The Frenzy To Win Amazon's New HQ Could Come At A Price
Time|October 30,2017

The Frenzy To Win Amazon's New HQ Could Come At A Price

Katy Steinmetz
The Frenzy To Win Amazon's New HQ Could Come At A Price

OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS OFFICIALS IN DOZENS OF American cities have been working overtime to prove that they are prime for Amazon. The Kansas City, Mo., mayor’s office ordered 1,000 items from the Seattle-based behemoth—ranging from a hot-dog costume to wind chimes—and then wrote reviews for each product. The city of Birmingham, Ala., built Amazon boxes the size of bread trucks and displayed them around town. A town in Georgia proposed donating some of its own land and renaming it after the e-commerce giant. And that’s on top of the countless hours that economic developers have spent writing more serious proposals for one of the world’s most valuable companies. As a representative for the Dallas Regional Chamber says, “It’s been all hands on deck.”

Amazon dangled a transformative prize to inspire this activity: the prospect of winning the company’s second headquarters, along with an estimated 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment over the coming decades. The scope of the project is unprecedented, and as “HQ2” fever took hold across North America, more than 100 cities have reportedly considered bids. At least one official in Seattle, home to Amazon’s first headquarters, even pushed for their town to get in the mix ahead of the Oct. 19 deadline. “It’s impossible not to see this as the kind of rising tide that lifts all boats in the city,” says Tim Whitmire, who runs a leadership development company in Charlotte, N.C., where officials from 16 counties have been feverishly collaborating on a pitch.

This story is from the October 30,2017 edition of Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 30,2017 edition of Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TIMEView All
Why We Over Spend
Time

Why We Over Spend

The rise of frictionless payments makes it easy to keep buying-whether we can afford to or not

time-read
6 mins  |
March 25, 2024
Breaking New Ground
Time

Breaking New Ground

Sunny Choi is heading for Paris, where her sport-yes, sportwill make its olympic debut

time-read
9 mins  |
March 25, 2024
Company Man
Time

Company Man

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is getting down to business in a country that feels shortchanged by his election

time-read
10 mins  |
March 25, 2024
Letting Go of My Debt Shame
Time

Letting Go of My Debt Shame

Getting out of debt is a group sport, not a solo mission.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 25, 2024
The Fight to Free Evan
Time

The Fight to Free Evan

On March 29, 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on bogus espionage charges. He remains imprisoned in Moscow-a political hostage in his parents' homeland. Inside the struggle to bring him home

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 25, 2024
No recession? Thank women
Time

No recession? Thank women

REMOTE WORK ALLOWED ALYSON VELASQUEZ TO JUGGLE her demanding roles as a Wells Fargo talent recruiter and as a mother of two young children, including a son with special needs.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 25, 2024
The D.C. Brief
Time

The D.C. Brief

TO LIBERALS, MITCH MCCONNELL IS a master of the political dark arts, willing to do anything to serve his conservative aims. He enabled multiple GOP White Houses to play the long game.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 25, 2024
Pakistan's generals fail to fix an election
Time

Pakistan's generals fail to fix an election

PAKISTAN'S WORSTkept secret is that its military dominates its government. Whether to safeguard the nation against chaos or to protect their own privileged access to power and wealth, its generals have manipulated the country's politics for decades. Pakistan's voters, like voters elsewhere, want change.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 25, 2024
Texas' scorched Panhandle
Time

Texas' scorched Panhandle

A million acres swept by fire

time-read
1 min  |
March 25, 2024
The pains and paintings of Frida Kahlo, reanimated
Time

The pains and paintings of Frida Kahlo, reanimated

FRIDA KAHLO'S EARLY 1940s self-portraits, in which monkeys hang from her neck, may seem playful. In reality, she painted them during a suffocating period when she was tangled in a messy divorce and desperate for work.

time-read
1 min  |
March 25, 2024