(Cleveland) – Amazon has released the list of the 20 finalists for its second headquarters, and Cleveland did not make the cut.
In this region, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are all on the list of finalists for Amazon’s HQ2 project.
The list of cities also includes Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Montgomery County MD, Nashville, Newark, New York City, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Toronto, and Washington.
Joe Roman, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, says his organization will now get behind the bid made by Columbus to attract HQ2, just like the business community in Columbus helped with Cleveland’s bid to attract the Republican National Convention in 2016.
Roman says he does not yet know what was specifically behind the decision by Amazon to exclude Cleveland, and narrow it down to these 20 cities, but he says working with city leaders to put together the application will help when it comes to attracting other major employers in the future.
Amazon says HQ2 will be similar to its current headquarters in Seattle. Plans are for a $5 billion investment, with as many as 50,000 jobs.
The Cleveland area is not being ignored by Amazon, as a fulfillment center is under construction at the site of the old Randall Park Mall, and another one is planned for the site of the old Euclid Square Mall.