Atlanta is still in the running to become home to Amazon’s massive second headquarters known as HQ2.
The online retail giant unveiled its list of top 20 finalists this week. The remaining contenders were selected from among 238 cities in the U.S. and Canada that bid on the project. Other cities still in the running include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Columbus (Ohio), Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Montgomery County (Maryland), Nashville, Newark, New York City, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Toronto, and Washington D.C.
These 20 finalists will now vie for the headquarters which is expected to house 50,000 highly paid tech and corporate workers.
HQ2 investment would impact entire state
If Amazon picks metro Atlanta, the investment would reverberate across the state, according to business leaders. Stephens County Development Authority Director Tim Martin called Amazon’s announcement “huge”, during an interview with WNEG News. “This is huge. It’s just a really big deal, especially with Georgia being considered,” Martin said.
Atlanta checks all the boxes that Amazon is looking for in a city to be home of the new headquarters, according to Martin. Those requirements include deep technology talent pools, research universities, world-class international airports and robust transit networks.
A recent poll by the Atlanta Journal Constitution found 65% of those surveyed said they would support giving incentives worth more than $1 billion to Amazon if it brings tens of thousands of jobs to the state. The AJC says that $1 billion figure could just be the starting point – several other competitors have already offered several times that amount in tax benefits.
Gov. Nathan Deal says Georgia’s “strong, highly competitive bid” highlights the state’s skilled workforce, strengthening infrastructure, business-friendly policies and connection to the global market. He so far has dismissed calls for lawmakers to focus on Amazon-specific legislation, preferring instead to wait to find out if Georgia makes the list of final three contenders.
If that happens Deal says, “I will call a special session so that we can make whatever statutory changes are required to accommodate a business opportunity of this magnitude. To do so before we know where we stand would be presumptuous on our part and premature.”
Martin says if Amazon selects Atlanta it will have a positive impact in every city across the state. When larger companies locate somewhere it influences other companies’ decisions to invest in the same community.
Amazon is expected to make a decision on where to locate HQ2 before the end of this year.
