Dan Gilbert and the City of Windsor, Ontario, are working together to lure Internet giant Amazon.com’s new “second headquarters” to the two international border cities.
Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc. and Rock Ventures LLC, as well as the Motor City’s most influential real estate developer and landlord, called Detroit “the only city competing for Amazon’s headquarters that not only sits on an international border, but the busiest international border of one of our country’s largest trading partners.”
This development — first reported in The Windsor Star — is a turning point in Detroit’s quest to land the Amazon deal.
Amazon said it would hire 50,000 or more workers for its “second headquarters,” which could occupy up to eight million square feet. Key factors in Amazon’s decision will be population, talent, tax and other incentives, mass transit and proximity to an international airport. The Seattle-based online retailer is expected to make its decision in 2108.
Last week, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Gilbert will lead a committee focused on making the City’s Amazon bid.
