Dallas' Exposition Park Is Making a Pitch for Amazon HQ2

Property owners of Exposition Park have filed a proposal with the City of Dallas to be considered as an Amazon HQ2 location. Madison Partners LLC put together a group and submitted a proposal on Friday, which was the city's deadline in the fast pace competition for what Amazon has described will be a $5 billion investment to build offices for as many as 50,000 employees.Two other properties in the city limits of Dallas have made proposals to city hall: the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas and a North Oak Cliff area just south of downtown on the property of the Oak Farms Dairy plant.Exposition Park is located next to Fair Park and it's pitching its advantages that include a DART train stop on the site and a fiber connection that Amazon would need. It also believes are an infill site has an edge with Amazon versus "the flurry of greenfields they will likely receive," said Jon Hetzel of Madison Partners. Amazon has said it either wants 100 acres of undeveloped property with utility infrastructure in place, or a 500,000-square-foot building with additional development options nearby. If successful, Hetzel said, Exposition Park would jumpstart Fair Park revitalization and provide jobs for South Dallas residents. "It's five minutes to Lakewood and Deep Ellum and South Dallas residents can get there without getting on a highway or on DART," he said. The site also fits into the Texas Department of Transportation's CityMAP report that studied to how to rebuild aging highways around downtown. The report includes building a park over a portion of I-30 in Exposition Park to make the area walkable. Hetzel said the group owns several buildings in the area and has found ways to fulfill Amazon's requirements while maintaining the old historical buildings.Area cities have to submit proposals to the Dallas Regional Chamber by Friday. The regional chamber is putting a bid together for Amazon. The e-commerce giant has set Oct. 19 as a deadline and cities across the U.S. with populations of at least 1 million people have been scrambling to submit proposals. Amazon has said it will maintain its headquarters in Seattle which is spread out over 33 buildings in 8 million square feet when its completed in 2019. Amazon HQ2 will house its future growth and will be built over a ten year period starting in 2019. Twitter: @MariaHalkias  Continue reading...