Amazon's 20 Finalists For Second Headquarters Includes Boston Area
BOSTON (CBS) – The Boston area is still in the running to host Amazon's second headquarters after the company narrowed its list of candidates to 20 on Thursday.
New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Miami are among the other major metropolitan areas that made the cut. No other cities in New England are on the list.
Today we are announcing the communities that will proceed to the next step in the HQ2 process. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity https://t.co/x1bFYbk4Ui pic.twitter.com/J2x0HHzBTR
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) January 18, 2018
A spokesperson for Amazon told WBZ-TV the company selected proposals from both Boston and Somerville to be considered for the Boston metropolitan area.
Boston has pitched the Suffolk Downs site for Amazon to build on. The city also promoted possible collaborations with local universities and its proximity to the MBTA and Logan Airport.
Somerville proposed establishing the second headquarters "along the transit lines that link our adjacent Greater Boston communities."
Mayor Marty Walsh said he was "proud" that Boston landed on the shortlist.
"As a thriving city with a talented and diverse workforce, culture of innovation and opportunity for all, I see no better city than Boston for Amazon to call their second home," he said in a statement.
The 20 finalists were chosen out of 238 applicants.
"In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company's hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community," the company stated.
Amazon promises to invest $5 billion and create 50,000 high paying jobs at its new second headquarters.
A final decision is expected to be made this year.