The Madison area joins the contest for Amazon’s HQ2

The Madison area joins the contest for Amazon’s HQ2

By Judy Newman, Wisconsin State Journal

The Madison region is vying for a chance to house Amazon’s second headquarters — one of more than 100 communities across the U.S. hoping to land the online retail giant and its promise of 50,000 high-tech jobs.

The Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) submitted a 180-page application Wednesday afternoon on the behalf of the eight-county region it represents, MadREP president Paul Jadin said. The theme of the pitch is: “We are a younger version of Seattle and Amazon can grow with us.”

“Should Amazon become interested in Madison, I’d welcome the opportunity to pitch University Research Park 2 and the strengths of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to them.” – Aaron Olver, URP Managing Director

Financial incentives are part of the package, but no total is being floated at this time, Jadin said. “Each host community is offering significant tax incremental financing support,” he said. “Project parameters are not clear enough for a specific dollar figure.”

Instead of presenting one big swath of land, the proposal offers a combination of five locations in the Madison area.

Jadin would not name the sites, but three are in Madison — one on the East Side, another on the Far West Side in the as-yet unused University Research Park 2. He declined to specify the third Madison site.

Research park director Aaron Olver said he provided background information on the business park at Junction Road and Highway M. “Should Amazon become interested in Madison, I’d welcome the opportunity to pitch University Research Park 2 and the strengths of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to them,” Olver said.

Fitchburg officials said property in its Uptown development at Highway 14 and Lacy Road is part of the package, as well. Read more …