If Camden’s audacious and, to my mind, potentially persuasive bid for the second Amazon headquarters campus is successful, the bridge and the city’s other assets – and, perhaps, its challenges too – will have helped the city realize its latest aspirations as well.
Thursday is the deadline for metropolitan areas and municipalities in the United States and Canada to submit their entries into what might be called Amazon’s international beauty pageant, which offers the chance to bring home a $5 billion economic development crown bejeweled with 50,000 high-paying jobs.
Dozens of cities, including Boston, Detroit, Toronto, and, closer to home, Philadelphia and Wilmington, are preparing bids. Three other New Jersey cities – New Brunswick, Jersey City, and Newark – also are in the running; the quasi-public Choose NJ organization is apparently choosing to highlight Newark, although Camden is free to pursue its own pitch. And Amazon says it welcomes all.
Camden’s application is finished and is being reviewed by the N.J. Economic Development Authority prior to submission to Amazon. City officials told me the 130-plus-page document, developed by Camden County and the Cooper’s Ferry Partnership in Camden, showcases the availability of 140 “shovel-ready” acres downtown and along the Delaware River north and south of the Ben Franklin.