A couple of months ago, Amazon made an announcement regarding their plan to build the Amazon HQ2 or their second headquarters in North America. The billion dollar company revealed that they are expecting to invest about $5 billion for the construction that will open opportunities that include 50,000 high-paying jobs. They also revealed that whichever city they choose, they could guarantee a massive boost in their economy just like what they did in Seattle.
The company has been searching for the perfect city for more than a year now, and they have finally narrowed it down to 20. Their second home may be in one of the most popular cities in the country but Amazon revealed recently that they will be splitting HQ2 into two different cities.
The Search Is StillOn
Before the year ends, the third most valuable company in the United States must find a new home for their second headquarters. In a statement given by its CEO and founder Jeff Bezos last week in New York City, his intuition will be the one to tell him which is the perfect city for them to build their new home.
Despite how much journalist and author Walter Isaacson try to get Bezos to drop a hint, all he kept on saying was that the decision will come from the heart. The company has been gathering all data from most of the cities hoping that they will come across that special spot.
Amazon executives have also traveled around to see and experience the cities themselves for the past couple do months. Some of the top favorites according to some sources are within New York and Virginia, but everyone is still waiting for the final and official announcement that will be made by Amazon anytime before the year ends.
According to some experts, the empire Amazon built in Seattle will not have the same effect on the city that they will choose for the HQ2. The chief executive officer of a career website known as Ladders, Marc Cenedella said that Amazon will most likely look for two kinds of employees.
The first one will belong to the low-wage warehouse, while the second will belong to the high-wage intellectual workers. Cenedella said that it Amazon 20 long years to create what they have, a trying to recreate it may take them another 20 to succeed.
Top Picks For The HQ2
The top picks for the Amazon HQ2 are the city of Long Island in New York as well as the Crystal City area of Arlington in Virginia. It was reported that the second headquarters will be split into two cities and these two are on the top of the list.
Sources have revealed that Amazon executives met with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in Manhattan last month. The talk allegedly consisted of how the state of New York could offer hundreds of millions of dollars when it comes to subsidies. Gov. Cuomo said in an interview that he is doing the best he can to lure Amazon to their state, he even joked about changing his name to Amazon Cuomo just for the company to pick them. The Amazon executives also met up with Mayor Bill de Blasio separately.
Experts continue to point towards the Crystal City’s direction as a front-runner, but unfortunately, neither Amazon nor any Arlington official decided to make a comment about the decision. Experts also speculate that the reason Amazon would most likely choose to split their HQ2 in half is that they don’t want to be the one to blame for the cause of heavy traffic in the area. Splitting between two cities will also allow them to have a greater leverage when it comes to negotiating tax incentives.
Residents of Arlington reportedly received Amazon gift cards for participating in a survey that the company has been conducting if ever Amazon chooses the city as a second home. Amazon needs to move fast since their goal is to have the office ready for use by next year.
