Online retail giant Amazon Inc.(NASDAQ: AMZN) looks to have decided on a location for its second global headquarters and Toronto appears to have lost out on the competitive bid process.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Amazon is in "advanced talks" to open its second headquarters in Washington, D.C. Based in Seattle, Amazon is reportedly planning to open a second headquarters in an area known as "Crystal City." It's a large residential and office complex in Arlington, Virginia, just south of Washington, the Post said.
Amazon announced last year that the retail giant was looking to open a second headquarters somewhere in the North America, bringing with it as many as 50,000 new jobs. Several state and local governments, including several Canadian cities, threw their hats in the ring, offering Amazon millions in tax incentives if they opened their new headquarters in their city. In the end, only Toronto had made Amazon’s shortlist of cities it was giving serious consideration to for its second headquarters.
The Washington metropolitan area was long considered a top contender for Amazon's second headquarters. Company founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos already had several connections to the Washington area. He's the owner of the Washington Post and also owns a home in the area. When the company announced a list of 20 top contenders in January, it included both Washington as well as Montgomery County, Maryland, which is just north of D.C.
Crystal City is served by a mass transit system and major highways, both qualifications that Amazon has said is required for its new headquarters. Though Toronto was given ample consideration to host Amazon’s new headquarters, The Washington Post report indicates that Toronto is now out of the running.
Tech Insider
