Onward, upward: After failed Amazon bid, Jacobs sets sights on Apple

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs discussed improving job growth during the 2018 Orange County Economic Summit on Friday, one day after Orlando lost its bid to be the site of Amazon's second North American headquarters.

Jacobs said during Friday's summit at Orange County Convention Center that she was disappointed by the company's decision.

She said that the region must do more to improve its transit system if it is to lure other tech giants, and she said it starts with the expansion of SunRail and the extension of Brightline to Central Florida.

"I would have loved to have been (in) the top 20. I don't want to be coy about that," she said. "But I'll tell you, five years ago, 10 years ago, we would have never even thought of putting our name in the hat."

Jacobs said she doesn't know why Orlando was eliminated from contention, but she said she believes the area is destined to attract other large businesses.

"Our time is coming," she said. "We are a young city, by all standards. We have so much momentum ahead of us."

Jacobs said that the county seeks to entice Apple, which said this week that it will hire 20,000 people in the United States.

Cox Media Group