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What did Pittsburgh offer Amazon? City's HQ2 proposal revealed

PITTSBURGH — Days after learning that Pittsburgh was not chosen by Amazon for the location of its second headquarters, officials revealed details of the city's proposal on Thursday morning.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto and Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, provided a review of the proposal meant to lure Amazon’s HQ2 to Pittsburgh.

The $2.1 billion incentive package was specifically designated for improvements to affordable housing, job training, infrastructure and transportation for everyone, not just Amazon.

Fitzgerald said no existing tax dollars would have gone to Amazon. All incentives would have been from money generated by new taxes expected to come from Amazon’s move over 25 years.

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Included in the bid was an extension of the city’s light rail system. But both Fitzgerald and Peduto said they never got far enough in negotiations with Amazon to pick an area to which the system would be extended.

Peduto clarified that each aspect of the proposal would have required approval from the Pittsburgh City Council, the Allegheny County Council and local school boards.

The five main sites highlighted in Pittsburgh’s proposal were the Hill District, Hazelwood, Swissvale, the Strip District and near the airport.

STORY: Amazon passes on Pittsburgh, announces selection of NYC, northern Va. for HQ2

While city officials never made it to the point of final negotiations with Amazon, Fitzgerald said there was a debrief with the company. The biggest factor for Amazon in choosing a location for HQ2 was the size of the city.

In addition to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia had been among the 20 finalists for Amazon’s new facility.

Gov. Tom Wolf's administration revealed Tuesday that it made an offer valued at up to $4.6 billion over 25 years in taxpayer-paid incentives to Amazon, The Associated Press reported.

STORY: Pennsylvania's Amazon offer: $4.6 billion over 25 years

In the end, Amazon selected two cities for its HQ2 -- Long Island City, in New York City, and Arlington, Virginia.

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