Perhaps the country’s biggest contest after “America’s Got Talent” is Amazon’s search for a second headquarters town.
Well, after much speculation and odds-making, Amazon has whittled down the list of 238 contending townships to just 20 finalists (see list, below).
“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.”
Up next for the finalists are deeper dives into their proposals, requests for additional information, and further evaluations by Amazon. The e-tailer expects to make a final decision later this year.
The winning community can expect over $5 billion in direct Amazon investments and as many as 50,000 high-paying positions, while the ripple effect could generate tens of billions in additional investment and tens of thousands of additional jobs, Amazon said.
Here then are the finalists:
– Atlanta, GA
– Austin, TX
– Boston, MA
– Chicago, IL
– Columbus, OH
– Dallas, TX
– Denver, CO
– Indianapolis, IN
– Los Angeles, CA
– Miami, FL
– Montgomery County, MD
– Nashville, TN
– Newark, NJ
– New York City, NY
– Northern Virginia, VA
– Philadelphia, PA
– Pittsburgh, PA
– Raleigh, NC
– Toronto, ON
– Washington D.C.
