Could Lower Bucks County Become Home To Amazon’s Second HQ?

With the 19th largest economy in the world – bigger than Saudi Arabia and comparable to Turkey – Pennsylvania is vying to become home to Amazon’s massive second headquarters.

On Thursday, more than 100 towns and cities, including Bristol Township and Bensalem, will submit offers to the massive Seattle-based retailer and technology company. All of the communities are trying to lure Amazon’s projected $5 billion investment, which in turn, could change the fate of the area it chooses.

Amazon, which had $136 billion in sales last year, is looking for a few things in its new headquarters. The requirements include enough room for what could end up being 8 million square feet of facilities, a metropolitan area of more than 1 million people, close to highways and an international airport, a community that “thinks big and creatively” and areas with the potential to attract and retain technical talent.

The massive investment has attracted Pennsylvania leaders and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office to put together proposals. Wolf’s office set up a website filled with information to try to lure Amazon and its 50,000 well-paying jobs to the Keystone State.

“With Pennsylvania’s strategic location in the heart of the East Coast, nationally ranked educational institutions, and a workforce equipped to support future growth — we think Pennsylvania is prime for Amazon’s second headquarters in North America,” the state website noted.

Bristol Township Manager Bill McCauley said his community was submitting a proposal to Amazon Wednesday night in advance of Thursday’s deadline. The township is suggesting Amazon consider building their second headquarters at the 794-acre Dow Chemical property, a site the company is considering off-loading.

The site, which is also known as Maple Beach, stretches along the Delaware River from Croydon to Bristol and has plenty of land set back from the Delaware River. The proposal notes that the site is close to highways, a short drive to the Philadelphia International Airport, close to numerous esteemed universities and within a short drive to 15 major health systems.

“We have pushed against other redevelopment projects for this site to ensure our most prominent land assets find the best possible use. We know that use is for your second headquarters,” Council President Craig Bowen wrote in a letter to Amazon’s search team.

The Maple Beach site is massive and partly developed by Dow Chemical. At one point, a neighborhood sat on the land near the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, but the majority of those homes were torn down years ago. Despite whispering otherwise, the site is not badly contaminated. However, the EPA is monitoring a large underground plume caused by inorganic salt. The Environmental Protection Agency said last year that the plume is being monitored and is naturally re-mediating itself.

A sharp-looking proposal from Bristol Township hopes the site’s size, location and the township’s infrastructure will help lure Amazon to the area. Included in the information provided to LevittownNow.com, the township included some sketches of how Amazon could phase their years-long expansion project.

Bristol Township isn’t the only Bucks County riverfront community that has submitted a proposal to Amazon. Bensalem has submitted their paperwork to Amazon in hopes of drawing them to their Riverfront Revitalization District that has 675-acres open for development.

In its proposal, Bensalem officials touted its proximity to Philadelphia, major highways, rail lines and the river.

“I have been saying for decades that our Riverfront is ripe for redevelopment,” Mayor Joe DiGirolamo said. “Having Amazon locate in our township, particularly in this high opportunity area, would be a huge step forward for our community, our neighbors and everyone who lives or works in Bensalem.”

Both Bristol Township and Bensalem are competing regionally against proposals to Amazon from officials in tech-friendly Philadelphia and the fast-growing Lehigh Valley, which already is home to an air shipping facility for the e-commerce retailer.

National media outlets have noted that Philadelphia is a suggested front-runner. The city is adding technology companies and has room to develop, officials said in their presentation to Amazon.

In the #PhillyDelivers campaign, officials in government and business make the case that Amazon can find its second home in Philadelphia, boasting its easy access to the rest of the county and its massive transportation hub.

The city is also using its affordability among its big-city peers as a selling point. Mayor Jim Kenney’s office notes housing, transportation and health care costs are less in the Philadelphia region.

“You can’t appreciate it until you leave the city, and you realize this doesn’t exist anywhere else,” said Rich Landau, owner of Philadelphia restaurant Vedge. “There’s all this cobblestone and these narrow little streets, and these quaint old buildings. Once you get out of Philadelphia, and you see the rest of the United States, you recognize how special Philadelphia is.”

Amazon said they expect to name the location of their second headquarters in 2018.

In Seattle, the company’s campus takes up more than 8 million square feet and is made up of 33 buildings, 24 eateries and has more than 40,000 employees. Worldwide, Amazon employs more than 380,000 people at facilities located in a diverse section of locations.

While Amazon has helped grow Seattle’s business community and added thousands of jobs, directly and indirectly, the Associated Press reports the company’s growth in the city has also increased income inequality, housing prices and traffic.

No matter who wins the bid to become the second home to Amazon, the surrounding region will see a massive change and up to several billion dollars will be pumped into the economy.