Western Real Estate Business

OCT 2017

Western Real Estate Business magazine covers the multifamily, retail, office, healthcare, industrial and hospitality sectors in the Western United States.

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www.REBusinessOnline.com Western Real Estate Business • October 2017 • 51 of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program's launch, more than 10,000 employees have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few. Programs like these have helped the company attract some of the top creative and engineering minds in the nation, making it likely that Amazon will favor cities that boast major re- search universities and a large pool of young, educated workers. Can the West Win? While the West is likely to face stiff competition from other areas of the U.S and Canada, many cities are con- fident they have what it takes to seal the deal. Officials throughout the re- gion have already made their inten- tions known well ahead of the Oct. 19 deadline. This includes officials from Califor- nia's tech-savvy regions like San Fran- cisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles. These regions may offer more than most in the areas of talent, education, research, high qual- ity of life and transit options, but their proximity to Seattle and exorbitant costs of living may present some chal- lenges that will need to be overcome, as Oakland's Mayor Libby Schaaf notes. "Oakland always seeks to attract jobs and prosperity to our great city," he says. "We're excited to explore the Amazon HQ2 project and the benefits it could bring to our community, as well as our region. At an estimated 50,000 employees, the project would have a profound impact on Bay Area residents, and in the midst of a state- wide housing affordability crisis, we would need to address all outcomes a project of this magnitude would cre- ate." Oakland's northeast neighbor, Sacramento, may have the land and wherewithal to accommodate Ama- zon, but could be seen as lacking in terms of tech talent, public transporta- tion and lifestyle amenities. This isn't stopping Mayor Darrell Steinberg from declaring Sacramento's inten- tions, however. "I have an answer for Amazon — Sacramento," he states. "Our city and region are putting real energy into intentionally building and growing an innovative and well-connected ecosystem unlike anywhere else in the country. We are about people, and we are pulling together our best and brightest from across the region to work together on a competitive plan for Amazon and are confident in the unique assets and abilities our region has to offer." California's perception as not-so- business-friendly may hurt these cities' chances in the end, especially as neighboring states that boast a little more distance between them- selves and Seattle — not to mention land, subsidies and tax incentives — amp up their public efforts ahead of the RFP deadline. Prosper Portland (Ore.) is on the hunt, as is the Metro Denver Economic Development Cor- poration and Nevada's Governor 's Office of Economic Development, as well as the Las Vegas Global Econom- ic Alliance. Some West Coast officials are putting their full creativity on display now in the hopes of being remembered once the standard RFPs are filed. Utah's Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox showed his affinity for Amazon as he tweeted "I can as- sure you that we are all over this. Also, I just asked Alexa to help us win the HQ2 bid, so I feel pretty good about our chances" following the announce- ment. Then there's the City of Tucson, Ariz. The Sun Corridor, Tucson and Southern Arizona's main economic development group, had a 21-foot Sa- guaro cactus delivered to Bezos' Seat- tle office on a flat-bed truck. The iconic cactus of the Sonoran desert can grow more than 40 feet tall and lives several hundred years. "We wanted to make sure Mr. Bezos and his team notice us and [to] send a message of 'we have room for you to grow here for the long term' - nothing signifies that better than a Saguaro," says Joe Snell, president and CEO of the Sun Corridor. "We'll work with Governor Ducey and the Arizona Commerce Authority closely to sub- mit a strong case." Friends of the Sun Corridor seem to agree with Snell's assessments, noting that Tucson just beat out several cities for Caterpillar's new Surface Mining and Technology Division headquarters and that the city made the shortlist for "Top Investment Town in Alberta" Western Investor, 2016 "Top 10 Best Place to Live in Canada" MoneySense, 2014-2017 LAND 617 acres designated for non-residential development. ACCESS 2 airports, a provincial highway, and a national rail line. LABOUR 70.3% of working population (age 25–64) have post-secondary education. INCOME Average Annual Household Income of over $136k CAD. Learn more about St. Albert and why investing here is a smart choice. stalbert.ca/invest stalbert.ca/invest

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