City of Amazon proposed to attract company’s HQ2 to Georgia

Governor Nathan Deal's office has been making a big push to get the company to come to Georgia.

The latest local pitch to attract Amazon? Create a city of Amazon for the company's planned expansion site.

The Stonecrest City Council voted 4-2 on Monday to de-annex 345 acres of land if the e-commerce giant picks the area for what the company calls HQ2, a corporate hub where Seattle-based Amazon says it will one day house 50,000 jobs.

The city’s resolution asks the Georgia General Assembly to form the city of Amazon on that land, located off Lithonia Industrial Boulevard and Coffee Road in DeKalb County.

“There are several major U.S. cities that want Amazon, but none has the branding opportunity we are now offering this visionary company,” said Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary. “How could you not want your 21st century headquarters to be located in a city named Amazon?”

Amazon is seeking a 175-acre site located near an international airport, public transit and high quality of living. Lary said he hopes MARTA expands rail service to Stonecrest.

The proposed city of Amazon could enter into an agreement with the city of Stonecrest to provide city services, he said.

Stonecrest officials plan to submit a bid for Amazon's HQ2 by the company's Oct. 19 deadline.

Stonecrest, which includes about 53,000 residents in southeast DeKalb, incorporated as a city this year after voters approved it in a November referendum.

Visit myAJC.com for more coverage of Georgia's push for Amazon and other issues.

Pedestrians walk past a recently built trio of geodesic domes that are part of the Seattle headquarters for Amazon, Sept. 7, 2017. The online retail giant said it was searching for a second headquarters in North America in 2017, a huge new development that would cost as much as $5 billion to build and run, and house as many as 50,000 employees. (Stuart Isett/The New York Times)

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