Ned Lamont GOVERNOR STATE OF CONNECTICUT February 11,2019 Mr. Jeff Bezos Chairman, President CEO Amazon.com, Inc. 410 Terry Avenue, North Seattle, WA 98109 Dear Mr. Bezos: Since my swearing in as Connecticut?s new Governor, I have spent every day de?ning and building Connecticut?s Day One experience. To that, my administration has been re?engineering many of the state?s agencies and services from the ?tax payer?s shoes,? better aligning their government to their requested outcomes results oriented and measured by real data and metrics. It is very much a mind-set change, but one which is overdue and necessary. In line with that results oriented approach, if you are re?evaluating the selection of Long Island City, then Stamford, CT where you would be immediately and enthusiastically welcomed offers the space you need on day one, the room you need to grow, and the amenities a workforce of Amazon?s caliber expects. You selected Long Island City as the home of one of Amazon?s two new headquarters because it offered everything that would allow you to attract world-class talent to the company: proximity to Manhattan, ready access to transportation, and a diverse mix of businesses, community enterprises, cultural institutions, and natural attractions. As an executive and entrepreneur, I respect your focus on recruiting top talent and am con?dent the New York metropolitan area is the right place for Amazon to ?nd it. Attached to this letter is an overview of why I believe Stamford and the State of Connecticut is ready to meet Amazon?s need for a major presence in the New York metropolitan area, quickly and without hassle, and all only 30 minutes further away from Midtown Manhattan. Amazon?s mission is to be earth?s most customer-centered company. My mission is to make Connecticut into America?s most customer-centered state. I hope you will consider my vision for how we could accomplish those goals together. With kind regards, I am ma kwwt? Ned Lamont Governor, State of Connecticut 210 CAPITOL AVENUE, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106 TEL (860) 566-4840 Governor.Lamon gov Connecticut and Amazon – This is Our Day One January 9, 2019 was our “Day One.” On that day, Ned Lamont was sworn in as Governor of the State of Connecticut with a simple mission – to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit of the state. Rather than elect a career politician, the citizens of Connecticut chose as their Governor a lifelong entrepreneur, someone who knows that today’s world demands agility, ingenuity and relentless focus on serving the state’s “customers” – its citizens and the many businesses that employ them. Governor Lamont has stated, “When it comes to respecting our customers, I will be 100% committed to making sure that Amazon’s welcome to our state is immediate and enthusiastic, emphasizing amazing benefits to Connecticut and our new neighbor.” Going forward, every day will be treated as Day One for our state. Amazon can be a cornerstone of that future. We ask that you reconsider your decision to achieve your mission in Metro New York by locating HQ2 in Long Island City, and instead choose to accomplish that objective in Stamford, Connecticut. Connecticut understands Amazon’s Metro New York interest and embraces that with this strategy. Entrepreneurs apply what they learn, which is why our proposal is demonstrably better than our initial submissions. Just imagine 4,000 Day Ones from now – the year is 2030. Amazon chose to locate its HQ2 in Stamford in 2019. Now, the company lies at the epicenter of a virtually border-free region, situated in the midpoint of the Northeast megaregion, that “city” which stretches from the shores of the Potomac to the banks of the Charles. With seamless transportation, a vibrant and diverse workforce, as well as an ecosystem of startups, large enterprises and non-profits populated by a highly mobile workforce of people focused on the knowledge economy, Stamford has become a truly world-class city. With Amazon’s bold decision, the company got in on the ground floor of the renaissance of a city and a state that are once again the envy of their neighbors. Through the company’s deep involvement in the early days of that renaissance back in 2019, Amazon helped to spark that renaissance, and is forever known as the Anchor Tenant of the New Connecticut. Amazon’s shoreline-to-downtown campus envelopes a modern transit hub, diverse restaurants, shops and residential options, and is a short walk to the enlarged University of Connecticut Stamford campus. UConn Stamford has become the center for the Connecticut state university system’s technology and business education programs, and together with the amazing array of higher education institutions within a 75 miles radius, is now graduating more technically talented individuals than