The Mystery of Amazon HQ2 Has Finalists Seeing Clues Everywhere

By Karen Weise

Over Labor Day weekend, a club promoter who goes by the name Purple posted a photo on Instagram from the LIV nightclub in Miami. In front of a wall graffitied with names and a single “Life Is Beautiful” sticker, Purple’s arm was casually draped over the shoulders of Jeff Bezos, the Amazon chief executive, whose pants matched the host’s name.

“It’s not every day you get to hang with the richest guy in the world,” Purple wrote on Instagram. “What a pleasure.”

But when The Miami Herald covered the celebrity spotting, its cares turned toward the practical: “Could this be good news for Miami’s HQ2 bid?”

Friday marks one year since Amazon announced its search for a second headquarters, a project called HQ2, which the company says will bring $5 billion in investment and 50,000 high-paying jobs to the area it chooses. With no city crowned yet, news outlets, politicians and communities around the country are left reading between the Instagram lines.

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Viewpoint: One thing that can go horribly wrong for Amazon's HQ2 search

By J. Mac Holladay - Founder and CEO, Market Street Services, Atlanta

There has never been a public competition like the one going on for what is called the Amazon HQ2. Unlike most national location searches, even of large projects or headquarters moves, this one has become a national phenomenon. Cities and regions across the country have submitted “proposals” that run from bizarre to very creative. Included in many of them are massive incentives of all descriptions including large amounts of cash. As an economic development professional who has participated in many large projects as both a state economic development director and a local Chamber executive, let me offer perhaps a different view of what is happening. 

Amazon had record revenues in 2017 of $136 billion up 27% from a year ago. The firm’s net profit was $2.4 billion. $80 billion of its sales were in the United States. The company is holding $31 billion IN CASH with over $10 billion overseas. Amazon, unlike Apple, has not moved any funds back to this country...

To read the full article click https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/02/26/viewpoint-one-thing-that-can-go-horribly-wrong-for.html. If it has been removed, please email Alexia Eanes for a copy of the entire article.