Amazon’s 2nd Headquarters Could Be Headed To New England. Is Portland In Play?

As Amazon continues to take over the world with their massive stranglehold on the online shopping community, the company is looking to expand with a 2nd headquarters, preferably on the east coast. Right now, Amazon's sole headquarters exists in Seattle, but they're taking pitches from cities (and regions) in hopes of finding a landing spot for their new base. The new HQ could mean up to 50,000 new jobs for whomever lands it. The question is... Will Portland, Maine be in play?

According to Business Insider, several Amazon executives favor Boston as their second home. Boston has several prestigious universities for ready-made employees, an infrastructure that could support an influx of new employees and a large airport that offers several direct flights to major cities both domestically and internationally. There's just one problem with Boston, where would Amazon build a headquarters that requires eight million square feet of office space?

Welcome in Portland, which should be preparing a dark horse pitch to the company that should be delivered in complete secrecy. If you believe the reports that major cities like Toronto, Atlanta, Denver and of course, Boston are the front-runners, than Portland doesn't stand a chance. But it should.

Portland has an airport, that could grow if one of the world's largest companies asked it to, and could do so as Amazon builds its headquarters. Out on the outskirts of Portland, there's plenty open space to build. Amazon would have ample land to build an HQ and new housing for their employees. And universities? No problem, Maine has some excellent ones, with a short bus ride away from those prestigious Boston-based schools that make that city more attractive. Not only that, Portland has a shipping industry that may be attractive to Amazon as their line of services continues to expand.

If Amazon chose to go outside the box and pick a smaller city like Portland as its second home, it would immediately elevate it into a new stratosphere. And while it's unlikely to happen, city officials should be working hard to at least make a formidable pitch.

Amazon's decision is likely to be made by mid-October.