Photo: Skyline of Tysons Corner at sunset, Credit :Grayscapturedmoments/Wikimedia Commons
Amazon is holding out the multi-billion prize of its second headquarters but staying silent about which cities it considers as front-runners among those competing to house the business giant.
The result is a kind of guessing game among business and media experts since the facility – to be constructed at a cost of $ 5 billion – will stimulate economic activity with generation of 50,000 high-paying jobs over several years.
But some signs have emerged lately that appear to have largely, if not fully or definitively, resolved the suspense around HQ2 site for the Seattle-based company.
The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, reported last week that representatives of the retail titan visited several sites in Washington metro area including the D.C., Montgomery County, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
These places are on a short list of 20 locations, the tech company came up with after examining proposals from cities from all over the United States.
Among other top contenders reportedly have been Atlanta and Boston that like Washington metro area have their business-friendly advantages for any large-scale retailer and tech titan.
But apart from the obvious business-focused considerations Washington metro area edges out its competitors since it comes with a whole omnibus package – with talent and expertise in areas like information technology, availability of workforce, infrastructure and business prospects converging not just from one city or place but from all over the metro area.
Similarly, the business and commerce can branch or spread out in several directions from the area through the massive infrastructure links.
Then there are other advantages that D.C. area offers. For example in December 2017 AOL reported that after Arlington county received an environmental award, a post on it was swamped by visits from an Amazon.com link page.
But there has been no confirmation of the speculations by Amazon except that officials from the largest Internet retailer are visiting each of the shortlisted sites for its HQ2.
Not all places in Washington metro area have made their bids to host HQ2 public or revealed how much of tax break or other incentives they would be willing to offer.
Yet, it is becoming clearer that Washington metro area may just be the place Amazon is looking for – the capital, and a central location with a growing business potential, a place to amplify influence in many ways. Jeff Bezos is already the richest man in the world, and according to Forbes magazine his fortune grew by $ 39.2 billion in a year.
