It’s been 20 days since Amazon opened bidding for its forthcoming “HQ2,” a $5 billion “full equal” to its Seattle headquarters that will provide 50,000 jobs, and cities across North America — including New York City — are clamoring to be chosen.
We already told you last week that Bronx officials stated their case for HQ2 to call their borough home, but city officials announced Wednesday that more than two dozen proposals — representing 23 neighborhoods and more than 50 million square feet of space across the five boroughs — have been received.
“From the moment Amazon released its request for proposals, New York’s real estate, business and community leaders have worked together to best position the city to win the company’s second headquarters,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said in a statement. “Thanks to this collaborative effort, we now see the tremendous potential we have for development sites. No other city in North America has the space, the ingenuity or the energy we can offer Amazon.”
New York definitely meets most of Amazon’s criteria for HQ2 contenders, which includes a metropolitan locale with a population of at least 1 million, access to international airports, mass transit and the ability to provide at least 500,000 square feet of commercial space by 2019 — and up to 8 million beyond 2027.
There were more than 40 developers and organizations that responded with proposals, and many offered numerous site suggestions, officials said.
The city will evaluate the requests with state officials and present its proposal to Amazon by the company’s Oct. 19 deadline. The location of H2Q is slated to be announced sometime next year.
Even if New York is not chosen as the winning bid for H2Q, Amazon has already shown it hearts New York in recent weeks.
Just last Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the company will open a 359,000-square-foot administrative office in 5 Manhattan West in Hudson Yards. The office will bring with it 2,000 high-paying finance, sales, marketing and information technology jobs with an average salary of $100,000.
On Sept. 6, Amazon announced it would open New York state’s first fulfillment center in Staten Island. More than 2,250 jobs will be created when the 855,000-square-foot facility opens in 2018.
