Mayor Michael Hancock would like Denver to be the site of Amazon's second headquarters.
Seattle-based Amazon announced this morning that it would build a second main campus for as many as 50,000 employees in North America. It's looking for metro areas that can offer at least 1 million people, a "strong technical talent pool," and preferably some financial incentives, as Recode reported.
Denver fits that description, and the city already was exploring the possibility as of Thursday afternoon.
“Amazon is a leading innovator, and we’re excited about this headquarters expansion opportunity," Hancock said in a written statement released to Denverite.
"This is a mega prospect and we have already initiated conversations with our economic development partners at the state and regional level to thoroughly consider the best possible fit for Denver and the region."
The city is "just getting started, as Amazon just made their announcement," according to Derek Woodbury, spokesman for the Office of Economic Development.
Amazon is asking that cities submit proposals in the next six weeks, according to Recode. It's too early to say whether Denver's early conversations will turn into a formal effort, or what the city and state might potentially offer.
The retail giant has made significant investments in the Denver metro recently, including its construction of huge "fulfillment centers" in Aurora and Thornton.
There's also interest in Aurora. "We will absolutely be bidding," the president of the Aurora Economic Development Council, a business-government partnership, told the Denver Business Journal.
