After an initial, highly-publicized campaign to entice cities to bid for its massive HQ2 project, Amazon has now reportedly insisted that the communities on its shortlist take a much more secretive approach.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told CNBC last week that the process is “like a poker game,” adding, “Bring the bidding war on.”
Amazon, the Seattle-based online retail giant, plans to build a second corporate headquarters somewhere in North America. With HQ2, Amazon plans to invest $5 billion in the community it chooses and create 50,000 jobs.
Earlier this month the Dallas-area was named as one of 20 finalists chosen from the initial list of 238 cities and regions that made proposals.
In the ensuing months, before Amazon announces its ultimate choice, experts who are familiar with the process report that the company will no doubt visit many of the proposed sites for HQ2.
Locally there are approximately three dozen proposed sites for HQ2 spread out across about a dozen cities in North Texas.
In addition, Amazon will thoroughly review the many tax incentive plans that are included in the remaining pitches. For example, the State of New Jersey has proposed $7 billion in tax incentives as part of its pitch for Amazon to locate HQ2 in Newark.
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Neither of the remaining Texas bidders - Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin - have publicly announced what incentives are baked into its proposal.
