Amazon Narrows Down Locations For Second HQ, Austin Makes The Top 20

“Thank you to all 238 communities that submitted proposals. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” said Holly Sullivan, Amazon Public Policy.

Amazon announced the top 20 candidate cities for its second headquarters in North America.

In a press release Thursday, Amazon announced the 20 potential cities for the center’s new company.

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Austin, TX
3. Boston, MA
4. Chicago, IL
5. Columbus, OH
6. Dallas, TX
7. Denver, CO
8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Los Angeles, CA
10. Miami, FL
11. Montgomery County, MD
12. Nashville, TN
13. Newark, NJ
14. New York City, NY
15. Northern Virginia, VA
16. Philadelphia, PA
17. Pittsburgh, PA
18. Raleigh, NC
19. Toronto, ON
20. Washington D.C.

The online marketplace announced in 2017 its search for the location the second HQ2 they were intending to build would call home. The company received 238 proposals from cities, countries and territories throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Thank you to all 238 communities that submitted proposals. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” said Holly Sullivan, Amazon Public Policy. “Through this process, we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”

Amazon evaluated each of the proposals based on the criteria outlined in the RFP to create the list of 20 HQ2 candidates that will continue in the selection process. In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community. Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018.

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 are expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.

On Dec. 5, Inc. Magazine reported the company had narrowed down the proposals to six cities including Atlanta, Philadelphia and Austin. 

According to Community Impact, the IBM Broadmoor Campus is a potential front-runner in properties in Austin that Amazon could call home. Brandywine Realty Trust intends to the turn IBM into a mixed-use property, which will include office, residential and hotel space.

Amazon has four requirements for any potential properties. The company wants the property to be within 30 miles of a population center and a 45-minutes or less from the nearest airport as well as two miles or less from the major highways and have access to public transit.

IBM Broadmoor Campus sits on 66 acres and has one million in square footage. Amazon intends to review the top 20 cities’ proposals a little more closely in upcoming months before their final decision is mad.