City of Boston finalizing bid to land Amazon's second headquarters

BOSTON — Amazon is making their decision on where to establish their second headquarters very soon and Boston's making sure their bid is one of the best. All bids are due by Thursday as Amazon makes a final decision.

At a corporate event on Tuesday, Mayor Marty Walsh said the city of Boston is finalizing it's bid to land Amazon's second headquarters and the tens of thousands of jobs it would bring.

"I think today it might be finalized with, get it bound and hope for the best," said Mayor Walsh.

Amazon's requirements for a city to house their second headquarter are that it offers a metro area of at least one million people, a place with eight million square feet of building space, and a proximity and easy access to an international airport and public transportation.

Some analysts believe Amazon is looking for 100 acres, which can be hard to find in Boston.

Mayor Walsh says they don't have a lot of incentives on the table for now, that the biggest incentive they can offer for now is that Boston has world class universities.

The highly educated tech talent currently living in the city might just be what helps Boston land this deal. Amazon will be looking to attract and retain skilled workers to fill the 50,000 available positions with an average compensation of $100,000.

"I feel confident we'll be as competitive as any other city," said Mayor Walsh.

However, while the mayor is optimistic, the competition includes other cities in Massachusetts and all across the country.

In the end, the economic incentives could be the deciding factor in all of this.

When GE decided on moving to Boston, the city offered up to $25 million dollars in tax breaks, which could end up happening to Amazon should they follow suit.

"We look forward to engaging stakeholders and presenting a convincing argument as to why Amazon should choose Massachusetts," the State's Housing and Economic Development Office said in a statement.

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