Nashville to make bid for Amazon's second headquarters, 50,000 jobs

• Amazon is expected to invest $5 billion in the new headquarters site.
• Full-time employees will earn average annual total compensation of more than $100,000 over the next 10 to 15 years.
• The online retailer is already a major employer in Middle Tennessee.

Nashville has a strong case to make as the city prepares to bid for online retail giant Amazon's second corporate headquarters, which will involve up to 50,000 jobs.

"Within the Southeast region, you're a legitimate contender," said John H. Boyd, principal in Princeton, N.J.-based location consultants The Boyd Company Inc.

But other experts see drawbacks that could affect the Music City chances of landing the project. Those include falling short on Amazon's mass transit requirement and questions about whether Nashville can meet the Seattle-based online retailer's workforce needs.

More:5 reasons Nashville will land the Amazon HQ (and 2 reasons why it won't)

"The business environment is very strong," Memphis-based site selector Mike Mullis said. "Tennessee is a positive with no personal income tax, overall very reasonable cost of living. But it gets down to workforce and the ability to move that many people by rapid transit."

On Thursday, Amazon said it planned to invest $5 billion to create the second headquarters site, which would be announced next year. Full-time employees will earn average annual total compensation of more than $100,000 over the next 10 to 15 years, according to the request for proposal.

What Amazon wants

In its request for proposal, Amazon said it will select a metro area with a population greater than one million, a "stable and business-friendly" environment and a location that attracts and retains "strong technical talent." The overall population of the 14-county Nashville region is roughly 1.87 million, according to U.S. Census data.

"In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community," the online retailer said.

After the Amazon news broke, Mayor Megan Barry said her economic development team would begin working with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the state to identify potential locations in Davidson County that would be a good fit for the online retailer’s needs.

“I’m confident that our socially progressive, pro-business climate, talented workforce, and overall great quality of life offers the type of environment that they are looking for in the city they’ll choose,” she said.

Access to mass transit, including rail, train, bus and subway were listed among core preferences for site requirements, which could limit Nashville’s viability. While Nashville leaders are pushing for a $6 billion transit plan, and Middle Tennessee officials have stressed the need for a region-wide solution, funding has yet to be approved. The city is planning a referendum vote in May that could help pay for solutions within Davidson County.

"We certainly are concerned that our current transit system does not meet the needs of the public now and for the future, which is why the Mayor is working to develop a transit plan based on the nMotion strategic plan which will be presented to the public later this year and hopefully the voters next year," Mayor Barry's spokesman Sean Braisted said.

More:Amazon to add second headquarters with up to 50,000 jobs

Amazon said the second headquarters will resemble the online retailer's Seattle corporate site, which from 2010 through 2016 added $38 billion to the local economy there.

Amazon is already a major employer in Middle Tennessee. The online retailer more than 2,500 local employees overall at pair of distribution and warehousing fulfillment centers in Murfreesboro and Lebanon and a sortation center at 50 Airways Blvd. in Nashville.

Nashville's pitch will likely include Middle Tennessee's business-friendly environment and quality of life, no state income tax and access to a talented workforce in a city once known as the “Athens of the South.”

"Given that they have operations already in the area and Nashville is centrally located with access to a significant portion of the country's population, Nashville would complement their existing headquarters in Seattle," said Barry Smith, president of Nashville-based commercial real estate firm Eakin Partners.

Locally, Amazon's employee recruitment efforts could be boosted by 123,000 college students in the Nashville area and 26,000 graduates each year, economic development officials say.

 Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.