In a letter that begins 'Dear Jeff,' San Antonio and Bexar County today withdrew from the bidding to host the 'second headquarters' of Jeff Bezos' Amazon.com, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Ever since Bezos announced plans to open a second headquarters of his e-commerce company, competition has been intense to lure the prize, which could mean 50,000 jobs and $1 billion in annual economic impact.
"Its hard to imagine that a forward looking company like Amazon hasn't already selected its preferred location," County Judge Wolff and Mayor Nirenberg wrote in their letter to Bezos. "And if that is the case, then this public process is, intentionally or not, creating a bidding war between cities and states."
"To be fair, no metropolitan area meets all of the criteria in your RFP. That is why so many states and cities are attempting to lure Amazon largely using incentives.," Nirenberg and Wolff add, saying that 'won't help anybody.'
The letter speculates that the cash which will eventually lure Amazon will top the $3 billion said to have been guaranteed by Wisconsin to lure cell phone maker Foxconn.
Nirenberg and Wolff lay out the advantages of locating in San Antonio, from Pre-K-4-SA, development of the downtown, and the strong military presence.
"In several ways, we are years ahead of other communities. The former head of the U.S. Census Bureau, Stephen Murdoch, once said 'if you want to see what the future will look like in the U.S., look to San Antonio. ' The country will one day become as multicultural, young, and socially tolerant as we already are in this community."
"If you choose to join the city of the future," Nirenberg and Wolff write,"we would love to have you in San Antonio."