Denver Makes Amazon HQ2 Short List

DENVER, CO -- Denver's Amazon HQ2 bid has made it into the second round in the national beauty contest to snag the multi-billion dollar company's second headquarters. The company announced that 18 U.S. cities, one county and a Canadian city had made the second round. The company said it reviewed 238 proposals from across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to host its second headquarters in North America.

A final tally of contenders released by Amazon in October revealed that only six states in the U.S. did not submit bids for HQ2: Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont.

In a press release announcing the shortlist, Amazon said that in the coming months the company would work with each candidate to dive deeper into the proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership. A final decisions would be made this year, Amazon said.

"We look forward to continuing to explore this opportunity with Amazon to see if we are the right fit for each other," tweeted Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.

But Boston would appear to have an advantage in the race. The Boston Globe reported last week that Seattle-based Amazon is seeking 1 million square feet of commercial office space near Seaport Square in South Boston. Although real estate experts told the Globe the search for "one building, possibly two" began before Amazon announced the HQ2 contest, speculation in Boston is swirling. One of the qualifications in the Amazon wishlist was the proximity of universities, and Boston is a higher education mecca.

Still, 19 other locations have their hopes up. The company announced on Thursday that the following 20 locations were on its shortlist:

1. Dallas, TX
2. Denver, CO
3. Indianapolis, IN
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. Miami, FL
6. Montgomery County, MD
7. Nashville, TN
8. Newark, NJ
9. New York City, NY
10. Northern Virginia, VA
11. Philadelphia, PA
12. Pittsburgh, PA
13. Raleigh, NC
14. Toronto, ON
15. Washington D.C.
16. Atlanta, GA
17. Austin, TX
18. Boston, MA
19. Chicago, IL
20. Columbus, OH

Patch will update its report.

Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images News/Getty Images