Amazon revealed 20 finalists for its second North American headquarters today in a press release promising it was a “full equal to its Seattle HQ”. The cities/areas are listed in alphabetical order, with 19 being in the U.S. and one being in Canada:
– Atlanta, Georgia
– Austin, Texas
– Chicago, Illinois
– Columbus, Ohio
– Dallas, Texas
– Denver, Colorado
– Indianapolis, Indiana
– Los Angeles, California
– Miami, Florida
– Montgomery County, Maryland
– Nashville, Tennessee
– Newark, New Jersey
– New York City, New York
– Northern Virginia, Virginia
– Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
– Raleigh, North Carolina
– Toronto, Ontario Canada
– Washington D.C.
Holly Sullivan of Amazon Public Policy says there were 238 proposals and that getting it down to 20 was “very tough.” Now the company will focus on these 20 remaining proposals and hope to make a decision by the end of this year.
Part of the statement reads:
Amazon HQ2 will be a complete headquarters for Amazon, not a satellite office. The company plans to invest over $5 billion and grow this second headquarters to accommodate as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.
This is a great thing for both Amazon and the area that is eventually selected to get Amazon HQ2. It could be a big boost to the community in many regards, but there are also concerns about the price of living increasing as well as traffic increases in the area that gets the behemoth of an HQ from one of the world’s biggest companies.
Considering Amazon’s current North America HQ is in Seattle, Washington, a location out east might be the best bet for Amazon’s selection (Los Angeles is the only West Coast finalist).
do not want. no thanks.