Amazon recently made the day of chamber and economic development officials around the country when it announced plans to open a second corporate headquarters somewhere in North America. Communities are now busy preparing bids for the project, which many speculate will create a spirited competition to out-tax-break and out-incentivize each other to attract a headquarters with as many as 50,000 high-paying, quality jobs.

I encourage Jeff Bezos and Amazon to choose Colorado for what they’re calling HQ2. And I suggest that they not demand a king’s ransom in return.

By way of background, I’m familiar with how these corporate courtships work. Nearly a decade ago DaVita launched a process to choose a new headquarters community. At the time we were located in southern California. We looked at Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, all the usual suspects. But in the end Denver rose above the pack and moving here was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

Since then I have participated in recruiting other companies to move here — some successfully, some not. Our leaders will extol the virtues of this remarkable place for the highly educated workforce, outstanding quality of life, and reasonable taxes, to name a few.

But there are less tangible and equally compelling reasons for Amazon to make Colorado its second home.

This is a community that behaves in uniquely healthy ways. We have a history of electing pragmatic, non-ideological leaders, which is a direct product of a practical electorate that’s more interested in solving problems and tackling challenges than political gamesmanship. We retain a strong streak of our Western heritage, including the independent streak.

And it goes beyond politics. People throughout Colorado work together in extraordinary ways. There are surprisingly few barriers to engagement here. We cared deeply about finding a community that had a “problem-solving DNA.” And we found it. This, along with what is one of the healthiest, fittest populations in America creates what I call a “healthy ecosystem.” They’re not just interrelated, they’re interdependent.

This healthy ecosystem is important for several reasons. First, it helps in attracting and recruiting the kind of people DaVita and Amazon want. Second, it’s critical in helping businesses retain those same people. And third, it helps keep those people and their families healthy and happy while they’re here.

A company can do a lot to create a culture of health, but it’s way easier when it’s part of a healthy ecosystem. No community in America can compete with us in this regard.

I would expect it would be nothing more than a coincidence if Amazon picks the location that offers far more financial incentives than others, just as it would have been for us. But it wasn’t.

Colorado offered far less. Amazon likely recognizes that rich packages are often used to mask or compensate for serious deficiencies. On top of that, incumbent companies and taxpayers foot the bill, and over the long-term Amazon becomes one of those incumbents.

On the other hand, communities that don’t incentivize are a non-starter too. There are high costs associated with locating corporate headquarters, and business leaders have a responsibility to make prudent decisions.

Most cities and states have non-disclosure agreements attached to their incentive packages and we want to honor ours. The Denver Post reported we were offered more than $5 million in incentives when we first moved, and nearly $13 million when we announced our headquarters expansion.

As a result, we have invested heavily in Colorado. We went from 450 to nearly 4,000 well-paying jobs. We’ve contributed $8.5 million to Colorado charities. By the chamber of commerce’s estimation, we contributed $68 million to the Colorado economy in hotel rooms and training alone. We are the origination point for well over $100 million in taxes, and spent multiples of that constructing our Lower Downtown headquarters campus with a 14-story tower and soon-to-be 20-story tower.

And to emphasize the point, we were offered more than double the amount by another state during our first move. And could have been awarded far more than double for our headquarters expansion elsewhere.

When we first visited Denver, I had a short meeting with then-Mayor John Hickenlooper. He was prepared to talk tax incentives, relocation grants and other benefits. But my first question was: “What are you doing to make this community the best place to live for DaVita teammates, their children and grandchildren?” That question ultimately melded the appropriate level of incentives with Colorado’s equally important long-term quality-of-life planning. Both sold us on Colorado.

One more thing: Colorado’s incentives are performance-based. A company only gets the tax break after they deliver economic value.

So I encourage Bezos and Amazon to make the same choice. Amazon is in the ascendancy, formidable but still forming. Denver and Colorado are on the same trajectory and Amazon could help shape our next chapter.

Colorado would welcome them, and at the same time expect them to help us move forward in the pursuit of shared prosperity and distinctive health and spirit. That is what communities do.

Kent Thiry is chairman and CEO of DaVita.

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