Dayton, Cincy team up to lure Amazon’s $5B headquarters

Dayton and Cincinnati are teaming up to try to sell Amazon on the southwest Ohio region as the company hunts for a location for its $5 billion second headquarters.

Dayton’s and Cincinnati’s applications to Amazon will emphasize the “uber region” that sits between the two cities and how how the combined Dayton-Cincinnati area is the 15th largest region in the United States, said Shelley Dickstein, Dayton city manager.

“The application is a collaborative one that supports a mutual outcome for Amazon coming to Cincinnati-Dayton region,” she said.

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Some business analysts and journalists ruled out Dayton as a possible landing spot for the new headquarters for being too small and lacking other traits Amazon wants.

But the combined Dayton-Cincinnati region has a huge variety of assets that could impress and lure Amazon, officials and elected leaders said.

The city of Dayton has a collection of sites that could work as Amazon’s new home, and so does Cincinnati and other parts of the southwest Ohio region, which will be promoted collaboratively, Dickstein said.

The southwest Ohio region is not alone in its communities making a joint pitch to Amazon. Some communities and jurisdictions in California, New York and other states are banding together in the hopes it will improve their desirability.

The short distance separating Dayton and Cincinnati means there are opportunities to try to grow the cities strategically to improve their connectivity and economic and market strength, officials said.

Dayton and Cincinnati is going to become more like the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., and Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, city officials said.

“Keep in mind that we’re talking about 50,000 jobs, so should we win this bid, there will be people coming from both the Dayton and Cincinnati areas to work there,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

Amazon, based in Seattle, Wash., expects to spend more than $5 billion to build a second headquarters that could employ 50,000 or more people with annual salaries of $100,000 or more.

Amazon employs more than 40,000 people at its original headquarters. Amazon says its investments led to $38 billion in additional spending.

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