AMZN Amazon.com Inc

By Laura Stevens, Keiko Morris and Katie Honan 

New York City and Northern Virginia will be the homes for Amazon.com Inc.'s second and third headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter, ending a more than yearlong public contest that started with 238 candidates and ended with a surprise split of its so-called HQ2.

The imminent announcement is expected as soon as Tuesday, according to the people. Other cities may also receive major sites, some of the people said.

Amazon is dividing the second headquarters evenly between New York's Long Island City and Arlington County's Crystal City neighborhoods, which are both located directly across from the major city centers. The decision effectively gives Amazon a major presence in three coastal cities.

Amazon declined to comment.

Government officials in both New York and Northern Virginia were expecting to hold events for announcements on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed the Amazon deal Monday night during his weekly television appearance, although he didn't confirm that the city had been officially selected. He was hopeful that HQ2 would come to New York City. "We're talking about the single biggest economic development deal in the history of New York City," he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported about a week ago that Amazon was in late-stage negotiations with several locations including New York, Crystal City as well as Dallas. Aside from its HQ2 decision, Amazon may also announce that other cities have won big projects, but it wasn't clear what form they might take or where they would go.

The online retailer began the search across North America in September 2017, with the aim of creating a second, equal headquarters to its home base in Seattle. It had said the new location would house roughly 50,000 jobs and represent billions in investments.

Amazon narrowed the contest to 20 finalist cities in January, then asked for reams of data and made whirlwind two-day site visits, during which cities tried to impress the company's economic development team.

Then came the big surprise a week ago when the Journal reported that Amazon planned to split its second headquarters evenly between two locations rather than picking one city. The change in plans came after Amazon executives concluded it could recruit more of the best tech talent if it spread the office over two locations. And by halving the size, Amazon would help ease potential issues with housing, transit and other areas where adding tens of thousands of workers could cause problems.

The decision to split what was deemed one of the largest economic development projects in recent history triggered a flurry of criticism about Amazon's original intentions but also fresh hopes. Some city officials said they would have tailored their proposals to match that need, while others said they thought it increased their city's chances.

The split also raised questions about how equal the two new locations will be with Amazon's current Seattle base, which employs more than 45,000 people.

Amazon factored in a host of qualifications for the selection of its new headquarters sites, including access to mass transit, proximity to an airport with direct flights to and from Seattle and -- perhaps most important -- a pool of available tech talent nearby. The company also weighed whether it would be one of the largest companies in a city, something that might make it a magnet for the same kind of scrutiny it receives in Seattle over social problems. Plus, Amazon hoped to show an actual economic impact through its investments in a new area, highlighting its job creation abilities.

Some economic development experts scratched their heads at Amazon's decision to make the process public, which resulted in complicating factors including a longer-than-usual short list and speculative real-estate purchases around proposed sites.

It also has brought additional scrutiny to potential incentives Amazon might receive to locate in certain areas.

Still, the process has resulted in a year of positive publicity, highlighting Amazon's ability to create jobs and investments, even as the company has faced critics ranging from President Donald Trump to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who have called out the company over issues like wages.

"This was really a platform for Amazon to market its transition from traditional e-commerce" into a major tech company creating jobs across industries, said John Boyd, principal at site-selection consultancy the Boyd Co. "It was also a platform for cities to promote themselves to a global audience."

The choice of its new office sites follows Amazon's September announcement that it would raise its minimum wage for warehouse workers to $15 an hour. Amazon also has announced major hiring plans over the past year as it builds out more warehouses and expands its U.S. workforce.

Amazon's decision leaves a group of cities that expended months of resources and time without a clear reward. Some cities have said the process raised awareness for other potential economic-development deals. Amazon has said it might consider some also-rans for other projects.

--John McKinnon and Jimmy Vielkind contributed to this article.

Write to Laura Stevens at laura.stevens@wsj.com and Keiko Morris at Keiko.Morris@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2018 22:37 ET (03:37 GMT)

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