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Don't Count Denver Out Yet
Economic developers remain hopeful as Amazon HQ2 decision expected
Gigi Sukin //November 5, 2018//
Don't Count Denver Out Yet
Economic developers remain hopeful as Amazon HQ2 decision expected
Gigi Sukin //November 5, 2018//
As buzz swells and speculation snowballs surrounding Amazon.com Inc.'s final HQ2 decision, Denver economic developers aren't discouraged yet.
"Apparently, we are still in," says Sam Bailey, vice president of economic development at the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation.
"We have not been told that we're not under consideration yet," Bailey, who has been involved in the city's proposal throughout the process, says. He added that other communities that were top 20 candidates have received notification that they are out of the running.
Earlier today, reported indicated that Amazon now intends to split its second headquarters evenly between two cities, diffusing the logistical challenges and impact of 50,000 new employees over the next 15 years.
"We set up our proposal to be responsive to that," Bailey says. "The Colorado proposal would be adaptable to that structure."
Over the weekend, news reports suggested the tech giant is in late-stage conversations with Crystal City, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and New York City for its second home base.
In response to the leak, Mike Grella, the director of global economic development and public policy at Amazon, wrote:
Bailey says Colorado was always an "underdog" in this competition, yet he remains positive, citing other economic development wins such as San Francisco-based Slack's 550 new Denver jobs and VF Corp's move to Colorado.
The silver lining regardless the outcome?
"Whether we're selected or not, it's been a beneficial marketing opportunity for the metro Denver region and Colorado because we've been able to tell our story of place, talent accessibility, business culture," Bailey says.
