A day after Amazon bailed on New York, the Space Jam is on.
Newark’s favorite son, four time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal -- and, more importantly, multi-millionaire real estate investor -- is out there on Twitter expressing his support to bring the online giant to the Brick City.
Earlier on Friday morning, Gov. Phil Murphy -- who we should point out, stands a mere 6′4″ -- said he contacted the company directly to reiterate that “we still have that welcome mat out," during an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s “Daybreak: America.”
Newark and state officials have continued talks with the online retail giant, even after the retailer decided to bifurcate its second headquarters in New York and Crystal City, Virginia.
It’s not clear whether O’Neal has made any other entreaties, but he’s been active in Newark real estate for years now. Shortly after he won his fourth NBA title, he formed the O’Neal Group, a real estate venture focused on mixed-use development projects.
In 2013, O’Neal announced a deal to create the city’s first new hi-rise apartment in 50 years. In October 2017, construction finally began on the 168-apartment, $79 million project developed by Boraei Development and O’Neal, just steps from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and used to house the old Science Park High School.
“I invest in things that are going to make a difference," O’Neal told NJ Advance Media last April.
But Amazon, for its part, said in a statement Thursday they “do not intend to re-open the HQ2 search at this time.”
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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