While Amazon’s still not saying a word yet about where it plans to locate its second headquarters, the company is quietly negotiating plans to hire big in Boston, one of the 20 finalist cities for what’s become known as Amazon HQ2.
The retailer is in talks to lease an 18-story building in the Boston Seaport giving it enough space for 2,000 or more employees. Ultimately, that could expand to a 1 million square-foot lease and 4,000 jobs by 2025.
The deal is unrelated to the search for HQ2, say officials, but it does show a growing interest in the area by Amazon. News of the company’s search for extra office space in Boston first surfaced in January.
Amazon is asking Boston for a $5 million property tax break for the lease and option to expand. In return, it says, the company will hire at least 2,000 employees within the Greater Boston area.
Amazon began its hunt for space in Boston before publicly announcing plans for HQ2, and it’s said the first phase of the HQ2 project will be to open about 500,000 square feet of space in 2019 in the new city.
Ultimately, Amazon HQ2 is expected to house 50,000 workers in a $5 billion, 8 million square-foot campus. Amazon wants to open it by 2027.