ever before. Stamford sets the standard for sustainability, diversity, and multi-modal transit unlike any city of its size in the Northeast. Amazon’s employees live in a wide array of environments, from Stamford’s vibrant city center, where they commute to work on foot or by bicycle, to the urban center of Manhattan, where they join many other “reverse commuters” on the 30 minute, high speed train to Stamford, to the bucolic villages and country sides of Fairfield and Westchester County. Most importantly, while Amazon has become Connecticut’s largest employer, the company is located in the extraordinary New York metropolitan area. This truly represents the “best of both worlds” for the company, with all of the advantages that come from its location in the nation’s largest metropolitan region, but with a powerful say in the direction of its home state, Connecticut. From the company’s studios in 1 Manhattan to its large distribution center in Windsor, CT, this region has most definitely become Amazon territory. This future can be a reality if Amazon locates HQ2 in Stamford. In many ways, Connecticut and Amazon coming together is true fate. For just as Jeff Bezos started out driving boxes filled with books to the local post office so his customers would get their shipments on time, our state has been a symbol of entrepreneurial agility and Yankee hard work since well before the American Revolution. The fierceness of our residents’ entrepreneurial spirit has been most clearly demonstrated by Connecticut’s outsized impact on the technological progress of our nation. From the cotton gin to the first nuclear submarine, Connecticut has been at the forefront of American innovation and entrepreneurship for centuries. While the transition into the new economy over the last decade has not been easy for the state, Connecticut never wavered in its focus on ensuring that our bedrock education system remained the top priority for investment by the state’s government. With that focus, Connecticut’s pre-K through 12 school system ranks among the top five in the nation. This creates the base from which Amazon and the State of Connecticut can together create the Vision for 2030. Every day between now and then will be our Day One. Government When Governor Ned Lamont took the oath of office, he was cheered by an enthusiastic and bipartisan group of legislators, state and local government officials, union representatives, business executives, and interested citizens. His Day One speeches underscored his focus on fiscal stability and his appreciation of the need for public investment in the state’s infrastructure that will facilitate an environment conducive to business confidence and capital investment. Connecticut’s cross party unity is truly unique in our country today, and represents a clear opportunity for Amazon to work with a simple, agile and unified government to accomplish everything necessary to facilitate HQ2. This starts with a new and significantly improved onestop-shop approach to site selection, permitting, and regulatory accommodation. It includes meaningful financial support commensurate with the scale of Amazon’s investment in our state, in a combination of direct incentives and infrastructure investments. With a simple, two-tier government comprised of just the state and its municipalities, together with a nimble and accessible team in the Governor’s office, decisions will be fast, flexibility will be high and Amazon’s investment will be met with enthusiastic support. Governor Lamont has already established a unified state economic development organization under the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), slated to be led by former Goldman Sachs investment banker David Lehman. DECD will work in close partnership with the non-profit Connecticut Economic Resource Center Inc. (CERC), whose board of business leaders is co-chaired by Jim Smith, Chairman of Connecticut’s largest bank, Webster Bank, and Indra Nooyi, the recently retired Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. CERC will be fully dedicated to retaining, expanding and recruiting businesses, improving workforce readiness and identifying and resolving issues that impair Connecticut’s competitiveness. The DECD/CERC public/private partnership epitomizes the ‘new start’ that Governor Lamont envisions for Connecticut. 