Amazon, bursting out of its Seattle headquarters, has been hunting for a second home. Must haves: a prime location, close to transit, with plenty of space to grow.
The company said Thursday that it will spend more than $5 billion to build another headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees. It has planned to stay in its sprawling Seattle headquarters, and the new space will be "a full equal" of its current home, said founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
Amazon's announcement highlighted how fast the company has been expanding, certain to create a scramble among cities and states vying to make the short list. They have a little more than a month to apply through a special website, and the company said it will make a final decision in 2018.
The company didn't hint about where it might land, but its requirements could rule out some places. Representatives said they want to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people; be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and be able to expand that headquarters to as much as eight million square feet in the next decade. That's about the same size as its current home in Seattle. Co-headquarters, though, often come about as a result of mergers.
"We want to find a city that is excited to work with us and where our customers, employees, and the community can all benefit," the company said on its search website, about why it was choosing its second headquarters through a public process.
As far as Nashville, Mayor Megan Barry released the following statement on Thursday:
“The news that Amazon is looking for a second headquarters has generated a lot of buzz and excitement in the Nashville community. I’m confident that our socially progressive, pro-business climate, talented workforce, and overall great quality of life offers the type of environment that they are looking for in the city they’ll choose. Over the coming weeks, my Economic and Community Development team will be working with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and State of Tennessee to identify potential locations in Davidson County that would be a good fit for Amazon’s needs.”
