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Conveying the City's Amazon HQ2 Proposal.
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Official Text
To the Honorable Board:
I respectfully convey to this Board a proposal made by the City of Somerville through the Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development to Amazon in response to their Request for Proposals in search of a location for their second headquarters.
Below please find a brief summary of the proposal. The proposal document and supplemental information have been posted on the City’s website at this address: www.Somervillema.gov/Amazon.
My team and I look forward to discussing this submission and next steps with the Board at your convenience.
? What and where?
This is a smart-growth, regional, multi-city proposal. It promotes a collection of mixed-use sites that would spark not just office development, but also housing, affordable housing, retail, and R&D, directly adjacent to existing and coming MBTA Orange, Green, and Silver line stops in Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, Everett, Chelsea, and Medford.
? Incentives:
o Our region is the incentive: With our world-class universities, diverse quality workforce, exceptional transit access, thriving arts and culture hub, and mixed-use permitted sites, we are certain that the opportunity to join and invest in our dynamic communities will be the primary incentive for Amazon.
o Existing state and local incentives available to all are noted: The proposal notes only existing State-level incentives and financing programs already available from the Commonwealth such as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Economic Development Incentive Program Credits (EDIPC) or District Improvement Financing (DIF), as well as the City’s brownfields cleanup loan program.
o We also offer an incentive with the deeper value than the usual tax credits: We invite Amazon not just to set up shop here, but to become a partner in our long-range community visions for a sustainable, equitable, and opportunity-filled future for all who ...
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