DENVER – Amazon is on the hunt for a city to host its second North American headquarters and the company won’t find a better match than Denver.
That’s according to the New York Times, which compared dozens of major American cities and found that Denver met Amazon’s requirements better than any of the others, including those in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In its article, ‘Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquaters for You,’ the Times looked at a number of criteria that Amazon laid out in its request for proposals, eliminating with each item cities that didn’t meet the qualification.
Those criteria included:
? At least 1 million people
? Strong job growth
? Tech-focused labor pool
? High quality of life
? Ease of getting around
? Room to build
? A willingness to play ball
In the end, the Times whittled the list down to two cities: Denver and Washington, DC. The nation’s capital was eliminated, however, due to its high cost of living and difficulty acquiring land.
Denver officials said that talks are already underway to see if such an undertaking would make sense for the metro area and the larger region.
“This is a mega prospect and we have already initiated conversations with our economic development partners at the State and regional level to thoroughly consider the best possible fit for Denver and the region,” Mayor Michael Hancock said on Thursday.
Amazon says its second headquarters would cost at least $5 billion to build and operate.
The company plans to take proposals until Oct. 19, with a decision expected sometime in 2018. For more information, click here.
