Amazon Refutes Report About Boston Having Inside Track

BOSTON, MA — Amazon is looking for a home to drop its second headquarters. The e-commerce behemoth wants local and state governments to woo it — and suitors are slicking back their hair and dabbing on their cologne.

Boston may have an edge thanks to some internal pull at the company, Bloomberg Technology reported Tuesday. In a pinch-me-am-I-dreaming article titled "Amazon Weighs Boston in Search for Second Headquarters," Bloomberg says high-level Amazon execs are pushing for the Boston move. (Subscribe to Boston Patch for more Hub news and breaking alerts.)

"Several senior Amazon.com Inc. executives advocate putting a second headquarters in Boston, according to a person briefed on the matter," Bloomberg writes.

"While other cities may ultimately win out, Boston is being considered for its proximity to Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an airport with nonstop flights to Seattle and Washington, D.C., and a lower cost of living than many other big cities, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter."

Amazon News tweeted Tuesday night that Bloomberg is "incorrect - there are no front-runners at this point."

Amazon promises to bring with it 50,000 high-paying tech jobs with an average salary of more than $100,000 and up to $5 billion in construction activity. It's a lock to transform whichever area it drops into.

The fact that we're even talking about this, frankly, is impressive. But the Bay State's recent major business boom mean Boston won't be satisfied with a participation trophy. The Hub has been making some serious business snags lately, and the South Boston waterfront has been ground zero for the business boom.

General Electric came fleeing from Fairfield, Connecticut, landing in Fort Point to become — by far — the state's largest company, public or private. (GE Healthcare Life Sciences has already come screaming into Marlborough from New Jersey. )

Just this week, global pharmaceutical firm Alexion, which manufactures the world's most expensive drug, left New Haven, Connecticut, and will land in the waterfront.

Facebook is moving to a bigger Cambridge building, bringing additional jobs with it.

Even Amazon itself has its fingers in the city. The company confirmed in July it leased a 150,000-square-foot space in Fort Point, which is just miles from its Kendall Square location. Amazon also has some 200 employees in a co-working space in Back Bay.

The question, of course, is just where such a massive project would squeeze into Boston. The city would likely need some serious plastic surgery to avoid what in part kept the Olympics and an IndyCar race away.

Boston isn't the only potential Bay State landing spot for Jeff Bezos' baby. North Andover, Lawrence and Haverhill are jointly asking for the state's support in wooing Amazon's HQ to the Merrimack Valley, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

“I encouraged [Gov. Charlie Baker's office] to have one Massachusetts proposal so that we have the best shot, rather than have every municipality go off on their own," Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini told the paper. "I want the proposal to be here, so that Haverhill, Lawrence and Lowell people can get jobs. We have a lot to offer."

Photo of Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, taken 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)