Montgomery County Makes Amazon 2nd HQ Short List

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Amazon has just released a "short list" of 20 metropolitan areas that will move on in the next phase of the bidding process for their second headquarters, and Montgomery County is on it. Montgomery County is the only county in the country on the short list. The D.C. area owns three of the 20 spots on the list, with neighboring D.C. and Northern Virginia also on the list. The list was winnowed down from 238 communities who submitted proposals.

"Amazon evaluated each of the proposals based on the criteria outlined in the RFP [request for proposals] to create the list of 20 HQ2 candidates that will continue in the selection process," reads a company statement. "In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community. Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018."

Amazon HQ2 won't simply be a satellite office to their main corporate headquarters in Seattle. It will be a complete headquarters that the company will invest $5 billion in, and it will employ as many as 50,000 people, the company says.

"In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community," the statement adds.

Amazon employs more than 540,000 people worldwide.

The New York Times reported last year that Amazon would accept proposals for Amazon HQ2 from state and local leaders until Oct. 19. The company wants a city in North America with at least 1 million people that has a strong reputation in the tech world.

“As the only County in the country on the short list, having the ability to move forward for further consideration is a real honor," Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said in a statement. "I believe our initial proposal made an extremely strong case for Montgomery County as a great place do business, and I look forward to working with Amazon to bring jobs and investment to the County.”

Governor Larry Hogan issued a statement Thursday, saying: “This is tremendous news for Montgomery County, our entire state, and further proof that Maryland is truly open for business. Maryland put forward an extremely strong group of sites that were all supported by the state with incentive packages totaling more than $5 billion, including road and transit improvements."

"Going forward, we will continue working with our partners in Montgomery County, including County Executive Ike Leggett and his team, to ensure that we do everything possible to bring this project home. This news is certainly welcome, but the real challenge lies ahead – and Maryland is ready to meet it,” Hogan said.

The D.C. mayor's office released a statement last year announcing that they were evaluating the request for proposals to determine next steps. "D.C. is open for business and we believe we check the boxes for Amazon's request," the statement reads.

The Washington Business Journal argues that the Capitol Riverfront near Nationals Park could be a good candidate, although it would require developers there to change up their plans a good bit.

Arlington Economic Development spokeswoman Cara O’Donnell told ARLnow.com that the county would be pursuing the opportunity, although she added that it was "too early to say which specific locations would be under consideration."

Prince George's County, Maryland, and Baltimore also submitted bids, but they have been eliminated from consideration. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III, said he's disappointed they didn't make the short list.

"As the Amazon HQ2 process moves forward, I want to, first and foremost, support and endorse the Montgomery County bid," Baker said. "Amazon choosing the Montgomery County location would be the best choice for Prince George’s County and the State of Maryland. I enthusiastically congratulate County Executive Leggett and his economic development team on becoming a finalist and wish them best of luck as the process moves forward. We were gratified when Montgomery County endorsed Prince George’s County’s bid for the FBI headquarters, and are pleased to now support their effort for Amazon."

Although there is going to be a lot of competition, one thing working in the region's favor is its sterling tech reputation: according to a CBRE report, the D.C. area is second only to Silicon Valley in terms of its ability to attract and grow tech talent.

Image via Amazon