Amazon is looking for a place to open a second headquarters, and it’s inviting cities and states throughout the country to show what they can offer the online retail giant. NJBIA’s Michele Siekerka recently shared with Advance Media’s Justin Zaremba why she thinks New Jersey has a shot.
Being home to Amazon headquarters promises to be an economic boon. The company estimates its new headquarters would represent a $5 billion investment and produce 50,000 new jobs wherever it is located. Amazon points out investments in Seattle, the location of its first headquarters, resulted in an additional $38 billion in the city’s economy.
New Jersey is a long shot for Amazon.
Yes, with Montclair State recently being designated as a public research institution, and with other great schools in the vicinity, the state does offer great recruitment potential. But then again, so does every other city and state, with the Boston and Chicago areas especially being among them. While GrowNJ has been a largely successful program in giving large tax incentives to businesses considering moving into the state, both of the state’s main gubernatorial candidates hinted that they could seek to end the program in their new administration, thus severely limiting any tax incentives the state might have to offer.
As your article correctly points out, our mass transit system is a mess. NJT is constantly delayed because it was never meant to handle the volume of commuters it gets everyday. The GW bridge is constantly delayed, and both the Turnpike and GSP are an absolute mess during rush hours.
Personal income tax and business taxes are among the highest in the country – a fact that Michele Siekerka herself has rightfully lamented time and time again. Housing costs are also among the highest in the country, and not because the houses here are especially nicer than anywhere in the country, but only because NJ offers access to both NYC, Philadelphia and (although a longer drive) Baltimore and Washington, D.C. as well.
Amazon might not even be interested in moving to any coastal community anyway due to hurricane risk. I’m really expecting Amazon to choose the Chicago area.
Come to New Jersey; we have everything a company can want. High taxes, unaffordable housing, loose immigration laws, second rate education, lousy transportation system, corrupt politicians and crumbling roads. A place where only the public employee unions can afford to retire.
I recall working with the then Governor’s Commission on Science and Technology, the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton University and my client (Prudential Insurance) in a multi-state competition for the first of five (5) Super Computer Centers. Presenting a multi-faceted presentation justifying the merits (and downplaying the demerits) of one location over another in a site selection process has been one of my strongest suites in public/private partnership efforts. I believe that New Jersey does indeed have good reason to pursue and in fact secure this opportunity with a concerted team effort of both seasoned and young professionals.
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