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Here’s what the City’s doing so far to stump for Philly as an Amazon HQ2 site

The City is looking for feedback on how to bring Amazon to town.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. (Photo by Joseph Gidjunis. Copyright City of Philadelphia)

Despite that one report pointing to Boston as the leading contender for the site of Amazon’s new headquarters, it’s still very early in the going.

Here’s a quick recap on what’s happening from the City of Philadelphia’s side of things:

“We have gotten our core group of partners together to do research and start crafting a proposal,” said Department of Commerce comms manager Lauren Cox in an email. “Several meetings have already taken place. Efforts will be led by the City (Department of Commerce along with Planning & Development) and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), with support from Select Greater Philadelphia and others.”

One important note: As Philly Voice reports, the City of Camden is putting together a bid independent of Philly, as is Wilmington, Delaware. At least for now, this rules out the possibility of a joint “Philadelphia area” pitch that could include those two neighboring cities.

To start bringing more voices into the process, the City has also started a campaign called #PhillyDelivers on social media and through an online form.

“When we work together, our rich diversity ensures we can rise to any challenge,” said Mayor Jim Kenney in a blurb atop the digital form. “I’ve been so thrilled by the outpouring of support from people like you! Share how you’d like to help make sure #PhillyDelivers for Amazon.”

We’ll keep you posted on the proposal as it starts to come together.

P.S: Organizer and frequent Meetup attendee Michael Bertoni is hoping to collect a million (!) signatures to support Philly as the next Amazon site.

Companies: Amazon

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