The list is getting longer, and the clock is ticking as cities across North America hustle for the chance to land the economic development prize of the century: Amazon’s second corporate headquarters.
The world’s largest online retailer is looking to build a $5 billion headquarters that would bring 50,000 high-paying, full-time jobs along with 8 million square feet of commercial space — a complex larger than the 6.6 million-square-foot Pentagon.
Seattle-based Amazon announced its plans on Sept. 7, inviting responses to a request for proposal (RFP) for the mega project that it is calling HQ2. The deadline is Oct. 19.
“This is unprecedented,” said Aaron Jodka, director of research for Colliers International in Boston. “There has never been a request like this in history,” and especially, he says, over such a short timeframe.
