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Ginther Comments On Columbus Losing Amazon HQ2

Amazon made it official Tuesday - Columbus is out of the running to host the online retailer's second headquarters. 

Amazon confirms published reports that the facility will be split between Long Island City, New York and Crystal City, Virginia. Columbus offered 2.3 billion dollars in tax breaks to Amazon, owned by one of the weathliest men in the world, in trying to land the facility. Mayor Andy Ginther: 

Columbus was one of 20 finalist cities. Amazon cited affordability and quality public transportation as reasons for choosing the winners. Columbus has a low cost of living, but it's public transit system does not compare with New York and Washington. It's public transit system is also why Columbus lost its bid to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Both communities chosen for the facility are riverfront stretches of major metropolitan areas with ample transportation and space for workers. But there are many differences.  Crystal City is a thicket of 1980s-era office towers. It lost thousands of federal jobs over the past 15 years. Long Island City is an old manufacturing area cultivating a new image as a hub for technology, arts and urban lving. Brian MacMahon is a real estate agent  in Crystal City. He says more people are expressing interest in buying property there after reports of Amazon's decision surfaced last week.

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50 thousand new jobs will be created. 

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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