Merrimack Valley Collaboration Chooses North Andover Site To Woo Amazon

NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- The collaboration of Merrimack Valley towns trying to lure Amazon to the region as the online retailer searches for a location for its second headquarters said Thursday it would offer the 168-acre Osgood Landing parcel in North Andover. North Andover has been joined by Lawrence, Haverhill and Andover in its bid to lure Amazon to the region in what could be an economic development windfall of 50,000 new jobs.

But the North Andover proposal faces steep odds: municipalities throughout North America have entered the Amazon chase, including a competing project that is eyeing the Suffolk Downs horses track in Revere and East Boston. And on Thursday morning, just as the Merrimack Valley group issued a press release announcing the site selection, the Boston Globe reported that analysts were raising concerns that Massachusetts doesn't have enough skilled workers to make a serious bid for Amazon. They worry that Amazon would snatch up all the tech-sector talent and ruin the local business climate that has been friendly to smaller tech startups.

Subscribe to North Andover Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

"It’s going to make doing business more expensive for young companies," Nicholas Rellas, chief executive of alcohol-delivery startup Drizly, told the Globe. "I don’t understand how people could say that this is a net positive for young companies in this ecosystem. It’s naive."

North Andover has been looking for a tenant for the massive property since Lucent scled back operations at the facility in 2003. At its peak, 12,000 people worked there. Most recently, the site has been eyed as a possible site for a cannabis farm as the state continues its move to legalized, recreational marijuana and retail cannabis sales.

"It has always been our desire to see this landmark property return to the world- class campus it was designed to be," said owner Orit Goldstein. She added: "For decades, the site has been a major economic driver for North Andover and the entire region. We are confident that this property will once again serve as the cornerstone of the valley."

The site meets many of the criteria set forth in an Amazon request for proposals. Communities have until October 19 to submit their proposals.

Photo by Ozzy Properties.