Could the world's first shopping mall be the best site for a $5 billion second headquarters of the online retailer that is disrupting global shopping?

The city of Southfield thinks so.

Officials are preparing to submit a proposal that pitches the former Northland Mall to Amazon, which announced September 7 that it seeks options for a massive new tech and office complex in North America that could employ up to 50,000 people.

"This site meets or exceeds all parameters set by Amazon," said Michael Manion, community relations director for Southfield. "It has great potential."

There's also some symmetry for the move, he added.

As online shopping takes market share from bricks and mortar stores, it would make sense for an entity that effectively had a role "in the demise of Northland ...to participate in the rebirth of the site," said Manion.

The mall opened in the 1950s as J.L. Hudson chose the suburban setting for its new department store and other retailers saw the opportunity to co-locate.

It closed in 2015 following years of decline, and the city bought the 125-acre site for $2.5 million.

The city formed a master plan for the property, and recently hired Friedman real estate group of Farmington Hills to market it. Components sought for five key areas include mixed-use buildings, residential spaces, retail and office space, along with public space.

Beyond the vision for the closed mall land, its sustainability plan and location makes it a viable contender, said Fred Zorn, city administrator.

The property borders Northwestern Highway and the key east-west connectors of 8 Mile and 9 Mile roads. It's near 12 miles of newer sidewalks that make nearby housing high-rises and townhouses accessible, along with the expanding Providence Hospital and public transportation hubs. The Southfield freeway, with access to I-94 and Metro Airport, is minutes away.

And, with the city only a few miles from both downtown Detroit and the Woodward Avenue corridor, access to Michigan's largest city from Southfield also adds to the sense of the city as an urban center.

There's even a surprise attribute on the site: Underground tunnels that served the mall that, Zorn said, could inspire "Amazon with how deliveries could be made."

Southfield's proposal for Amazon is under state review, Zorn said.

It joins others seeking to attract Amazon, including publicized efforts from Detroit and Grand Rapids in Michigan, along with U.S. cities like Chicago, San Diego, Minneapolis and Philadelphia.

Southfield is the 19th largest city in Michigan, with just over 70,000 people. Located in southeast Oakland County, it's one of the early suburbs of Detroit, where it gained population and businesses rapidly from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Today, it's the second-largest office market in the state, with an inventory of about 16.4 million square feet. Its vacancy rate was about 24 percent, according to second-quarter data from CBRE Detroit.

Southfield is willing to collaborate with other municipalities on a proposal to Amazon, Zorn said.

The proposal deadline is October 19, 2017, Amazon said. A final site will be announced in 2018.

That site will join Seattle as home to the world's third-largest retailer. It already is expanding its distribution network as sales grow, with a new 1 million square foot center in Livonia and two others in development in Michigan. Total hiring for new jobs will top 3,000, officials said.

Meanwhile, Southfield officials say their city offers one thing that will be hard for any other community to match.

"We have one owner of 125 acres," Zorn said. "Amazon will be hard-pressed to find that in any urban setting."

And with demolition of the closed mall coming this fall, the time to look at Northland for a major large project could be right, Zorn added.

"We'd love to have them come and take a look."