New York Touted Real Estate, Eminent Domain in Bid for Amazon
December 11 2018 - 5:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Katie Honan and Keiko Morris
In their bid for Amazon.com Inc.'s second headquarters, New York
City and state officials dangled prime real estate at the tech
giant and offered to use eminent domain to scoop up any necessary
properties for a campus, newly disclosed documents revealed Monday
night.
The city suggested four main neighborhoods as locations for
Amazon's second headquarters: Midtown West, lower Manhattan, along
the Brooklyn waterfront and Long Island City, Queens. In the bid,
each neighborhood included tantalizing properties to serve as a
potential campus.
One offering was the Farley Building, the historic post office
that is being converted into a railroad station in Midtown West.
Another was 3 World Trade Center, the newest gleaming glass
skyscraper at the World Trade Center campus.
The city and the state submitted the joint proposal to Amazon in
the fall of 2017 in response to the retailer's announcement that it
would conduct a nationwide search for the location of a second
headquarters. The New York City Economic Development Corp. released
the proposal for the first time Monday night.
"We wanted to be fully transparent about actions we have taken
on this project to date, and are proud of them," a spokeswoman for
the Economic Development Corp. said in an email after the
proposal's release. "We felt that it was important that the public
knows that we pitched NYC for its talent, real estate,
infrastructure and industry strengths."
The release of the documents also came two days before the first
of three City Council hearings that will discuss the HQ2 proposal.
On Wednesday, members of the council's economic development
committee will look at the city and state's deal for Amazon.
The company announced in November that it would split its second
headquarters between Arlington, Va., and in Long Island City,
Queens, after a monthslong process in which the company considered
pitches from 20 finalists.
New York City and the state agreed to provide up to $3 billion
in tax incentives as part of the deal to have Amazon build its
campus in Long Island City and bring at least 25,000 workers to the
site. Local politicians and residents have criticized the deal for
being negotiated in secret without a public review process.
Like other cities that bid on HQ2, New York presented Amazon
with a full list of site features, including zoning and the
effective rents. Long Island City was the cheapest of the four
neighborhoods the city and state suggested. Rent prices ranged from
$24 to $49 a square foot.
A spokesman for Amazon said Monday night that, as part of the
company's national search of more than 200 cities, it considered a
variety of criteria, including the talent pool.
"But we also specifically sought to be in a diverse city and in
an exciting community," the spokesman said. "Long Island City is
just that, and we want to be stitched into the fabric of what is a
dynamic neighborhood."
The spokesman said the company is just beginning to meet with
residents and community leaders.
The proposal, which was put together by the Economic Development
Corp. and the state's Empire State Development, didn't limit its
real-estate suggestions to New York City. Amazon had its pick of
dozens of sites around the state, including in Long Island and the
lower Hudson Valley, the proposal shows.
Empire State Development also offered to aid Amazon in obtaining
property.
"Subject to public approvals, ESD is empowered to acquire,
encumber and dispose of any real property interest, including
through eminent domain, " the proposal stated.
"ESD can also override local zoning, offer tax subsidies while
holding title to a property, and provide lower-cost financing or
grants to economic development projects."
New York's bid also touted the city's low rent, when compared
with the median rents in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington,
D.C., and diverse housing stock.
"Whether Amazon employees want to live in an apartment among the
best restaurants and bars in the world, or in a house within
walking distance of great parks and schools, they'll find a home in
New York City, and we continue to add units," the proposal
said.
Write to Katie Honan at katie.honan@wsj.com and Keiko Morris at
Keiko.Morris@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 11, 2018 05:14 ET (10:14 GMT)
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