Worcester hoping incentives will bring Amazon's second headquarters to city

WORCESTER, Mass. — As Amazon continues to hunt for a location for its second headquarters, local cities are putting finishing touches on bid that will hopefully entice the online retailer to build it in their backyard.

With it will come up to 50,000 high-paying jobs.

There’s a bidding war being staged among several cities in the state hoping to woo Amazon.

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

But Worcester hopes it will stand out among the competitors, including Boston.

Worcester is offering the company up to half a billion dollars and about 98 acres to build its headquarters.

It’s also highlighting the tech talent Amazon can lure from local colleges and universities, including Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where Amazon’s robotics president and COO is an alumni.

Meanwhile, Boston is hoping it will have an attractive offer for Amazon.

The company is looking for a city of at least a million people, 8 million square feet of building space, close to an international airport and public transportation.

Space may be an issue for Boston, and it’s not offering outright incentives.

“Right now, not a whole lot of incentives in the package,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said. “The incentives are Boston. Incentives are we have world class universities.”

Worcester is not only up against nine cities and towns in Massachusetts, but dozens of cities across the country.

Bids are due Thursday, and Amazon said it would make its decision next year.

Cox Media Group