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said a second Amazon headquarters in the South County is worth pursuing because of what it can do to a city like Chula Vista. She said Amazon vowed to generate tens of thousands of jobs in the area by bringing its headquarters here.
The project would represent a $5 billion investment in the community through the jobs it creates, the mayor said.
“Usually what happens when you have a business like (Amazon), all of the businesses that would serve Amazon like janitorial services, landscaping, suppliers of office products. All those stand to benefit with the presence of a company like that (Amazon),” she said Monday.
Gompper-Graves added that the property tax that comes from the investment that the city is making with the office space can be a financial benefit.
She also said that Amazon would bring an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 jobs to the region, some with $100,000 annual average salary.
Also, depending on how Amazon structures its headquarters, there could be significant sales tax coming to Chula Vista, she said.
“It could be an (economically) transforming project,” she said.
The Chula Vista City Council on Oct. 17 unanimously agreed on an incentive package that includes partnering to include a new four-year, multi-institutional bi-national university; providing at no cost, Amazon with 85 acres of Innovation District property; waiving $10 million in transportation development impact fees for buildings owned or occupied by Amazon; providing an amount equal to the property tax received by the city for 30 years per phase of development for buildings owned or occupied by Amazon; and providing an autonomous shuttle that will serve Millenia where Amazon’s headquarters will be located.
Designed by Gensler, the architecture of the proposed headquarters campus emphasizes themes of collaboration and connectivity.
The initial 500 square feet of the office space is shovel ready.
The city of Chula Vista, in partnership with Chesnut Properties, proposes to deliver this state of the art facility that is LEED Platinum and WELL build certified ahead of Amazon’s 2019 deadline for HQ2.
The city’s 25-page proposal called “Welcome Home Amazon” can be viewed on the city’s website at: www.chulavistaca.gov.
Casillas Salas said Chula Vista is up against some stiff competition, but she likes the city’s chances.
“It may be a long shot, but it’s still a good thing to get our name out nationally,” she said.
