Boston Among 20 Cities Chosen as Finalists for Amazon’s New Headquarters

On Thursday, the tech conglomerate narrowed down the list of finalists for its second headquarters, which they call “HQ2” – winnowing 238 bids down to some 20 cities that could potentially host the next major Amazon campus.

Amazon’s HQ2 is likely to have a great economic impact on the chosen city, potentially lowering unemployment and increasing average wages.

In an email to the task force, Amazon said it plans to keep the proposal on hand for the future.

Employees there would earn an average of $100,000 per year, Amazon says.

“We know headquarters locations are driven by where the CEO has a home”, said Richard Florida, a professor and researcher who studies urban development.

Washington, D.C. has offered Amazon a number of incentives, according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by WAMU and obtained by the Washington Business Journal.

Amazon also received bids from cities in Mexican regions, but ended up narrowing the list of finalists to US and Canadian cities, according to the Times. And its East Coast location would be a plus with the company’s home office in Seattle. There is more available land and cost of living is cheaper. But two other Texas cities did. The TO bid document even gives brief shout-outs to local institutions like McMaster University and Mohawk College as well as recreational highlights like our escarpment parks and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Mayor Ras Baraka believes his city has a real shot at winning over Amazon.

Austin and Dallas reportedly came as finalist frontrunners for the position early on in the search, as both are very well situated to meet the criteria Amazon put forward in its initial announcement.

The online retail giant received more than 200 proposals from cities across the country, narrowing it to 20 cities, which will pose some serious competition for Pittsburgh.

Zemsky, in December, said the state incentives offered to Amazon would be the same regardless of where it locates. Brunson says ranking in the top 20 is a victory in and of itself, and says low business taxes and a culture of community help the city stand out. “They’re all spending more because they’re making more“.

“I’m not totally disappointed”. “That requires a lot intentionality, but it’s possible”.

Halifax’s full bid was kept sealed for competitive reasons but the package will be released publicly this week, Hanlon said.

Scholes said he had advice for any of the finalists.