2 Finally, Governor Lamont’s relations with Connecticut’s labor community are robust and constructive. His Administration is singularly upbeat and optimistic. He brings all parties, sectors, and institutions together for constructive problem solving. Labor leaders will fully support Amazon’s investment in the state and are committed to ensuring that businesses are attracted to the state. From the Governor to both parties’ leaders in the legislature, from the Mayor of Stamford to the local zoning board, every level of our government will treat Amazon as our most important customer from this day forward. Workforce and Higher Education Connecticut is home to one of the most well-educated and innovative workforces in the country. From comprehensive Pre-K all the way to top flight research institutions, the state’s educational institutions are universally highly regarded. Our public education system is ranked fourth in the nation, and Connecticut has been ranked third in the nation for master’s degrees and sixth in the nation for science and engineering doctorates. In 2017, thirty Connecticut universities produced roughly 2,000 bachelor’s and master’s graduates in computer science and related IT degrees. In recent years, Stamford launched a major partnership between the University of Connecticut and Innovate Stamford directed at fortifying the city’s position as a leader in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Innovate Stamford was triggered by a major grant from CTNext, another Connecticut resource for entrepreneurs. The grant designated Stamford as an “Innovation Place” and will enhance the city by sparking collaboration between forces which had previously operated independently. CT is committed to tailor workforce development, computer science and degree programs along ‘guided pathways’ to produce the workforce Amazon needs. Amazon will not be limited to recruiting Connecticut’s high quality graduates, but will also have ready access to a broader pool of talent across the Northeast. Stamford is within hours of many of the country’s top computer engineering schools, allowing for easy recruiting from New York to Boston. Top schools in close proximity to Stamford include Yale, the University of Connecticut, Wesleyan, Trinity, Columbia, NYU, Fordham, Pace, SUNY Purchase, Cornell Tech and many others. Yale’s renowned computer scientists lead the world in quantum computing. The Department of Computer Science partners with Yale Mathematics; Physics; Engineering; Psychology; and Economics for pioneering work on the frontiers of: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Graphics, Computer Systems and Networking, Database Systems, Distributed Computing, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Operating Systems, Programming Languages, Robotics, Scientific Computing and Applied Mathematics, Security and Cryptography, and Theoretical Computer Science. Not only is Connecticut producing talent, but Connecticut’s graduates are also putting their talents to highly productive use. Connecticut ranks sixth in innovation, eighth in patents per capita, and sixth in productivity. Connecticut also knows that diversity is absolutely critical for Amazon’s recruiting efforts and the success of the business overall. Stamford is also a leader in 3 this regard, and was ranked eleventh among the most culturally and economically diverse US cities. The Site Stamford combines New England town charm with a bustling technology and financial sector situated on a harbor of one of the nation’s few coastal estuaries. Its downtown sidewalk cafes, robust sailing culture, and hilltop hiking and horseback riding offer a blend of amenities rarely found within such a small area. Most importantly, Stamford’s longtime moniker – “The City That Works” – embodies its Ready on Day One ethos. Stamford has been built for sustainability for decades, with acres and acres of green roofs, a designation as a 2030 district for building efficiency, and robust transit options and bike infrastructure. With a long-standing hurricane barrier integrated into the fabric of newly redeveloped harbor-front communities and an Energy Improvement District developing distributed generation and micro-grids, Stamford is uniquely resilient. The city’s robust history of public-private partnerships, its current planning for a “Drone Zone,” and its designation as the state’s pilot community for autonomous vehicles make Stamford ready for continued innovation and rapid growth. Stamford stands ready to move quickly with up to 1.4 million square feet of space available immediately adjacent to the city’s significant train station and transit hub; at least 2 million additional square feet available over the next two years; an additional 3 million square feet available in four years and up to 7 million additional square feet available in the years that follow. All of this campus would be within a 15-minute walk of the transit hub and all buildings within a mile of one another. Finally, Stamford’s location will provide Amazon administration and engineering resources easy access to its current distribution center in Meriden and transportation hub at Bradley International Airport. Infrastructure Stamford is the center point and anchor of a region of nearly 9 million people stretching