R.I. Commerce Corp. says it will not release Amazon application

COURTESY R.I. COMMERCE CORP./PRESTON SCOTT COHEN INC.
THE R.I. COMMERCE CORP. added new renderings for potential Amazon HQ2 sites to its pitch website as well as local business leaders' testimonials on the state. Details of Rhode Island's offer to Amazon were not disclosed. / COURTESY R.I. COMMERCE CORP./PRESTON SCOTT COHEN INC.

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has pitched several locations within the state for the North American headquarters for Amazon, but will not publicly identify specific sites, or release its supporting documents, according to a response provided to Providence Business News, which has requested the application under state public records law.

In a brief interview Thursday, Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor said the state was relying on its existing programs of incentives and had had communications following the submission of the application with Amazon. He would not elaborate on the follow-up communications or identify what incentives the state was proffering.

Amazon has asked applicants to enter a nondisclosure agreement, he noted.

“Amazon requested that we sign a nondisclosure agreement,” Pryor said. “That doesn’t mean we will be unable to say anything at all. It does mean it will be something I have to consider.”

- Advertisement -

In a Nov. 10 letter, responding to a request by PBN for the application documents, an attorney for R.I. Commerce Corp. cited an exemption under state law that allows the following to be withheld from public disclosure: “reports and statements of strategy or negotiation with respect to the investment or borrowing of public funds, until such time as those transactions are entered into. … The responsive documents are withheld from disclosure … because they reflect the Corporation’s strategy to attract Amazon to Rhode Island and contain discussion of potential investment of public funds.”

Boston and other locations released their submissions publicly, or identified specific sites being offered for development of the headquarters. But Rhode Island was not alone in holding its proposal. Austin, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri, among other locations, have not released their bids.

Pryor noted the state had released several supporting documents, including videos of support from Rhode Island business executives, the identification of eight towns and cities interested in hosting Amazon, and conceptual renderings of buildings provided by some of the interested cities.

The state’s approach was to ask the Rhode Island Association of Cities and Towns to communicate with its members. Towns and cities that wanted to compete for the headquarters were invited to submit a proposal.

Rhode Island, as a state, submitted a single application to Amazon by its October deadline that included all the submissions Commerce RI received that were substantive responses.

When asked if the state had prioritized one or more locations, he said: “We aimed to let each municipality shine.”

Providence, Pawtucket-Central Falls and Warwick were among the interested locations. Within Providence, sites surrounding the Statehouse and another in the I-195 Redevelopment District were identified in renderings later released by Commerce RI.

Pryor said he thinks Rhode Island has a shot, and that it has made its shared regional economy with Boston and access to New York a part of its pitch.

“We are very close to Boston and New York. It’s definitely part of the argument. But, best of both worlds. By locating in Rhode Island, a company can access all of the university, intellectual and financial resources of Boston, and New York for that matter. But at the same time, Rhode Island is home to exceptional universities of our own, great medical centers and of course, from a quality of life perspective, phenomenal urban experiences, great beaches,” he said.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.

No posts to display