Last week, Amazon announced that it's looking for another city in North America to open a second headquarters (HQ2) in. It's current HQ is in Seattle and while big name cities like Chicago or New York are obvious to throw their hat in the ring... Grand Rapids is seriously considering making its own pitch.

MLive says economic developers are coming up with a plan to woo Amazon to the west side of the state. The Right Place, an economic development group based out of Grand Rapids,

...will be working with the state to coordinate a proposal, which are due next month."

After the giant retailer made the announcement that they plan on investing $5B in this new headquarters, Governor Rick Snyder said Michigan, which is a top-10 state for doing business, would be an ideal spot for Amazon. MLive quotes Snyder in his statement:

...our workforce is growing at a higher rate than the national average and we lead the region in inbound migration for those with bachelor's degrees or higher."

In its press release, Amazon states the requirements they are looking for from a city include:

  • Metro areas with more than one million people
  • A stable and business-friendly environment
  • Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent
  • Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options

They also will need more than 500,000 sq. feet for the new location and up to 8 million sq. feet beyond 2027. Amazon HQ2 will add 50,000 full-time employees with each employee making $100K or more.

Cities have until October 19th to make a proposal to the company. Do you think Grand Rapids is a contender for Amazon HQ2?

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