Dive Brief:
- Los Angeles developer CIM Group is planning a 27-acre "mini-city" for downtown Atlanta, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a project that will be the largest area development since the 1960s.
- The project will include new infrastructure around existing MARTA stations, 9 million square feet of office space, 1 million square feet of retail, 1,000 residential units and 1,500 hotel rooms. The development will also include at least nine high-rises, each at least 225 feet tall, with one planned for a height of 500 feet.
- The new development could be one of the proposed sites for Amazon's $5 billion second North American headquarters. The project aligns with previous plans for a $193 million renovation of Philips Arena.
Dive Insight:
Atlanta joins 237 other bidders that hope to win this year's ultimate development prize — the new Amazon HQ2. Already this year, Atlanta has seen a spate of construction from the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium to student housing and infrastructure, with its Midtown region alone seeing more than 40 upcoming and expected developments at the beginning of this year. Though those developments were planned before the online retail giant announced plans for its second headquarters, the Atlanta's building boom will likely give the city a boost in the competition to win the bid for Amazon.
Developer Sterling Bay is also planning on grabbing Amazon's eye with a $10 billion, mixed-use Chicago waterfront development anchored by a 20,000-seat soccer stadium. But the offers don't stop at infrastructure and skyscrapers. Bids sent to Amazon also included billions in potential tax breaks and other economic incentives. New Jersey put together the biggest package — $7 billion — with Irvine, CA, Philadelphia and the state of Maryland not far behind.
Other U.S. cities like Dallas and Portland, OR, are also making a grab at winning Amazon's attention. Still, some advocacy groups in Seattle, the company's homebase, are warning contenders to think about what it means to invite the company to their regions.
