Amazon HQ2 was a year-long open bidding process for regions to pursue the development of a second headquarters for ecommerce giant Amazon.
First announced in September 2017, the initiative was highly publicized and criticized for a private company fostering regional competition. Timed with the rise of regions focusing on tech workforces, more than 200 cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States developed collaborative bids, including tax incentives, construction approvals and workforce analysis. in January 2018, a shortlist of 20 finalists was announced, and by Nov. 13, 2018, the final choices were made — initially one in New York City and one outside Washington DC. In final form, just the site in Arlington, Virginia was selected. For example, the City of Philadelphia, which made the shortlist but was not ultimately selected, spent an estimated $550,000 on their bid.