from Manhattan to New Haven, while still being a mere 45 minutes by car, train or bus from Manhattan. While Stamford’s accessibility begins with the several major highways and robust bus infrastructure that link this region, its nucleus is the Northeast Rail Corridor. Direct highspeed Amtrak service links Stamford to every major employment center from Boston to Washington. That top-tier service is complemented by the workhorse Metro-North commuter rail service which links Stamford to New Haven in the northeast and New York City to the southwest multiples times each hour, together with all of the walkable urban and village centers in between. This is a commuter path already proven by many nearby employers, including Bridgewater Associates and many other financial institutions. For example, Synchrony Financial already has several hundred employees happily shuttling daily to NYC and Westchester County, NY. 4 The many nearby airports provide even greater flexibility and options for travel with scheduled major commercial carriers, extensive general aviation facilities; and multiple helicopter pads. These airports are close to Stamford: Westchester County Airport (22 min/19 mi), LaGuardia Airport (36 min/32 mi), John F. Kennedy Airport (42 min/38 mi), Newark Liberty Airport (60 min/54 mi), and Bradley Airport (95 min/96 mi). Bradley Airport is the second-busiest airport in New England after Boston's Logan Airport welcoming roughly 7 million passengers a year and over 100,000 flights. The four largest carriers at Bradley International Airport are Delta, American, Southwest and Jet Blue. In addition, the state is committed to upgrading Bridgeport’s Sikorsky Field airport, which has two 4,500 runways and is currently underutilized. Sikorsky Field could represent an opportunity for Amazon to create a purpose-built private air and cargo hub alongside its existing facilities at Bradley. Legislation is currently in progress to extend New Haven Tweed’s runway, which already provides 34,000 scheduled commercial (American) and general aviation flights a year. Governor Lamont understands the importance of infrastructure to businesses. His administration has prioritized investment in transportation and demonstrated an early long-term commitment to allocating the substantial capital and other resources needed to elevate the New Haven Line to best-in-class service through targeted enhancements that will shrink the travel time from Stamford to both New York City and New Haven to 30 minutes each. These improvements, coupled with the introduction of commuter rail service from Connecticut to Penn Station over the Hells Gate Bridge, will provide a new direct connection between Stamford, the massive workforce of eastern Bronx, Queens (Long Island City), and booming office development on Midtown Manhattan’s Far West Side. Amazon can be a catalyst to bring the entire region together to accelerate the next steps forward. Housing Amazon’s workforce will be physically connected to their colleagues in every major employment center in the Northeast, while enjoying Connecticut’s housing prices that are up to 65% lower than Manhattan’s. They will have access to the diverse housing stock within commuting distance from New Haven to New York City including high end condo towers, walkable streetcar suburbs, wooded single family retreats, and affordable options for every level of compensation. Perhaps most importantly, their spouses will have an equally easy commute to their jobs on Wall Street, at Yale, or at the many global corporate leaders, small businesses, and civic institutions in between. Quality of Life Working in Connecticut means being able to choose your lifestyle from among our myriad safe communities with spectacular surroundings. You can live New York City, in vibrant cities with dense, walkable downtowns and ready access to their hinterlands, or in quaint historic small towns, bucolic farmlands, and seaside villages with dramatic views of Long Island Sound. The state has miles and miles of free, sandy beaches, 15 live theatres and access to hiking, skiing, camping and fishing. Connecticut’s towns are safe, with great schools and access to high quality healthcare – all with a cost of living and income and sales tax rates meaningfully lower than New York’s. 5 Connecticut ranks highly on many quality of life rankings. Forbes ranked Connecticut fifth in the nation in quality for life. US News’ quality of life assessment rates Connecticut as fourth in healthcare and eighth in public safety. Three of the nation’s top 16 public school districts are within 12 miles of Stamford (New Canaan, Rye and Westport). There are 15 world renowned and top ranked private school including: Choate Rosemary Hall; Hopkins, Hotchkiss; Loomis-Chaffee; Taft; Greenwich Academy; Brunswick; Miss Porters; Pomfret; Kent