Metro Atlanta is now among the top contenders for Amazon’s second headquarters. The Seattle-based tech company whittled the competition down to 20 finalists Thursday.
The list includes mostly East Coast cities, many clustered in the Northeast. Mark Zandi at Moody’s Analytics pointed out there are three bids just in the D.C. area.
Zandi said that gave D.C. an edge. But he did add that Moody’s had ranked Atlanta at the top of the headquarters search before Amazon’s list came out.
“These 20 areas are all viable,” Zandi said. “Atlanta is good. DC is probably a little bit more likely. At the end of the day it may boil down to which of these areas comes up with most attractive package for Amazon to take advantage of.”
State and local leaders celebrated Atlanta’s inclusion on the list Thursday.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a press conference that the region had a lot to offer, like Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the planned expansion of MARTA.
But officials like her are still quiet about what they might add to that — with, say, tax incentives.
“I think that anytime we’re looking to attract, whether it be a company or a Super bowl, there are things we have to keep close in order to be competitive,” Bottoms said.
Gov. Nathan Deal, who also praised the announcement in a statement Thursday, has said before that he may call a special legislative session to address incentives for Amazon.
The state is leading the bid for the metro area. It includes several metro Atlanta cities.
Amazon has specified that it is looking for locations with access to transit and a large labor pool.
