Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | October 16, 2017 | wbjournal.com If Worcester beats the long odds and lands the tech giant's HQ2, an entirely new city would emerge with skyscrapers and a larger and wealthier workforce An Amazon city W orcester is punching its own lottery ticket in hopes to lure Amazon to open its second headquarters in the city – a decision potentially dramatically transforming Central Massachusetts. States and municipalities have until Thursday to submit bids to land Amazon's HQ2, which the Seattle online retailer says will have $5 billion in pri- vate infrastructure investment and 50,000 jobs over the next 10 years. With hundreds of applications being made to Amazon for this game-chang- ing economic development opportunity, Worcester's chances of landing the deal are slim; but the city has the same strong argument it makes to companies on a daily basis: Central Massachusetts has access to a highly educated work- force, with established colleges and infrastructure for innovation, real estate prices significantly than Boston and New York, while Worcester offers a revitalized urban setting in New England's second-largest city. "We're a city that's really kind of on the move," said City Manager Ed Augustus. "We're ready for the challenge." If Worcester were to score Amazon's HQ2, the city's population would swell, its wealth would climb, the tech giant's need for square footage would likely create skyscrapers downtown, and the trade industry would pass healthcare and education as the largest segment of the Worcester economy. "It would dramatically transform the economy of this city," said Tim McGourthy, executive director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. "It has huge potential, good and bad, on a city like Worcester." An Amazon population Not counting families or indirect jobs created by HQ2, Amazon in its request for proposals says 50,000 people will come to the city it selects. For Worcester – with its 225,000 people during the workday – that's a poplua- tion increase of 22 percent. Those 50,000 people will bring a lot of City Manager Ed Augustus has led Worcester's charge to land Amazon's HQ2. BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer P H O T O / B R A D K A N E

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