Amazon is looking to build a second headquarters site in North America, and is accepting proposals from potential state and local government hosts.
Founder/CEO Jeff Bezos said the new $5 billion facility will “be a full equal” to the company’s current headquarters in downtown Seattle, which it occupied in 2010.
The e-tailer described its “HQ2” as a complete headquarters, rather than a satellite office, and plans to fill it with as many as 50,000 new and current executives and team members.
Current managers will have the option to move their groups to the new corporate space, remain in Seattle, or maintain a presence in both locations, Amazon said.
The company said it favors metro areas with populations of 1 million or more and a stable, business-friendly environment. It said it also prefers urban or suburban locations that can attract and retain strong technical talent, particularly in software development and related fields.
No timetable was disclosed.
Amazon’s current headquarters complex (HQ1) features 33 buildings, 8.1 million square feet of space and 24 restaurants feeding over 40,000 employees. The company estimates it added $38 billon to Seattle’s economy from 2010-2016.
Procedures for submitting proposals can be found here.
Separately, Amazon announced plans to build its first distribution center in New York State. The new 855,000-square-foot warehouse will be located in Staten Island, and will be staffed by more than 2,250 full-time workers.
The state-of-the-art facility will also employ Amazon Robotics to assist in pick, pack and ship operations, Amazon said.
As with its forthcoming second-headquarters complex, no timetable was given for completion.
The new facility will likely support same-day delivery in New York City and its environs, as Amazon continues to saturate the country with infrastructure.
But while its brick-and-mortar ubiquity is dramatically cutting delivery times to customers, it also has caused Amazon to relinquish its tax-free edge in online transactions — perhaps an acceptable if not inevitable tradeoff in Amazon’s calculus.