and Hamden Hall. In terms of colleges and universities, there is a superb set of distinguished schools that are global treasures, national magnets, and regional powerhouses: such as Yale University; Trinity College; Wesleyan University; Connecticut College; The University of Connecticut; Quinnipiac University; Fairfield University; Sacred Heart University of Hartford; the University of Southern Connecticut; and several community colleges. The 150 major cultural attractions include many family-friendly museums and worldrenowned collections including: Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History; the Yale Art Gallery; The Yale Center for British Art; The Florence Griswold Museum of American Impressionist Art; the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art; the Connecticut Science Center; The Children’s Museum of New Haven; the Barnum Museum; The Mystic Seaport Museum; the Mystic Aquarium; the Beardsley Zoo; The Norwalk Maritime Aquarium; The Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop; The Housatonic Museum of Art; The Mattatuck Museum; and the Mark Twain House. Original national drama productions run regularly at: The Shubert Theater; The Yale Repertory Theater; The Long Wharf Theater; The Goodspeed Opera House; The Goodspeed Opera House; the Westport Playhouse; The Ivoryton Playhouse; The Playhouse in the Park; The Bushnell Performing Arts Center; and at least a dozen other theaters. Other recreational outlets include five amusement parks such as: Six Flags; Lake Compounce; Quassy Park; and Savin Park as well as fifteen well-maintained state parks capturing rural, mountain and seaside beauty for hiking, camping or sunbathing. Three of the oldest orchards and farms in the nation are nearby offering hayrides; berry picking; animal petting; and fresh ice cream. There can hardly be a safer, healthier, more educational, varied and beautiful place to raise a family. Unified Engaged Business Community Connecticut has a soaring business community hosting 17 Fortune 500 companies, numerous mid-sized enterprises, and thriving small businesses – with a portfolio of headquarters in varied industry clusters including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, financial services, health care, consumer brands, retail and biotech. As diverse as these firms are across industrial sectors, they are united in spirit for Connecticut and in the pro-economic priorities of the state’s new leadership. Plus, they provide a rich portfolio of options for dual career couples and trailing spouses. Their concentrated presence allows them to access one of the world’s most sophisticated pools of specialized labor in their industries. 6 This state is the headquarters for such major employers as: United Technologies (203,000 employees worldwide); Charter Communications (95,000); XPO Logistics (95,000); Amphenol (70,000) ; Stanley Black & Decker (60,000); Praxair (60,000); Aetna (50,000); Cigna (46,000 employees); Xerox (35,000); Travelers (30,000); Frontier Communications (23,000); Hubbell (18,000); Electric Boat (18,000); Synchrony Financial (18,000); Hartford Financial (16,5000); Sikorsky (16,000); and Pitney Bowes (15,000). Connecticut also is the global and US base for such major consumer brands as: Subway (world’s largest restaurant chain); Pepperidge Farm; Bigelow Tea; Schick; Bic; Pilot; Lego; Timex; Swiss Army; Vineyard Vines Clothes; and Ethan Allen Designs. It also is home to such financial pillars such as Webster Bank; People’s United Bank; Canaan Ventures; Oak HCF, and the nation’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Connecticut is home to a rich mix of technology and energy infrastructure leaders such as: The Gartner Group; Frontier Communications; Avangrid; Eversource; and TTM Technologies. Some enterprises enjoy a proud Connecticut legacy such as: Stanley Black & Decker (1843); Timex (1854); and many generations of family ownership (e.g. Laticrete; United Aluminum, Munson’s Chocolate and Bigelow Tea); while others such as biotech show the lasting vitality of the entrepreneurial spirit in the land of ingenuity. Of the 300 biotech companies in Connecticut, three (Achillion, Alexion and Forma) are listed among the 50 most innovative life sciences companies in the nation. New Haven’s Quantum Circuits was founded by the Yale physicists and, according to the New York Times, leads the world in quantum computing. In the last few months, Praxair bought its major European competitor, doubling its size, to now represent 30 percent of the world’s industrial gas market. A few years back, Stanley’s merger with Black & Decker similarly rocketed that firm forward. Having recently won the largest single shipbuilding contract in the US Navy’s history with an $18 billion commitment, Electric Boat has been reinvesting billions of dollars