Los Angeles is one of 20 cities left bidding for Amazon’s second North American headquarters.
The tech giant is expanding beyond the limits of its current 8 million-square-foot base of operations in Seattle and sent cities around the continent into a frenzy when it announced a pageant-like search for a new location in September.
On Thursday, the company trimmed a list of 238 cities down to just 20, with the company seemingly favoring an eastward expansion. Los Angeles is the sole finalist on the West Coast, despite bids from major urban areas like San Diego, Portland, and San Francisco.
The company received plenty of interest from Southern California cities, including Irvine, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach (the latter cities submitted a joint proposal). But Los Angeles is the only city left standing.
Details on LA’s proposal, put forth by all of Los Angeles County, are still a bit murky. In October, local officials revealed that the bid would largely center around the Pomona Fairplex—the home of the LA County Fair.
City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield also argued that Warner Center’s former Rocketdyne plant would be an ideal location, but it’s unclear whether that site appeared in the city’s formal proposal submitted to the company in October. 
The impact of the company’s arrival in Los Angeles would be significant. Amazon estimates that its new headquarters would create more than 50,000 jobs and bring $38 billion of investment into the local economy (though Seattle residents can attest that such economic transformation can be a mixed blessing).
With its finalists in place, Amazon now plans to probe each city’s proposal further, delving into specifics about the feasibility of each bid. The company says it will announce a winner later this year.
Story courtesy of Curbed.