Could the Valley land Amazon’s huge new headquarters?

Amazon’s plan to build a second corporate headquarters in an as-of-yet undetermined location has inspired something of a national frenzy as cities around the United States (Gary, Indiana jumped into the fray last week) compete for the huge new facility.

When Mayor Eric Garcetti confirmed earlier this month that Los Angeles was in the hunt for the headquarters, we wondered where in the city it might fit (the project will eventually fill up a whopping 8 million square feet of floor space). But City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield has one possible answer: The San Fernando Valley.

In an opinion piece published last week in the Los Angeles Daily News, Blumenfield proposes that Warner Center’s former Rocketdyne facility would be “the perfect location” for the development.

“The Valley doesn’t get the credit it deserves as an amazing place to work, live and raise a family,” writes Blumenfield.

The area might not have the same appeal as the rapidly expanding Silicon Beach area on the Westside, but Blumenfield argues that, under the Warner 2035 community plan, Warner Center is poised to become a hub of mixed use development in coming years.

For several years, plans have been in the works to transform the former Rocketdyne facility into an enormous urban development with residential towers, hotel space, and more. But, according to Blumenfield, the property is now “vacant, available and ready for sale.”

A number of major projects are slated to rise close to the Rocketdyne site in coming years, including a large-scale redevelopment of the Promenade shopping mall planned by Westfield. Expected to be completed in multiple phases, the project would bring 1,400 units of housing, two hotels, 600,000 square feet of offices and 244,000 square feet of retail space to the Warner Center area.

Amazon will be accepting proposals from city and state leaders for the new headquarters—expected to hold up to 50,000 employees—until October 19.

• LA will bid to host Amazon’s second corporate headquarters [Curbed LA]
• Amazon announces plans for new HQ in North America [Curbed]
• Is the San Fernando Valley’s future suburban? [Curbed LA]