Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017
Charlotte wants to land Amazon's second North American headquarters. Mike Collins hears what local groups are doing to woo the online retail giant.
Amazon’s search for a second North American headquarters has set off a stampede among cities hoping to lure the online retail giant. More than 100 cities, including Charlotte, are courting Amazon’s $5 billion “HQ2” and the 50,000 jobs that could come it.
Charlotte said it would “aggressively pursue” Amazon, but so will the competition, which includes the Raleigh-Durham area. Hickory is also throwing its hat into the ring. All of the cities have until Oct. 19 to submit their bids.
Charlotte’s bid has been called a long-shot by some, namely The New York Times, which nixed us for a lack of “cultural edginess.” Raleigh made it into the Times’ top ten.
But others aren’t ready to count us out, including The Brookings Institution’s Adie Tomer, who points to the cost of living and the ability to recruit tech talent.
How serious of a contender is Charlotte? What can we offer that other cities can’t?
GUESTS
Ronnie Bryant, president and CEO, Charlotte Regional Partnership
Katie Peralta, business reporter, The Charlotte Observer (@katieperalta)
Adie Tomer, fellow, Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program (@AdieTomer)
Dr. Michael Walden, economist, North Carolina State University