ORLANDO, Fla. – Amazon announced on Thursday that it had whittled the list of possible homes for its second headquarters to 20, but Orlando didn't make the cut.
The company, based in Seattle, selected the finalists from more than 238 applications submitted by local officials in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer expressed his disappointment on Twitter Thursday, but said Orlando still has potential for economic growth.
"While we're disappointed our region wasn’t selected for the next round for @amazon's H2Q project, we're confident that with our region’s culture of collaboration, strong business environment and quality of life amenities, great economic opportunities are on the horizon."
Although it received bids from regions in Mexico, Amazon narrowed its finalists to just Canadian and American cities, which are in fierce competition to lure the company, which has revolutionized the way people shop.
Amazon plans to invest $5 billion in the new headquarters and could employ as many as 50,000 people in and around the city it chooses.
Here are the finalists.
- Atlanta
- Austin, Texas
- Boston
- Chicago
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas
- Denver
- Indianapolis
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Montgomery County, Maryland
- Nashville
- Newark
- New York
- Northern Virginia
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Raleigh
- Toronto
- Washington D.C.
Today we are announcing the communities that will proceed to the next step in the HQ2 process. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity https://t.co/x1bFYbk4Ui pic.twitter.com/J2x0HHzBTR
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) January 18, 2018
To read Orlando's Amazon HQ2 proposal, click here.