Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) September 18, 2017
Amazon is looking for a city to set up a massive new $5 billion, 50,000-employee campus, and Mayor Jim Kenney, with the support of Gov. Tom Wolf and many local leaders, is joining the race to send Amazon a proposal from Philadelphia by the October 19th, 2017 deadline.
Local business leader Michael C. Bertoni, Founder and CTO of PhillyTech, created ThinkBigPhilly.com and “Bring Amazon to Philly” Petition, and aims to collect 1 million signatures that will be given to Mayor Jim Kenney to help support Philly’s bid for Amazon’s new campus.
“Bringing Amazon to Philadelphia would be transformational and a catalyst for major positive change that would benefit everyone throughout the region,” says Bertoni. “Amazon estimates its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy. Every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional $1.4 collars for the city’s economy overall.”
The petition cites many reasons why Philadelphia is the perfect home for Amazon:
- First in millennial growth rates.
- First in housing value and opportunity among top metros, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
- Second lowest office rental rates among top metros.
- Third largest metro in the Northeast, with $432 billion in Gross Regional Product.
- Fourth largest media market.
- Fifth largest population, with 6.3 million people.
- Sixth largest workforce of just over three million, including highly skilled talent in key industries: life sciences, energy and manufacturing, technology, financial services, and more.
Quality of Life
- One of the lowest costs of living among large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
- Housing prices are lower here than in most other large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
- Named one of the TOP 10 PLACES TO RELOCATE to in the U.S. by The Huffington Post (April 2015).
- MILLENNIAL POPULATION HERE IS GROWING AT A FASTER RATE THAN IN ANY OF THE NATION’S 30 LARGEST CITIES.
- Public school systems, AWARD-WINNING PRIVATE SCHOOLS and some of the finest colleges and universities in the nation.
- Easy commute, with AWARD-WINNING TRANSIT SERVICES.
- 6 OF OUR 11 COUNTIES ARE IN THE TOP 100 WEALTHIEST COUNTIES IN THE COUNTRY: Burlington, Gloucester, and Mercer Counties in New Jersey; and Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania.
Strategic Location
- Strategically located between New York City, the nation’s financial hub, and Washington, D.C., the legislative and regulatory center of the U.S.
- At the core of the country’s wealthiest and most densely-populated region—46 million people live within a 200-mile radius, with a combined income of $1.46 trillion.
- Eleven companies on the Fortune 500 list are headquartered in the region, and on the Fortune 1000, this list expands to 33.
Global Access
- Two Class 1 freight railways.
- Convenient access to the world via I-95, I-80, I-78, and the NJ and PA Turnpikes.
- Three major ports.
- Philadelphia International Airport is served by 25 airlines offering 525 daily departures to 130 non-stop destinations and 37 international destinations.
- Sixty percent of the U.S. Population is within a two-hour flight.
Talented Workforce
- 104 colleges and universities in the region, with 440,000 students and 90,000 degrees awarded annually.
- The nation’s #1 online MBA program according to U.S. News & World Report 2015 (Temple University’s Fox School of Business.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Philly has been named a top 10 region for venture capital by the National Venture Capital Association.
- Life Sciences yields a $24.6 billion for the Greater Philadelphia region and $6.3 billion in investments are woven into the economic fabric.
- Comcast Center for Technology and Innovation is planned to be completed and launched in 2018.
- Top tier startup accelerator Techstars will be launching alongside Comcast in 2018.
- We have many leading accelerators, business incubators, co-working spaces and resources for businesses.
Bertoni says that although Amazon is one of the largest eCommerce and tech companies in the world, it doesn’t mean that 50,000 jobs will all be tech and engineering positions.
“Many Philadelphians will have the opportunity not only to work for Amazon, but also be a supplier of products and services to them,” he says. “We need to focus on the positives and think big. We want to send 1,000,000 signatures with our bid to bring Amazon to Philly.”
To sign the petition, go to http://www.thinkbigphilly.com.
About Michael C. Bertoni
Michael is the Creator of ThinkBigPhilly.com, “Bring Amazon to Philly” Petition and founder & CTO of PhillyTech. He is extremely passionate about the Philadelphia business and tech community and has been living here since 2004. Michael is a leading expert in the Tech, Software, MedTech, HealthTech and Startup environment and has over 18 years of experience in technology, software, business development, consulting and coaching. He can be found on Twitter @MichaelBertoni and LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/michaelbertoni33.
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