By Heather Lusk
As the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce compiles options to propose to Amazon for its new headquarters, the company will have five options in Boone County.
The Boone County Economic Development Corp. submitted the options as part of a central Indiana team effort to narrow possibilities within the state, although it’s unknown whether the Boone County options will be included in the final proposal.
“Obviously, a larger effort to attract a major user like this does require regional effort,” said Molly Whitehead, Boone County EDC executive director.
Although the Boone County sites meet most of the needs of Amazon’s request for proposal, Boone County doesn’t have mass transit, something Whitehead said is unique in Amazon’s request compared to those received from other businesses.
The proposal request also requires the location be within 30 miles of a metropolitan center of 1 million or more people and be within 45 minutes of an international airport and 1 to 2 miles from a major highway. The undisclosed Boone County options meet all other criteria.
Amazon announced earlier this month it wants to build a second headquarters for online retail. Its current headquarters are in Seattle.
Although the scope of the proposal and its source are unique, Whitehead said the Boone County EDC role is no different than for other projects.
“We respond to leads on a near-daily basis,” she said. “But the fact that this is a much larger regional effort is different.”
Whitehead said the proposal must be sent to Amazon by mid-October, but she doesn’t know when to expect results.
“It’s a day-by-day process at this point,” she said.
The Boone County EDC has received more than 100 project leads this year, from entities such as the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Whitehead said. The total is an increase from previous years.
