Amazon HQ2: Search Committee To Tour Chicago, Report Says

CHICAGO, IL — Members from an Amazon search committee will be in Chicago next week to meet with local leaders and scout the city as a possible location for the tech company's much-coveted HQ2 facilities, sources told Crain's Chicago Business. A visit from the committee was expected by early spring, and it comes on the heels of Amazon conducting a similar tour in New York City, another one of the 20 candidates for the company's second base of operations outside of Seattle.

While sources have confirmed the visit to Crain's, Chicago officials will not discuss the ongoing process of trying to lure Amazon to the city. A bid for HQ2 was submitted in October, and it was one of 238 proposals Amazon received.

Next week's visit will most likely be Wednesday, and search committee members will check out spots around Chicago that become Amazon's second campus.

"I can tell you that we will continue to make clear to Amazon that Chicago is the ideal city for its second headquarters," city spokesman Grant Klinzman told Crain's.

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In January, Chicago made it on the company's list of potential cities, joining New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and others. According to Crain's, the Chicago bid offered $2.25 billion in incentives and provided 10 possible sites for the headquarters, including spots in nearby Schaumburg and Oak Brook.

Amazon is expected to spend around $5 billion building and running HQ2, which is expected to create 50,000 jobs in the area that's eventually chosen. In order to be considered as a potential HQ2 candidates, cities needed to have more than a million people living there, and the cities and surrounding areas needed to be attractive to talented tech workers.

More via Crain's Chicago Business

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