Amazon Picks Nashville For 5,000-Employee 'Operations Center Of Excellence'

Though it wasn't one of the two cities named as winners in the Amazon HQ2 sweepstakes, Nashville did feature in the announcement with what amounts to a second-place trophy.

In the same press release in which it named Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City in Arlington as future homes to 25,000-employee headquarters, Amazon announced plans to build an "Operations Center of Excellence" in Downtown Nashville. The e-commerce giant's plan calls for a $230M investment and 5,000 full-time, high-paying jobs.

Though it didn't name a specific site, Amazon indicated that the 1M SF office it plans to build will be on the Cumberland River north of the Gulch. The company estimates it will contribute more than $1B in incremental tax revenue over the next 10 years, and has been awarded a total of $102M in performance-based incentives from a combination of city and state.

Of those incentives, $65M will come in the form of a cash grant from the state of Tennessee, paid out over seven years and contingent on the creation of 5,000 jobs, for a per-employee rate of $13K. Nashville will be contributing its own grant of $15M, and the state is throwing in an additional tax credit of $21.7M to "offset franchise and excise taxes," according to Amazon's release.

The new hub will effectively triple the number of Amazon employees in central Tennessee, with the 2,500 currently in place working at distribution centers, according to WSMV.

“Amazon’s decision to expand its presence in Nashville is a direct result of the talented workforce and strong community we’ve built here,” Mayor David Briley said in a statement. “These are quality, high-paying jobs that will boost our economy, provide our workers with new opportunities and show the rest of the world that Nashville is a premiere location for business investment. We thank Amazon for investing in Nashville, and we look forward to welcoming them to this community.”