Amazon HQ2: Boston Among Finalists

BOSTON, MA — Amazon has selected Boston as one of 20 finalists for its new headquarters, the company announced Thursday. Boston officials in recent months have lobbied heavily for the online retail giant to build its second headquarters in the city.

Somerville's bid is also being considered under the Boston umbrella, an Amazon spokesperson told The Boston Herald.

Amazon whittled down 238 applicants for its HQ2 to 20 finalists, a list that includes Boston and other heavy hitters like New York and Los Angeles, as well as dark horses like Montgomery County, Md. Boston was the only location in New England that has made it this far.

The 20 finalists are: Atlanta; Austin, Tex; Boston; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Miami; Montgomery County, Md.; Nashville; Newark; New York; Northern Virginia; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Raleigh, NC; Toronto, Canada; Washington D.C.

Massachusetts had offered 26 proposals to Amazon, with officials going all in on pitching the whole Bay State. But it was always Boston - with its pitch centering around Suffolk Downs - that was going to be most attractive to Amazon and the 50,000 high-paying jobs it would bring.

Boston has been considered a favorite by many. A study by The Wall Street Journal had Boston as the second-best fit for the e-commerce and tech giant. A data-driven study by Bloomberg also had Boston near the top. Truth In Accounting said the Hub is a top-5 contender.

A Bloomberg report near the beginning of the process indicated Boston had some internal pull among high-level Amazon execs, but the company quickly refuted that report.

Now the real nitpicking begins. The New York Times listed "center of technology" Boston in its very first sentence while announcing the short list Thursday.

Amazon is expected to select the new home of HQ2 in 2018.

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Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)