Another Indiana community is throwing its hat into the ring to be considered for Amazon’s second headquarters.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson says collaborative efforts among the city, the region and the state should give Gary a chance:
“Our chances are just as good because we’re not just going at this as solely Gary, Indiana… we’re going at it as part of the Chicago area.”
She says she still expects to hear from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos after her city took out an advertisement Monday in The New York Times’ business section appealing to him directly.
WOWO News reached out to Fort Wayne officials to see if the Summit City would also be making a bid. City spokesman John Perlich says that’s not going to happen, saying Fort Wayne “isn’t the type of market” Amazon is looking for based on their request for proposals, which specifies a population of one million, mass transit offerings, and six-million square feet of office space.
“We’ll be following the state’s lead and are hopeful that if a bid is put together, that it is successful for Indiana,” Perlich says.
That population stipulation isn’t stopping Gary, which has a little more than 76,000 residents, compared to Fort Wayne’s 264,000-plus.
Indianapolis is also vying for the HQ, which would bring 50,000 jobs to wherever Amazon ends up building.
There has been no indication that Michiana will make a play for Amazon’s second headquarters.
