Huntington Beach and Long Beach team up on a bid for Amazon’s HQ2

The cities of Huntington Beach and Long Beach have crossed county lines in a bid to lure Amazon into building its planned second headquarters along the Southern California coast.

On Wednesday, the cities proposed that one site in Huntington and two in Long Beach — a region they’re pitching as the “Amazon Coast” — would be good locations for the Seattle-based company’s project, nicknamed HQ2.

In Surf City, officials are touting the Boeing Co. land at 5301 Bolsa Ave. as “Amazon Sand.” The roughly 175-acre property contains more than 300,000 square feet of existing facilities, according to a news release.

Furthermore, officials said, the site has approved entitlements to increase the square footage by 790,800. In total, the property could have 5.4 million buildable square feet, city officials said.

Boeing announced last year that it would move more than 2,000 jobs from the Bolsa Avenue site to other locations by 2020.

The property was once home to McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing purchased in 1997. As of last year, the site had about 5,000 employees.

In Long Beach, officials are promoting “Amazon Sea” — space within three downtown buildings, including the One World Trade Center high-rise — and “Amazon Air,” the former Boeing property next to Long Beach Airport.

All three sites “create a trifecta that provides stability, balance and strength” for Amazon, city officials said in a news release.

Huntington Beach and Long Beach — using the newly branded “HBLB” moniker — plan to deliver their proposal Thursday. It will include a specially designed surfboard made by local shaper Bob “The Greek” Bolen.

They also have created a pitch video on Amazon’s Twitch platform that includes a cameo by Huntington Beach surfer Brett Simpson.

Huntington Beach Mayor Barbara Delgleize said in a statement that if Amazon were to consider Huntington and Long Beach, “I know having them here would only bring out the best in all of us — a new spark of inspiration for not only the Los Angeles and Orange County regions but Southern California as a whole.

“Where else can you go to have so much connectivity and accessibility? And with so many outdoor recreation opportunities and perfect year-round weather, Amazonians will love the SoCal vibe and culture.”

The Amazon Coast concept was created by each city’s visitors bureau and InterTrend Communications, a Long Beach-based advertising agency.

Amazon says it expects to invest more than $5 billion in construction and have its second headquarters equal in importance to the one in Seattle. It could accommodate as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs, the company says.

Huntington and Long Beach join the city of Irvine, along with Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren, in expressing interest in HQ2. Also, Santa Ana developer Michael Harrah recently pitched his “Orange County Silicon City” proposal to Amazon. It would include redeveloping the Willowick Golf Course and the Orange County Register’s recently vacated building, both in Santa Ana.

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Twitter: @BradleyZint