Amazon Plans to Split HQ2 Evenly Between Two Cities; Miami still on the race

The location of Amazon’s new headquarters remains a mystery, and the dispute is now between two cities since multiple reports point to the company splitting the HQ2. The last-minute change is good news for Miami. “Accommodating half the people makes it exponentially easier,” Miami Worldcenter Managing Principal, Nitin Motwani, told the press.

Miami’s odds are now better “given we don’t have industry and infrastructure on the scale they are talking about, but we have an incredible place to live,” Motwani added.

Headquartered in Seattle, Amazon has been looking for a new home for over a year. Since the disclosure of interest, several cities and states have contacted to attract the company to their areas.

Amazon received 238 proposals and, in January of this year, selected 20 finalists. The list includes Austin, Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio, Miami, Nashville, and Northern Virginia. According to Jeff Bezos, founder, and CEO of Amazon, the winner will be announced by the end of the year.

Analysts who tracked the search said the company could lean towards bigger, larger infrastructure cities that would be attractive places for young professionals. The company should also analyze the advantages offered, such as tax incentives.

Without giving clues, Bezos said that the choice would be made based on intuition and information.

“Ultimately the decision will be made with intuition after gathering and studying a lot of data,” Bezos said. “…[T]he best way to make it is you collect as much data as you can, you immerse yourself in that data, but then you make that decision with your heart.”