(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's $5 billion second headquarters and its promise of up to 50,000 jobs attracted 238 proposals from 54 states, provinces and districts in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the company said on Monday.
Regions and cities in 43 U.S. states from Maine to Alaska, as well as Washington, D.C., submitted bids by the Oct. 19 deadline, Amazon said. The states that did not bid were Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.
Canadian bids came from the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. Mexican bids emanated from the states of Chihuahua, Hidalgo and Queretaro.
Other bidders included Puerto Rico, which is struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria and is in the process of restructuring its sagging finances in court.
Details of the bids, including tax breaks and other incentives being offered to entice the internet retailer, were scarce as some bidders cited competitive reasons or nondisclosure policies.
As part of its headquarters announcement on Sept. 7, Amazon said it was limiting its search to metropolitan areas of at least 1 million people and was looking for a wide range of incentives, including tax credits.
The following are details from some of the bidders:
-- New Jersey is offering a potential $7 billion in local and state tax credits if the company picks Newark and meets hiring commitments.
-- Chicago assembled a committee of political and business leaders to work on its pitch and on Friday released several potential sites including a massive, but vacant building that once housed the city's main U.S. Post Office.
-- California could offer incentives ranging from $300 million under current law to as much as $1 billion under proposed legislation. The city of Irvine said its "one-click HQ2 solution" is fully financed thanks to the Irvine Company. In a letter to Amazon, Donald Bren, who chairs the real estate development company, said Amazon "will not be required to invest capital for land acquisition, buildings, or entitlements" for the $5 billion project. (http://www.cityofirvine.org/news-media/news-article/amazon-hq2-bid)
-- Connecticut downplayed its deepening financial problems and Hartford's potential municipal bankruptcy to push the Stamford and Hartford areas as ideal sites. (https://ctisprime.com/)
-- The Canadian cities of Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax, Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor (with Detroit), Hamilton, Montreal and Vancouver submitted bids, according to Reuters reporting and local media reports.