Northern Virginia is the clear favorite to land Amazon’s second headquarters, and D.C. is a close second, according to one oddsmaker. Some of the most likely spots for the second headquarters in NoVa, should the region win the bid, include Herndon and Crystal City in Arlington. Bovada released its list of odds for the 20 finalists to get Amazon’s 2nd HQ on Aug. 24, and Northern Virginia was at the top of the list with odds of +240. D.C. had odds of +350, followed by Austin at +400 and Boston at +450, according to OddsShark. Montgomery County, Maryland, was seventh with +1200.
NoVa was one of 238 cities and regions that applied for the project, which would bring 50,000 jobs and billions of dollars to the winning city. The list was winnowed down to 20 in January, and NoVa made the cut along with D.C. and Montgomery County.
“Amazon evaluated each of the proposals based on the criteria outlined in the RFP [request for proposals] to create the list of 20 HQ2 candidates that will continue in the selection process,” reads a company statement released shortly after the new list was unveiled. “In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community. Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018.”
The D.C. area owns three spots on the short list — New York is the only other metro area on the list with more than one (New York and Newark, N.J.).
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“Based out of Seattle, Washington, it was inevitable that Amazon would branch out,” OddsShark wrote. “The company states it expects to invest over $5 billion in construction to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs to whichever area it heads next. From 2010 to 2016, Amazon estimates its investments in Seattle added an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy.”
An Amazon job listing in the DC metropolitan area posted in late July stirred up talk about what it means for frontrunners of the second headquarters in the region. The economic development manager position involves working on economic incentives with state and local government, as well as chambers of commerce and “other key public/private stakeholder groups.” It also involves “supporting the site selection process.” The position does not mention working with the federal government. Candidates must have eight or more years of economic incentive or business development experience.
But while the DC area sites have emerged as HQ2 frontrunners, Amazon isn’t indicating the job has any ties to the HQ2 site. An Amazon spokesman told the Puget Sound Business Journal the position isn’t related to HQ2 and could be based in either DC or Seattle. Amazon has not posted the job in any other location, according to the Journal.
Washington, DC, proposed the Anacostia Riverfront, NoMa-Union Station, Capitol Hill East and Shaw-Howard University for an HQ2 site. Northern Virginia sites could include Arlington-Alexandria and Fairfax-Loudoun Counties.
(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
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