Chicago’s Amazon pitch dangled $2.3B in incentives, special building permit service

City documents also showed Related Midwest’s The 78 was the e-commerce giant’s preferred site in Chicago

A rendering of The 78 development and Jeff Bezos (Credit: Curbed  Chicago and Getty Images)
A rendering of The 78 development and Jeff Bezos (Credit: Curbed  Chicago and Getty Images)

Chicago’s bid to land Amazon’s second headquarters included a promise of at least $2.3 billion in incentives and special service permits for work at HQ2 and at company employees’ homes.

Documents obtained by Crain’s showed an offer of a variety of tax rebate and credits, plus the possibility of more breaks had Amazon chosen Chicago.

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The company ultimately chose to split the coveted new headquarters, and its promised 50,000 new jobs, between Long Island City in New York and Crystal City, Virginia.

The documents obtained by Crain’s also show Amazon had narrowed its interest in Chicago to Related Midwest’s The 78 development in the South Loop. Officials from the e-commerce giant made a return trip to the site late in the HQ2 selection process. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien