Orange County didn’t make the cut as a potential home to Amazon’s second headquarters, as the e-commerce giant announced its short list of potential locations for its massive HQ2 project.
Los Angeles was the only California location to make the list of 20 finalists for HQ2, which brings the potential of thousands of new jobs to the eventual winning site. Most of the finalists, as expected, were from the East Coast.
Irvine, a multi-city bid from Central Orange County, and Huntington Beach – in conjunction with Long Beach – each made bids for HQ2.
“The entire Southern California region would benefit by the selection of Los Angeles and we offer our cooperation to Mayor Garcetti and his team as the bids move forward,” Irvine Mayor Don Wagner said in a statement.
“With partner Irvine Company, Irvine’s bid was a clear example of our many strengths and I am quite proud of it and of our city,” Wagner said.
A similar pitch could be made by OC cities later this year, to land another huge tech giant. Apple announced earlier this week it would embark on a similar search for a second main office hub in the U.S.
