Amazon is one step closer to naming the location of its second headquarters, and Indiana’s capital has made the short list.
The “short list” isn’t that short — the business and elected leaders of 20 North American locations will now have the difficult task of persuading the online retail giant that it should put down roots in their city, county or general area.
“They are a very strong, highly recognized international brand. They certainly bring a lot of attention,” said Mohan Tatikonda, a professor of operations management at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. “That kind of spirit automatically gets reflected on the region they choose to adopt for their headquarters. I think Indianapolis and central Indiana is an unrecognized gem for this kind of company.”
Amazon.com Inc. announced last fall that it planned to open what it’s calling Amazon HQ2 — a second headquarters equal to its 8.1 million-square-foot, 50,000-employee campus in Seattle. More than 230 North American cities stepped up to the challenge, submitting proposals and even detailing in advertisements in major newspapers why Amazon should consider investing in their residents and economy.
“That’s a bit of a mind-boggling number,” Tatikonda said. “What Amazon did here was unusual, actually unprecedented.”
Of the top contenders named Thursday, all but one — Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario — are in the U.S. Three are in the Midwest: Chicago, Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio. The majority of the other locations are along the East Coast, including the nation’s capital and two other areas close to Washington, D.C.