Amazon Issues RFP For New $5B North American HQ

E-commerce king Amazon.com Inc. has opened its search for a North American site to build a second $5B headquarters, where it will employ an additional 50,000 high-paid employees. 

The tech giant has issued a request for proposals and is soliciting bids from state governments and local officials interested in bringing the new campus to their community. The RFP mentions that incentives offered by bidders will be “significant factors” in the decision. 

The new headquarters, dubbed HQ2, could resemble Amazon's whopping 8.1M SF Seattle campus in design, or could take its own creative turn. The firm is seeking a site in a metro with a population of at least 1 million and a strong business environment.

“We want to encourage states and communities to think creatively for viable real estate options, while not negatively affecting our preferring timeline,” a press release states. Bids are due Oct. 19 and Amazon plans to select a site within the next year. 

Wherever the new site is located, Amazon’s robust investment and construction activity is likely to boost economic activity and add tens of thousands of new jobs to the surrounding community in addition to the 50,000 direct hires. This was the case in Amazon’s birth town, Seattle. 

The 8.1M SF Seattle site holds 33 buildings, including 24 restaurants and cafés. The tech giant has spent $38B on its Seattle HQ between 2010 and 2016, employing more than 40,000 employees directly and boosting job growth in the surrounding community by 53,000. Amazon also injected $43M into the city’s public transportation system. 

The new headquarters will have its own executive team, and existing leadership companywide will have the option to locate their employees at the Seattle HQ or the new site.