Amazon Narrows Down List of Possible Second Headquarters Locations to 20

By Brian Delpozo

After months of speculation in the press, Amazon has officially narrowed down the field of possible locations for its second headquarters to 20. According to the company, of the 238 metropolitan areas that produced proposals, only Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Miami; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New York City; Northern Virginia; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Raleigh, North Carolina; Toronto; and Washington, D.C., remain.

The competition for the complex, dubbed HQ2 by the company, has been fierce due to the potential financial windfall that will come to whichever city/area is eventually chosen. According to Amazon, the company expects to invest, “over $5 billion and grow our second headquarters location to be a full equal to Amazon’s current campus in Seattle, creating as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and operation of HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.”

Due to those potential benefits, many of the cities have offered Amazon tax breaks and other incentives to lure the company. However, some, such as Metropolitan Policy Program official Amy Liu, are concerned about said incentives. She told NPR, “There is a whole system in economic development that has pitted states and cities against each other for corporate relocations. Amazon just happens to be very good at it.”

Despite these misgivings from some, Amazon expects to choose a site this year. According to the company, “In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information as necessary, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate our hiring plans as well as benefit our employees and the local community. We expect to make a decision in 2018.”