Delaware County A 'Prime' Location For Amazon HQ2, Officials Say

CHESTER, PA – As locales around the country vie to be selected for Amazon's second headquarters location, Delaware County entered the fray Wednesday after submitting a proposal for the "HQ2" to potentially call the county home.

At the Chester waterfront Wednesday, Delaware County Council, Delaware County Commerce Director Patrick Killian, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce President Trish McFarland, Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland and federal, state and local leaders highlighted the county’s assets including multi-site redevelopment opportunities, transportation infrastructure, incentives, local labor and workforce and logistics.

"Delaware County is strategically located between major cities like New York and Washington D.C. and offers an area which is ripe for development," Delaware County Councilman Dave White said. "We have a diverse and highly skilled labor force, we’re a business friendly community and we’re on the move. We’ve created 25,000 new jobs over the past few years and have worked to redevelop property. We believe Delco is a prime location for Amazon and look forward to working with them to create economic and social change."

The Amazon HQ2 would invest more than $5 billion in construction and create 50,000 high-paying jobs in the area if it comes to the county.

The proposed locations are in Chester and in Middletown, the county said.

While the Chester location, a waterfront development opportunity, is the primary focus, two sites in Middletown were submitted as secondary sites to accommodate potential needs beyond 2027, the county said. Any development on these sites will conform with existing zoning restrictions and approved uses, according to officials.

The proposed properties combined total about 200 acres of land that can be redeveloped for commercial office use, which meets the 8-million-square-foot needs of the Amazon HQ2.

The proposal highlights the county’s assets, including:

• A combined 200 acres of multi-site urban/suburban redevelopment opportunities with potential for up to eight million square feet of office space.
• Delaware County’s reputation as a business friendly community, with limited local taxation on companies and local tax incentives programs for redevelopment.
• Delaware County’s and the Delaware Valley’s 6-million-person region with a diverse and skilled work force.
• A region that is home to more than 100 colleges and universities with more than 400,000 students and 90,000 graduates.
• Delaware County is well connected to the regional transportation network, including a short drive to Philadelphia International Airport; Septa Regional Rails and surface transportation; convenient connections for vehicles to I-95, I-476, I-295 and SR 291; cargo and freight rail lines; and existing shipping ports.
• Delaware County is home to significant corporate facilities, including Boeing and SAP, as well as a thriving startup community and a diverse set of international, national and regional corporate headquarters from a wide-range of industries.
• The region is strategically located between New York and Washington D.C., is an hour drive to the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by farmlands, mountains and exceptional beauty. It is also consistently ranked among the best places to work and live.
• Delaware County has the size and capacity to readily accept and absorb a new corporate headquarters.
• The region’s $430 billion economy employs nearly 2.9 million people and is surrounded by well-developed business infrastructure.

"Chester was once a thriving manufacturing town and we believe Amazon has the ability to create a new beginning for its residents and our entire community," said White. "This could be a transformative project for Chester with monumental economic and social impacts to Chester and all of Delaware County."

Amazon estimates that its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy.

"Other counties and cities have proposed locations that fulfill the basic criteria of population and acreage and offer Amazon a location to fit into existing real estate," White said. "Delaware County offers the unique opportunity for Amazon to build upon a blank canvas, recreating and transforming an entire community."

Amazon recently invited cities, counties and regional economic development organizations in North America to submit a proposal to host Amazon’s second headquarters in North America.

Criteria included metropolitan areas with more than one million people, a stable and business-friendly environment, urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent and communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.

Image via Delaware County