By TIM McNICHOLAS
A national news article, a tweet from a major tech company and an Indiana state representative’s bill: They all have one thing in common.
They’re contributing to the growing excitement in the push to get Amazon’s second headquarters in Indianapolis. The city and its adjacent suburb Fishers joined together to attract the electronic commerce company’s effort. The Indianapolis-Fishers bid was among 20 finalists announced Jan. 18.
A Friday morning tweet from Salesforce to Amazon said moving to Indy is a “no-brainer.” Salesforce is a cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco that has offices in Indianapolis.
A headline in Thursday’s New York Times reads, “Is Indianapolis Cool Enough For Amazon? It Might Be.”
Molly Chavers is the executive director of IndyHub, a nonprofit launched by the city to attract and engage professionals.
“This is the type of attention Indianapolis deserves,” Chavers said. “We aren’t New York. We aren’t Chicago. But we don’t necessarily want to be. You can live here, you can work here, you can make a life here and you don’t have to give up one of those things.”
Chavers said Indy’s unique atmosphere and affordability could be what’s catching Amazon’s attention.
State Rep. Justin Moed, a Democrat serving much of downtown Indianapolis, said his new bill makes the Circle City even more attractive to business leaders. House Bill 1080 would allow Indianapolis to explore options on building a light rail system, something lawmakers say is prohibited by part of a state law.
The House Roads and Transportation Committee advanced the bill Wednesday on a vote of 11-1. It could now go to the full House for consideration or be reassigned to another committee.
“I think this is a city on the move,” Moed said. “We need to make sure we meet the need of what their employees may want and what their company may need when they move here.”
If Amazon does pick Indianapolis, it might surprise the world. But, it won’t surprise everyone.
“We’re always going to punch above what others perceive as our weight class,” Chavers said.