Mississauga Offers up Downtown Area as Perfect Spot for Amazon

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Published October 19, 2017 at 9:36 pm

amazon

Mississauga is no stranger to business and has, over the years, attracted a plethora of well-known employers to the city.

Now, it’s doing its best to woo e-commerce giant Amazon by singing the praises of what it’s calling its premier downtown site–and its desire to attract the company makes sense, as the brand’s second North American headquarters (HQ2) could create up to 50,000 high paying jobs.

“Mississauga’s thriving, growing and transit-oriented downtown provides global-business giant, Amazon, the opportunity to invest, expand and remain ahead of the competition on nearly 180 acres of potential lands located within our mixed-use downtown core, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said in a statement.

Toronto Global – the new foreign-direct investment agency representing the Toronto Region – is leading the Toronto Region’s bid to attract Amazon’s new second headquarters, known as HQ2.

Mississauga is a funding partner of Toronto Global.

Professionals from Mississauga’s Economic Development Office (EDO) have worked closely with Toronto Global to align Mississauga’s value proposition with the anticipated $5-billion US investment.

As the Toronto Global submission highlights, Mississauga’s premier site is ideal because it’s adjacent to Square One and incredibly close to Mississauga City Hall, Central Library, the Living Arts Centre, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, Sheridan College, Celebration Square and more.

“The University of Toronto Mississauga – part of Canada’s largest university – is also linked to the downtown through east-west bus services,” Mayor Crombie added.

The submission further highlights how Mississauga’s City Centre office district has three million square feet within the larger 36 million square foot Metro West marketplace, and can readily accommodate Amazon’s 500,000 square foot requirement. They document also says the area provides an opportunity to develop a campus similar to the Seattle layout.

The document also notes that Mississauga’s downtown site has immediate proximity to the City Transit Hub that provides direct access to GO Transit rail and bus services, along with light rail and bus rapid transit stops, a regional bus station, and local bus services.

“Our downtown core will be home to four new light rail transit stops (LRT) as part of the 20 kilometer Hurontario LRT. Construction on the LRT is projected to be underway in 2018,” Crombie added. “In March, our partners in the provincial government made important upgrades to the Square One Bus Terminal that will improve commuter travel for workers, students, visitors and residents who rely on the second busiest terminal in the GO Bus network.”

Crombie also highlighted the commendable qualifications of the citizenry.

“Access to a diverse, large and educated workforce is an important part of Amazon’s consideration for choosing a city to be home to its HQ2,” she said. “Over 66 per cent of Mississauga’s workforce population has a post-secondary education. We have a young and ambitious population, which exceeds both the national and provincial averages. Mississauga is one hour from 21 different universities and colleges and there are 38,000 international students within 60 minutes of our city.”

“Mississauga’s value proposition speaks for itself. We are open for business.”

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