Amazon’s campus in Seattle, Washington, in both the downtown and South Lake Union neighborhoods. Photographed from the roof of Amazon’s Port 99 building. (JORDAN STEAD / Amazon)

Bellevue is among regional players Tacoma and Seattle in a game to win the location of Amazon’s second headquarters, dubbed Amazon HQ2.

The city of Bellevue will submit the proposal, due Oct. 19, in coordination with the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County.

At a recent Bellevue City Council meeting, Councilmember Kevin Wallace requested the city work on a formal proposal to attract the electronic commerce company’s second headquarters. Its two-campus headquarters are currently located in Seattle.

Wallace said in an interview, while shocked at the news at first, he quickly realized Bellevue was in the “best position of any city” in the state, if not the country, to respond to Amazon’s Request for Proposals for the project.

“We have the workers here they need to continue to grow,” he said, adding that the council unanimously agreed.

While some residents have expressed a concern on the traffic impact the project could bring, Wallace said the city has been planning the transportation infrastructure for decades to accommodate a business with the size and scope of Amazon’s second headquarters.

Much of that work is being done in the Downtown and Wilburton corridor.

Amazon recently announced they expect to invest $5 billion in the construction of the project, wherever it may be. Approximately 50,000 high-paying jobs, which would be a “full equal” to their current Seattle campus, will come from the expansion. On average, full-time employees will earn an annual income of $100,000 or more over the next 10-15 years after the project is complete.

“In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community,” Amazon’s request for proposals states.

Patrick Bannon, the president of the Bellevue Downtown Association, said putting Amazon in Bellevue would be a significant opportunity for Amazon or another large tech company.

“I think Bellevue is well-positioned to grow with tech talent and we would welcome Amazon taking their next step in Downtown and being part of their HQ2 solution,” he said. “We would welcome the opportunity to accommodate Amazon’s growth.”





