When Ainsworth was looking to build its oriented strand board mill here in Rainy River District, they set out to get communities to compete against each other.
Calgary just has re-elected Naheed Nenshi to his third term as mayor of that fine city.
In his re-election bid, Nenshi was criticized for not stepping forward for the city to fund a great portion of the buildings that would house the Calgary Flames, the Calgary Stampeders, the Calgary Hitmen, and the National Lacrosse League’s Roughnecks owned by Calgary Sport and Entertainment (CSEC).
Before the election, the talks had broken off.
The city had agreed to pay one-third of the cost, less than the money offered up by CSEC. But the more than $890-million project appears to be on hold. The city fathers of Calgary, still experiencing a major oil-and-gas downturn, were not interested in funding CSEC to the levels it was seeking.
Executives of the Calgary Flames opposed the re-election of Nenshi.
In Wisconsin, Foxconn has announced construction of a complex that will bring 13,000 jobs. The state government has approved $3 billion in cash payments and other subsidies to the Taiwanese corporation over a 15-year period.
The project will not generate enough in taxes each year to pay for the states gift to Foxconn, whose entire campus will cover 2,500 acres.
Amazon had announced a plan to create a second world headquarters. On Monday, it announced that 238 proposals had been received.
Amazon is anticipating to spend $5 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the city that it chooses. All but seven states were in on the bidding. Most major cities in Canada also bid on relocating the Amazon’s second headquarters to their city, with Toronto being considered the front-runner.
As well, Mexico submitted a bid to have the Amazon’s headquarters located in that county.
Amazon hopes to fill eight million square feet of office space in the city they choose for HQ2.
It is a huge project and one wonders how a city could handle such a huge influx of employees in a short time. How quickly could a campus be built having eight million square feet of office space.
One of the considerations being evaluated is the level of skilled and educated employees. Another is educational facilities to support the research and product development.
Would highways and transit systems need to be expanded, and what would those costs be for the cities, counties, and provinces.
The bidding has commenced. Already in the U.S., some governors and city governments have begun offering up as much as $7 billion in grants and subsidies.
The competition will be fierce and the money offered up to capture this headquarters would be astronomical.
The benefits of adding 50,000 workers to a city’s base will be enormous and the resulting spin-offs and taxation will be enormous. Subdivisions, apartment construction, condos, and new schools will put a huge strain on any city’s budget.
It will be fun to watch how generous governments will be to capture this new headquarters.
Will they be as fiscally responsible as Calgary city council or as generous as the Wisconsin state government?
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