The competition to host Amazon’s sought-after second headquarters is down to Denver and 19 other cities across North America.
On Thursday, Amazon announced it had narrowed down the crowded field of cities vying to host the company’s second headquarters, known as HQ2, to a short list of candidates that will continue in the selection process.
Others that made the cut included New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
In a statement, the company thanked all 238 communities that submitted proposals last year, saying the process of getting the list down to 20 cities was “very tough.”
“All the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” said Holly Sullivan with 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.”
The company released the list of 20 in alphabetical order: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Montgomery County, Maryland, Nashville, Newark, New York City, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Toronto, Washington.
Coloradans had mixed feelings about the announcement that Denver would advance.
"...Seattle is a cautionary tale. Locals point to snarled traffic, soaring housing prices, never-ending construction, and accelerated gentrification."
— Renae Eze (@RenaeEze) January 18, 2018
CO officials take a beat & think this through - I don't want to see what makes #Denver so special destroyed #AmazonHQ2 https://t.co/Vq3MiTUeHP
Denver secures a spot on Amazon's short list of 20 for its new campus. Nowhere has a better work life balance or better appreciation of property value. Also many talented engineers here. #AmazonHQ2 #AMZN #Denver #Colorado #bezos https://t.co/g5e1fMQT03
— Korey Schneider (@ksschneider15) January 18, 2018
HQ2 will be a complete headquarters for Amazon, not a satellite office, with 50,000 high-paying jobs, according to the company.
“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,” the company said in a statement.
Gov. John Hickenlooper applauded Denver's inclusion.
“It’s great to be on Amazon’s list of finalists as they consider the location of their second headquarters,” he said. “Colorado is one of the most business-friendly states in America and we believe the Denver region would be a great choice for Amazon.”
Sam Bailey, Vice President of the Denver Economic Development Corporation, which authored the city’s HQ2 bid, said the company’s economic impact would be beneficial to the state.
“It’s not so much growth that we couldn’t handle it,” he said. “I think we would see a lot of transformation that would really reflect all the investments we’ve made as a community here.”
Bailey said his office contacted the company Thursday, but had no further information on when the next step in the host city selection process would be made.
Amazon says it will have a final decision sometime in 2018.
