King, Snohomish Counties Submit Joint Bid For Amazon HQ2

RENTON, WA - The King and Snohomish county executives on Thursday said they will jointly submit potential sites in local cities to Amazon in consideration for the company's HQ2 competition. Amazon is looking for a new city to build a second Seattle-size headquarters in. The new headquarters comes with 50,000 jobs and up to $5 billion in construction investments, according to the company.

The executives, Dow Constantine and Dave Somers, did not release details of what else the counties might be offering Amazon in terms of incentives. The sites submitted for consideration are in the following cities:

• Arlington/Marysville
• Bellevue
• Bothell
• Everett
• Kenmore
• Renton
• Lynnwood
• Tukwila
• Tulalip Tribes

Cities across the U.S. - including Seattle - are submitting proposals to Amazon hoping to get picked. Some cities are using stunts to gain attention - Stonecrest, Ga., offered to rename the city Amazon. But the real appeal for Amazon will likely be in what local governments offer in terms of tax savings and other incentives.

Constantine and Somers did say that each of the local cities could offer items like faster permitting and worker training grants.

"This is about fostering an environment that helps us attract, retain, and grow great businesses. Our job, every day, is to go toe-to-toe with any metropolitan area in the nation and the world – and win," Constantine said in a statement.

Amazon is literally accepting applications from cities on a special web page. Over 100 cities from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to San Diego have submitted bids, according to the Seattle Times.

Image via Elaine Thompson/Associated Press