Indianapolis doesn’t instantly revive Amazon pursuit after NYC report

Several cities were quick to renew their courtship of Amazon after a report Friday that the e-commerce giant was reconsidering its plan to open a 25,000-worker campus in New York City as part of its HQ2 project.

The revived list of suitors didn’t immediately include Indianapolis, according to an official with the Indy Chamber, which took the lead in spearheading the city's previous bid to land Amazon's second headquarters.

“We have not been contacted nor have we contacted Amazon concerning this report,” Joe Pellman, director of marketing and communications for Indy Chamber, said in an email to IBJ on Friday. “As is the case with most economic development projects, any ongoing details will remain confidential.”

Officials from Chicago, Miami and Connecticut were among those who went public almost immediately after the report to say they would still love to land the Amazon campus.

Those locations—and Indianapolis—were rejected by Amazon when the company in November chose New York and northern Virginia as the sites for its split second headquarters.

But Amazon might be having second thoughts about New York because of political opposition to a $3 billion incentive package, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing two sources familiar with the company's thinking.

In Chicago, city and state officials reached out to Amazon within hours of the report, according to the Chicago Tribune. The approach included “a full-throated pitch” from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the newspaper said.

In Connecticut, which pitched sites in the Stamford and Hartford regions, Gov. Ned Lamont tweeted that his state got “indication” early last week that there was “trouble with Amazon’s proposed deal” with New York and made an outreach to Amazon.

In Florida, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a written statement to The Miami Herald that he would “welcome the opportunity to talk further with the e-commerce giant.”

Officials in Dallas, which was considered a top contender for Amazon, are taking an approach similar to the one taken Indianapolis.

The Dallas Regional Chamber, which spearheaded the North Texas bid, declined to comment on the situation, according to The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings also declined to comment.

The quiet approach is consistent with most economic development efforts performed by Indiana and Indianapolis prior to deals being signed.

IBJ learned numerous details about the city’s earlier effort to lure Amazon through a public records request.