Amazon.com has released a list of 20 regions in the United States and Canada that the online retail giant is considering as possible sites for its second headquarters.
The list, released Thursday, includes major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta, as well as smaller communities including Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Nashville.
The nation’s capital is heavily represented, with D.C., northern Virginia and the Maryland suburb of Montgomery County also making the cut.
Two long-shot proposals to locate the headquarters in Maine also did not make the final list. The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority had offered the former naval air base in Brunswick, and the town of Scarborough suggested building an Amazon campus at the Scarborough Downs racetrack.
Amazon has said it is seeking an international hub with strong educational institutions and high quality of life that can support as many as 50,000 future employees. The company projects that it may need as many as 8 million square feet of space to house its new offices. (Amazon chief executive, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.)
Amazon’s announcement in September that it was looking for a location for a second headquarters set off a flurry of activity among cities and communities nationwide.
Driven by Amazon’s promise of economic growth, local leaders in areas ranging from Connecticut to Oklahoma vied to host the company, which is currently based in Seattle. In its detailed request for proposals, Amazon said that its presence in Seattle had contributed roughly $38 billion to the city’s economy over six years.
But the announcement also raised more difficult questions about the influence of large tech giants on cities and the possible unintended consequences of giving tax breaks and other benefits to an already successful corporate titan. Some Seattle residents have said Amazon’s growth put strain on the city’s transportation infrastructure and has contributed to a dramatic spike in housing costs – affecting low-income residents and favoring the tech elite.
Amazon said it now expects to hold discussions with the remaining metro areas to “keep exploring opportunities.” It declined to say when the company may make a final decision.
The list:
• Atlanta
• Austin, Texas
• Boston
• Chicago
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dallas
• Denver
• Indianapolis
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Montgomery County, Maryland
• Nashville
• Newark, New Jersey
• New York City
• Northern Virginia
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Toronto
• Washington D.C.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
