Austin Mayor Steve Adler welcomes Amazon to The Domain.[/caption]

Online retailer Amazon welcomed elected officials and other stakeholders Aug. 13 to its new corporate offices in Northwest Austin. Site Director Terry Leeper said the facility has 165 full-time employees.

“We do intend to grow,” he said.

Leeper also announced two community outreach efforts. One effort sends Amazon’s female engineers to local high schools to promote women in engineering and coding positions; the other involves the company partnering with area colleges so students can work at Amazon part-time while obtaining a degree.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who spoke at the grand-opening event at 11501 Alterra Pkwy., said Austin’s rapid growth comes with challenges, including protecting the water and environment and keeping the city affordable.

“Companies like Amazon can give us the strength and the power and the tools to meet these challenges,” Adler said.

Amazon already promotes affordable goods and services, and with its new corporate presence it is also creating well-paying jobs with health care benefits to Austin workers, Adler said.

“Welcome to Austin, Amazon,” he said.

State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said the city is a perfect fit for Amazon.

“It just needed to happen,” he said, adding that Austin is a center for innovation and information.

District 7 Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool and state House Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, both welcomed Amazon to the city, and Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, said Amazon not only employs Texans but also gives the state's entrepeneurs the ability to grow their businesses.

Rami Mubasher, who owns Bastex, a Bastrop cell phone accessory retailer, said he and his family started using the Amazon platform in 2011. Bastex went from selling 30 units per day to 300 units per day, he said.

“We still see a lot of potential and growth opportunity,” Mubasher said. “Amazon has been the absolute lifeblood of our family.”