The three sites Philly is pitching to Amazon
Updated: SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 — 3:42 PM EDT
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...illy-is-pitching-to-amazon-20170915.html
A week after Amazon sent cities across North America scrambling to compete for the e-commerce giant’s second headquarters, Philadelphia government leaders are beginning to settle on three locations to pitch most forcefully as the nucleus of a vast regional presence for the Seattle company: The Schuylkill Yards and uCity Square sites in West Philadelphia and South Philadelphia’s Navy Yard.
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. and Commerce Department officials devising the bid believe the three large tracts in central locations with single owners will be a draw as Amazon.com Inc. seeks a site that can smoothly accommodate an expanding corporate campus in a talent-rich locale, according to a person familiar with the city’s approach to the bid but not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The city also will present additional sites that could support satellite offices — such as those maintained throughout the area by Comcast Corp. — as well as uses complementary to Amazon’s regional presence, including vendor-company offices and housing for an expected influx of employees.
These include areas along the Delaware River waterfront, in the Callowhill neighborhood north of Center City, and along North Broad Street, as well as ones outside Philadelphia’s city limits in such places as King of Prussia, Camden, and Delaware.
Commerce Department spokeswoman Lauren Cox acknowledged in an e-mail that the large West and South Philadelphia sites are among those that “rise to the top” of the city’s pitch to Amazon, but she stopped short of confirming them as the headliners. A PIDC spokeswoman referred questions to the Commerce Department.
“We believe the first step of this process is about Philadelphia advancing as a city that fits Amazon’s needs, not about a specific site,” Cox said.
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