Brennan Linsley, AP

Amazon is looking for a new headquarters -- could Cleveland be a good fit?

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland remains silent on whether it will compete to lure Amazon to build a second headquarters in the city. Already, a long list of cities including Kansas City, Pittsburgh, New York and Washington D.C. have aggressively announced their bids.

Amazon wants to add "2HQ" quickly, with proposals due in October. The Amazon's first headquarters is in Seattle.

A city hall spokesman said there's no comment yet on whether Cleveland will try to attract Amazon's headquarters, which could possibly bring 50,000 jobs to the area. Mayor Frank Jackson is in the midst of trying to win reelection, with the mayoral primary on Tuesday.

The only candidate who's mentioned it thus far has been Tony Madalone, but since applications to Amazon are due in October, it would before anybody else could take office.

Dayton has announced it's going to bid. Columbus wouldn't comment on the issue to the Columbus Dispatch, though two people "close to business-development activities in Central Ohio told The Dispatch that Columbus will be in the hunt."

Amazon has started a bidding war, but the list of requirements for the newest headquarters is extensive. It includes everything from how quickly Amazon employees could commute in the morning to the type of culture the company wants in the area.

Take a look at what Amazon wants and how Cleveland could stack up, if officials decide to apply.

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Destination Cleveland

Location

Amazon wants a site within 30 miles of the population center and within approximately 45 minutes from an international airport. Cleveland and many of its suburbs, including growing cities like Avon and Solon, fit that requirement.

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Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer

Population

Amazon is seeking a metro area with more than 1 million people. Cuyahoga County alone has more than 1 million people, and when you include surrounding counties there are more than 2 million.

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Beth Mlady, Special to Sun News

Transportation

mazon wants their new site to be one to two miles away from major highways and arterial roads. Ohio has an advantage on that, with I-71 connecting three major cities. Cleveland has access to I-90 and I-77, as well.

Amazon requires direct access to rail, train, subway or metro and bus routes. The Greater Cleveland RTA Red Line connects to the airport, and the Blue and Green stretch out to the east. For comparison, this is the Seattle transit map, and this is the Cleveland transit map.

Unfortunately, critics say Ohio lags behind in public transit funding, with a recent study by Policy Matters Ohio ranking the state among the bottom in the country.

In a 2014 analysis by FiveThirtyEight, Cleveland ranks 47 out of 290 urban areas for public transit. Cincinnati also offers a rail system along with buses, but it's a streetcar system, not a light rail. But in a 2015 report by the Ohio Department of Transportation, researchers found there are many unmet needs in the transit system, especially because of the rapid growth of Ohio cities. The department recommended a $212 million expansion in urban expansion.

So it depends on how you look at it. But cities New York and Washington are in the running, and they have way more expansive public transport systems.

The question would be if the funding would come to accommodate the increase in workers taking public transit to get to Amazon.

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Julio Cortez, Associated Press

A "business-friendly" environment

Incentives would also be "significant" in making a decision. Ohio is among the top states in value of subsidies to Amazon, Reuters reports. Texas leads, followed by Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, based on data from nonpartisan nonprofit Good Jobs First. The state offered tax breaks so that Amazon would build large data centers in central Ohio.

In terms of the business climate, Ohio varies in its standings. In CNBC's annual business-friendly cities rankings, it came 16th. However, Ohio ranked 45th when it came to business taxes, according to a report by the Tax Foundation.

Marketwatch also ruled out Cleveland as a possible city for Amazon to choose, referring to its list of business-friendly cities, where Cleveland ranked 43rd.

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Mitchell Haindfield, Flickr

Building requirements

Here's where it gets tricky. Amazon has very specific building requirements. The initial square foot requirement will be 500,000-plus by 2019 for phase one of the campus. The next will be up to 8 million square feet beyond 2027.

In addition to existing buildings, the company will also consider a greenfield site of 100 acres, or a combination of the two.

For reference, Amazon's Seattle headquarters has 33 buildings and clocks in at 8.1 million square feet.

Who could accommodate this?

With all the homes left abandoned after the foreclosure cases, there might be space in some of Cleveland's neighborhoods. Beachwood may have space in its Chagrin Highlands development. And is Crocker Park all built out?

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Ginger Christ, The Plain Dealer

Fiber connectivity, bike lanes and other requirements

A few other preferences Amazon has for the site:

Fiber connectivity: Cleveland does not have Google Fiber, but AT&T offers fiber internet throughout the region, along with other companies. Here's a map of where AT&T offers it.

Bike lanes and pedestrian access: Cleveland ranked 95 out of 154 cities in a 2015 Redfin bike score rating. It gets a 60 on walkability data website Walkscore.com, which translates to "somewhat walkable."

Workforce: Amazon asks that the metro area they pick has a pool of people ready to be hired. The company also wants a list of universities and colleges with relevant degrees and detail on relevant K-12 programs.

Culture: Amazon also wants a place where its employees will "enjoy living, recreational opportunities, educational opportunities, and an overall high quality of life."

See the full list of requirements here.

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User Argash, Wikimedia Commons

Competing cities

Cleveland is often knocked out early when trying to determine who's viable for the headquarters based on the requirements.

A few examples of the cities media outlets say could be in the running:

CNBC: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston

Marketwatch: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Bridgeport, Denver, New York, Provo, Raleigh, Tampa and Washington

Seattle Times: Austin, Chicago, Boston, Denver, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Toronto

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, owns many companies, which could sway where the new headquarters goes. For examples, Washington D.C. is home to the Washington Post. Whole Foods, a recent Bezos acquisition, is headquartered in Austin, Texas.