DENVER – The Mile High City has made the first cut in the search for a new Amazon headquarters.
The Seattle-based company announced Thursday that out of 238 proposals across North America, Denver was among 20 metropolitan areas chosen to advance to the next round of the search.
Amazon began looking for a site for a second headquarters on the continent last year and city, county and state officials in Colorado quickly began putting together proposals in hopes of landing the project.
Colorado’s proposal, which included several locations around the state, aimed to highlight the state’s talent pool and quality of life.
MORE: Inside Colorado’s bid for Amazon HQ2
Here are the 20 metro areas to make the first cut:
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Columbus, OH
- Dallas, TX
- Denver, CO
- Indianapolis, IN
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- Montgomery County, MD
- Nashville, TN
- Newark, NJ
- New York City, NY
- Northern Virginia, VA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Raleigh, NC
- Toronto, ON
- Washington, DC
“Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” said Holly Sullivan with Amazon Public Policy. “Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said Thursday that he was pleased to see Denver included on Amazon's shortlist:
“It’s great to be on Amazon’s list of finalists as they consider the location of their second headquarters,” Hickenlooper said. “Colorado is one of the most business-friendly states in America and we believe the Denver region would be a great choice for Amazon.”
Over the next few months, Amazon plans to work with each of the 20 communities on the shortlist to take a closer look at each proposal and get additional information that will help them narrow the choice down even further.
Amazon says it plans to invest more than $5 billion and hire as many as 50,000 at its second headquarters.
The company is expected to announce its choice sometime later this year.
