Amazon announced the search for a second North American headquarters on Thursday, saying it would give preference to areas with 1 million residents or more. It didn’t take long for cities to throw their names out for consideration:
Spokesperson for the City of Chicago: “Chicago’s unmatched workforce, world-class universities and unparalleled access to destinations throughout the world make it the perfect headquarters location for companies large and small. That’s also why Chicago has led the nation in corporate relocations for the last four years.”
William Cole, president and CEO of Baltimore Development Corporation: “Baltimore’s strategic location in the Mid-Atlantic and its accessibility via highway, rail, port and air, make us a great fit for Amazon’s second headquarters. Also, we’ve worked with Amazon in the past when they opened their distribution center and they know that we can be a good partner,”
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh: “I’ve already met with Bill Cole and we are excited by Amazon’s latest announcement and will pursue this opportunity aggressively to make a compelling case for Baltimore City as its second headquarter location.”
A Houston spokesperson: “Houston is definitely interested in the Amazon HQ project and will look into the process of formally soliciting it. Houston is the most diverse city in the nation, has always been a business-friendly environment, is the home of the number one US port for exports and has a proven history of cutting edge advances at places such as the Texas Medical Center and the NASA Manned Space Center as well as all across the energy industry. Recently Amazon began hiring 2,500 local workers for a distribution center here.”
“New York City has the most innovative and diverse tech sector in the nation. We are very interested in the possibility of Amazon locating a headquarters in the five boroughs, and believe the city’s competitive advantages position it well,” a spokesperson said.
Mayor Martin Walsh to Boston Business Journal: “If Amazon wants an East Coast headquarters, I don’t see any city better in America than Boston, Massachusetts.”
Dallas Mayor Michael Rawlings: “We’ve already contacted Amazon to express our interest and have proceeded to their prescribed next step. We will aggressively demonstrate that Dallas and our surrounding area would be the perfect spot for their expansive business needs. Amazon already has an extensive amount of business here. They’ve been good corporate citizens and we look forward to future conversations.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory: “I firmly believe that Toronto is a prime candidate to host Amazon’s second headquarters in North America. We are a bold, innovative city that has plenty of homegrown tech talent. We also continue to attract talent and companies from around the world. City staff are working with Toronto Global to make sure we put together an attractive bid for this opportunity. I will be leading the charge to make the case that Amazon should call Toronto home.”
Spokesperson from the City of Vancouver: “Yes, Vancouver will certainly be putting in a bid to submit for the HQ!”
Spokesperson from the City of Philadelphia: “Obviously, this is going to be a very competitive process. Philadelphia will be submitting a proposal and given their preference for a city with over 1,000,000 people, Philadelphia would provide them with a perfectly located East Coast hub where they have access to a rapidly growing millennial talent pool. We’re also much more affordable than other nearby east coast cities with similar population sizes.”
— Reporting by Paayal Zaveri and Deirdre Bosa. Writing by CNBC’s Anita Balakrishnan. Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
Source: Tech CNBC
From Dallas to Baltimore, these cities are already vying to be Amazon's new headquarters