into Connecticut, Having reviewed its options elsewhere, the company is now employing more people than it has for more than 25 years and projects continued strong growth. Its workforce development success is a tribute to the state’s commitment to continually upgrade and retool its workforce. Connecticut’s spirit of unity is best represented by the 2018 state government chartered Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth, a 14-member, cross-sector, crossindustry and cross political party task force of the state’s top leaders chaired by two prominent long term civic minded business leaders. Based on months of candid research, most of the Commission’s findings have been embraced, and many of its recommendations are being implemented while others are under study. The state’s major business associations, such as the several thousand member Connecticut Business & Industry Association and local chambers of commerce have joined with parallel enthusiasm for economic development initiatives. Highly Enthusiastic General Population The citizens of Connecticut are hungry for the future. There is no doubt that the decline of the financial services industry after 2008, coupled with the slow decline of industrial 7 powerhouses like GE, has hurt the state and its residents. Rather than wallowing in the past, though, the people of Connecticut are eager to capitalize on any opportunity to re-establish the state as the envy of the region and the country. Amazon will be welcomed with not just open arms but with the Yankee enthusiasm and ingenuity that makes this state so very special. Our people believe that the state’s businesses are our “customer” and Amazon will feel like our very best customer from the first day HQ2 arrives. Summary We realize Amazon had virtually limitless options when choosing the location of HQ2. Ultimately, you chose Northern Virginia and Long Island City after a long and well considered decision making process. And yes, Connecticut didn’t make the final cut in the original RFP process. As you consider our modified Day One, highly focused proposal that is specifically responsive to Amazon’s needs, it is surely evident that Connecticut is on a new and positive path and that you should view this proposal in a different light. Given the opposition and lack of consensus that Amazon has faced in New York, we believe Connecticut offers the unique opportunity to locate HQ2 in the New York metropolitan area while providing the project certainty and uniform support that our state has to offer. In short, Connecticut will give you a bite of the Big Apple without any chance of eating a worm. At a minimum, we hope you will find it hard to entirely exclude Connecticut and all its advantages from your HQ2 solution. We will persevere in our quest to return Connecticut to its rightful place among the most prosperous states in the nation, and should Amazon join up with us, you’ll have the distinction of providing opportunity and upside for all of our citizens. Connecticut offers many unique advantages described in this proposal, including an outstanding education system, unrivaled safety, diverse residential options, and the truly valuable opportunity to help shape a city and a state. Rather than being just another Fortune 500 company among many, Amazon will be the Anchor Tenant of the New Connecticut. You will feel like the treasured customer that you are every day going forward, and you will never be taken for granted. You will be our partner in re-establishing our state as a true leader in innovation, lifestyle and prosperity, and every one of our citizens and businesses will be ever mindful of your confidence and investment in Connecticut. Every day going forward will truly be Day One for Amazon and Connecticut. We look forward to having the opportunity to present a more detailed proposal to you at your earliest convenience. 8 Core Preferences Site Requirements Proximity to population center Proximity to international airport Proximity to major highways Access to Mass Transit Building Requirements Initial Square Foot Requirement Total Square Foot Requirement Quantity Units Stamford? 30 Miles Within approx. 45 Minutes Not more than 1-2 Miles At site ✔ 500,000+ Sq. Ft. Up to 8,000,000 Sq. Ft. ✔ New York Educated & Talented Workforce Public Transportation Easy Airport Access Culture and Entertainment Diversity Entrepreneurial Governor Responsive & Agile Government Top Public Schools Low Cost of Living Safety 9 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Connecticut Late Edition ?All the News . Today, mostly cloudy, high 39. To- 3 . . night, overcast, a bit of snow late. That to Print low 27. Tomorrow, snow turning to . ice, accumulating 1- to 3 inches, high 35. Weather map is on Page BS. $a00 VOL. . . 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