Amazon, today, released a list of 20 cities that will proceed to the next step in the HQ2 selection process. The finalists were selected from a pool of 238 applicants vying for the 50,000 jobs and tens of billions of dollars of additional investment in the surrounding community that Amazon's second headquarters will create.
The final list has an abundance of eastern and Midwestern cities with Austin, Dallas, Denver, and Los Angeles being the only finalists west of the Mississippi. Toronto is the sole Canadian representative on the list while none of the proposals from Mexico made the cut. A full list of the 20 finalists can be seen below.
Over the next few months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to explore their proposals more deeply and request more information as necessary. Amazon says it will invest over $5 billion into the construction of HQ2 and construction and operation of the facility will create tens of thousands of jobs in addition to Amazon’s direct hiring.
Amazon expects to make its final decision at some point in 2018. The list of the 20 finalists includes:
- Boston
- New York City
- Newark
- Pittsburgh
- Philadelphia
- Montgomery County (Maryland)
- Washington, D.C.
- Raleigh
- Northern Virginia
- Atlanta
- Miami
- Toronto
- Columbus
- Indianapolis
- Chicago
- Denver
- Nashville
- Los Angeles
- Dallas
- Austin
UPDATE
Amazon's new HQ2 campus is being split across two cities, according to The Wall Street Journal. The article says Amazon has balked at the idea of finding 50,000 qualified employees (mainly top tech talent) in one city, and will isntead split HQ2 evenly into two projects in two separate cities. Finalist cities that may be awarded one of the two Amazon headquarters include Dallas, New York City, and Crystal City, Va.
As the cities have not even been announced yet, there are currently no designs for the projects, but it can be expected the e-commerce giant will follow trends of other large company headquarters recently constructed and put employee wellness and sustainability at the forefront of the design. Key features such as green space, roof gardens, and large windows with abundant natural daylight can be expected (while taking care to avoid the embarrassing problem Apple encounted in its new headquarters).
Related Stories
| Dec 12, 2014
COBE's striking 'concrete finned' scheme wins competition for Adidas' flagship building in Germany
Danish firm COBE has been announced the winner in a contest to design a new Adidas flagship building in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It beat out 29 other teams, including REX and Zaha Hadid.
| Dec 10, 2014
International Olympic Committee releases first images of new HQ in Switzerland
Designed by 3XN, the new headquarters is located within a park on the shores of Lake Geneva and adjacent to historic Château de Vidy, which has been the iconic home of the IOC.
| Dec 6, 2014
Future workplace designs shouldn’t need to favor one generation over another, says CBRE report
A new CBRE survey finds that what Millennials expect and need from offices doesn’t vary drastically from tenured employees.
| Dec 2, 2014
Nonresidential construction spending rebounds in October
This month's increase in nonresidential construction spending is far more consistent with the anecdotal information floating around the industry, says ABC's Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
| Nov 29, 2014
20 tallest towers that were never completed
Remember the Chicago Spire? What about Russia Tower? These are two of the tallest building projects that were started, but never completed, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The CTBUH Research team offers a roundup of the top 20 stalled skyscrapers across the globe.
| Nov 26, 2014
U.S. Steel decides to stay in Pittsburgh, plans new HQ near Penguins arena
The giant steelmaker has agreed to move into a new headquarters that is slated to be part of a major redevelopment.
| Nov 25, 2014
Behnisch Architekten unveils design for energy-positive building in Boston
The multi-use building for Artists For Humanity that is slated to be the largest energy positive commercial building in New England.
| Nov 25, 2014
Study: 85% of employees dissatisfied with their office environment
A vast majority of office workers feel open floor plans cause multiple distractions and that more private spaces are needed in today's offices, according to a new study by Steelcase and research firm IPSOS.
| Nov 24, 2014
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed crystalline tower breaks ground in southwestern China
Fitted with an LED façade, the 468-meter Greenland Tower Chengdu will act as a light sculpture for the city of Chengdu.
| Nov 18, 2014
New tool helps developers, contractors identify geographic risk for construction
The new interactive tool from Aon Risk Solutions provides real-time updates pertaining to the risk climate of municipalities across the U.S.