Shoemaker quashes Station Mall Amazon headquarters rumour

Fake news!

That rumour about the City of Sault Ste. Marie offering Station Mall to online retail giant Amazon is simply not true.

That's the word today from Ward 3 Councillor Matthew Shoemaker, head of the Twin Sault's Amazon HQ2 bid committee.

"It's not that building," Shoemaker said today when asked by SooToday about the rumour.

The city's bid to attract Amazon's $5-billion second headquarters and its 50,000 jobs is now public, except for blacked-out portions related to information involving third parties.

The most sensitive of the redactions, Shoemaker says, relate to the local site being pitched to Amazon as the future home of its 500,000-square-foot building.

All references to the proposed location have been blacked out from public copies of the bid document, but non-redacted information reveals that the city has three other potential sites up its sleeve if Amazon doesn't like the one proposed.

"Said sites would require more servicing and upgrades but could be explored at Amazon's request," the city's bid states.

"Additionally, several smaller properties (under 40 acres) exist in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan that could be utilized for other functions."

In November 2015, mall owner Algoma Central Corp. announced its intention to sell Station Mall as part of a divestiture of real estate assets.

But the St. Catharines, Ontario-based firm changed its mind after Sears Canada decided to close its bookend outlet anchoring the mall's east end.

"If Amazon came here and said they wanted the site, that would be up to them to negotiate with Algoma Central Properties to get it. But that's not the site we've identified," Shoemaker said.

In his cover letter to Amazon, Shoemaker argues that our small population isn't the weak point in our bid.

Actually, he says, it's our strongest point.

"The Twin Saults Amazon Bid Committee considers our proposal to be bold," Shoemaker says.

"We believe it is as bold as Mr. Bezos' vision to start an online retailer when e-commerce was in its infancy."

"A million-person metropolitan area? We don't have it. With  a joint population of approximately 90,000 people, we believe that the positives of our size far outweigh any negatives."

"What Amazon gets in the Twin Saults is a lifestyle that no other city competing for HQ2 can match."

"It is a lifestyle that will contribute to the healthiest, happiest and most productive workforce Amazon could ask for."

The bid committee has created a website that went live yesterday.

Amazon expects to announce the winner of its second-headquarters competition in 2018.