This post has been updated.
The deadline has arrived for bids for Amazon's second headquarters, and Boston has officially thrown its hat into the ring.
Boston's bid features Suffolk Downs, the 160-acre former race track in Revere, as the proposed site for Amazon's new campus, noting that it's easily accessible by public transportation and close to Logan Airport and downtown Boston. The proposal also includes several alternative sites, ranging from South Boston to Roxbury to Allston/Brighton.
Boston's bid does not include specific tax incentives as other cities have proposed but says incentives may be available, depending on the specific project.
The proposal also touts Boston's educated workforce, universities, ethnic diversity, and strengths in innovation and technology. It highlights Boston's strong economy and low unemployment rate, and says the city plans to build more than 50,000 new housing units by 2030 to address the needs of its growing population.
“I’m elated about the prospect of Amazon locating its HQ2 in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo in a statement. “With our spirit of partnership, support for programs that prepare the innovators of tomorrow, and the remarkable logistical assets of Suffolk Downs, our proposal is uniquely suited to meet Amazon's specifications and bring jobs to our area."
Other areas of Massachusetts and New England also submitted bids to Amazon, but Shirley Leung, Boston Globe business columnist and WGBH contributor, says she thinks Boston has a better chance of winning the project than other places in the state.
"There a sense that [Amazon CEO Jeff] Bezos wants to be in an urban environment, and if he wants a twin campus to the Seattle headquarters," said Leung, "somewhere in the city of Boston would fit that."
