Denver's Amazon Bid: Other Cities Are In A Frenzy To Snag HQ2

DENVER, CO -- Where on the map will Amazon's swooshy orange arrow land? While the City of Denver and the state of Colorado hold our collective breath, more than 100 cities all over North America have submitted plans and engaged in gimmicks to lure the online merchandise company's community-altering mega-project.

This week, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade submitted a non-public proposal with eight potential sites, winnowed down from 30 sites submitted to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

Proud to provide multiple site options in response to Amazon's HQ2 proposal illuminating the strengths of the Metro Denver Region.
— Stephanie Copeland (@scopela1) September" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/scopela1/s... 22, 2017

.@Broncos Von Miller, others tell @Amazon why they love #Colorado on new website https://t.co/yl5lbjYpn4 via @denbizjournal #ColoradoLoves
— Metro Denver EDC (@MetroDenverEDC) October" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/MetroDenve... 19, 2017

Watch a video here to see what Las Vegas is doing to lure Amazon:

And see what other hopeful cities are doing to bring Amazon:

Meanwhile, there's even angst and pushback in Denver about how a hypothetical Amazon headquarters will exacerbate the current housing crisis. Apartment List crunched some data to study the top Amazon HQ2 contenders to project the impact that the new headquarters would have on local rents. In Denver, the data study predicted that an Amazon HQ2 would increase rents by an additional 0.8 - 1.1 percent per year.

According to the study:

Denver, one of the most likely picks for Amazon’s HQ2, already faces an affordability crisis, with rents rising 52 percent between 2005 and 2015. With a low vacancy rate and too little permitting, Amazon’s new HQ2 presence would increase rents an additional 8.8 percent over 10 years. Lower wage workers, including those needed to support Amazon, would be especially impacted by these rent increases, as new housing built for Amazon and other tech workers would skew towards the luxury end of the market.

Whether you hope Amazon comes to Colorado, or dread it, you can find out more if you...

Read More Patch coverage Here:

5 Things You Should Know About Denver’s Amazon HQ2 Bid (Part 1: Proposals are being submitted for Amazon's $5 billion headquarters.)

5 More Things You Should Know About Denver's Amazon HQ2 Bid (Part 2. Denver has a better-than-average chance to get the Amazon HQ2 prize).

Image via City of Birmingham, Alabama