NORTHEAST WISCONSIN (WTAQ-WLUK) – As Foxconn announces that it plans to build its massive plant in Mount Pleasant, south of Milwaukee, business leaders in Northeast Wisconsin are hoping they will have a chance to attract another major project from another major company.
Regional leaders says they’re looking to make a proposal to bring the second headquarters for Amazon.
The Seattle-based company has a list of amenities a city should have to be considered. The wish list includes:
- A location with more than a million people
- A place close to mass transit, with a 45-minute or less commute to an international airport
Cities like Chicago, and Milwaukee are already composing bids.
“It’s a very broad scope that they are looking at basically nationwide, so I think they are just trying to narrow the field,” said Bob Mundt, the president and CEO of the Fox Cities Chamber.
Fox Cities Chamber, along with other economic development groups in the area, are working together on the bid.
“There’d be some changes we’d have to make to our transportation infrastructure, utilities infrastructure, those types of things,” said Mundt.
“I think Wisconsin is being certified as a good place to do business,” said Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt.
Schmitt says the region’s workforce would make it an attractive choice for Amazon.
“At the end of the day, it’s the people, and I think Wisconsin can offer some of the best employees around,” he said.
Schmitt added that competing against big cities might make it tough to land Amazon; however, he points to Foxconn, saying the state won despite competition from bigger cities.
“The fact that we’re even confident in putting a bid in and the fact that we landed Foxconn, that is a statewide success and we just want to capitalize on it,” said Schmitt.
Regional leaders say they’re still in the starting stages of making a bid proposal.
Amazon has not said when it would narrow down the field of cities before it makes a decision.
