On October 18th, at Port Covington’s City Garage, local officials and supporters gathered to celebrate the official signing and submission of Baltimore City’s response to the Amazon “Request for Proposal” (RFP) for its “HQ2.” Earlier in September, Amazon announced that it is “performing a competitive site selection process and is considering metro regions in North America for its second corporate headquarters….at which Amazon will hire as many as 50,000 new full-time employees.” Baltimore rallied together to put forth an ambitious and impressive package for Amazon and brought together the best, brightest and most creative talent in Baltimore to tell our City’s great story.
“Baltimore represents, more than any other city, an authentic opportunity for Amazon to make genuine, impactful change,” said Marcus Stephens, Executive Creative Director for Plank Industries. “The momentum is here. The energy is here. The talent, the creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit is right here…Amazon – come home to Baltimore. We’re ready for you.”
The event at City Garage marked the culmination of weeks of tireless collaborative work to show Amazon why Baltimore’s Port Covington is the perfect place for its second headquarters. The RFP production team, led by Marcus Stephens, consisted of stakeholders from across the city and state, all of whom provided their support, intellectual capital, and expertise throughout the process.
Speakers included Baltimore City Mayor, Catherine Pugh; Bill Cole, CEO of Baltimore Development Corporation; Keiffer Mitchell, Jr., Special Advisor to Governor Larry Hogan; and Marcus Stephens, Executive Creative Director of Plank Industries. Attendees included local officials and supporters who worked on the proposal.
In her cover letter to Amazon, signed at the event, Mayor Pugh wrote: “We invite you to join with us by bringing Amazon HQ2 to Baltimore City’s Port Covington, our shovel- ready, tech-forward, mixed-use redevelopment project already underway on our waterfront. Only at Baltimore City’s Port Covington can Amazon transform a major U.S. city, enact generational change, and do it on your own terms.”
“With previously-approved tax increment financing, an already-approved flexible master plan, matter-of- right zoning, an established enterprise zone, an already-negotiated community benefits agreement, and city, state and community support, Port Covington is the largest shovel-ready, build to suit, technology- focused, environmentally friendly mixed-use redevelopment project in the country, all on a walkable, bike-able waterfront peninsula in the heart of a major city,” Mayor Pugh continued. “Baltimore: This Must Be the Place!”
The process for Amazon’s site selection will continue in 2018. To read Mayor Pugh’s full letter to Amazon, please click HERE.
