Miami’s a finalist for Amazon’s second headquarters. Does it have a chance of winning?

Amazon narrowed its list of potential cities for a second headquarters on Thursday, and Miami made the cut.

The online retail giant received 238 applications for what may be the most competitive corporate recruitment effort in history as the company promises to generate about $5 billion in the city it chooses to build a second headquarters employing some 50,000 people. The narrowed list announced by the Seattle-based company includes major metropolitan areas from across the country, starting with Atlanta and ending with Washington, D.C. In the alphabetical roster of “HQ2” finalists, Miami is listed between Los Angeles and Montgomery County, Md., a prosperous D.C. suburb.

While Amazon is being offered lavish subsidy packages and incentives by some jurisdictions, Miami is expected to come up short on that front given the backlash over so-called “corporate welfare” in Florida, according to a Moody’s analysis. Miami’s role as the financial hub for Latin America and a premiere international gateway is expected to be a plus, while traffic and poor transit have already been cited by Miami-Dade County’s commission chair Esteban “Steve” Bovo as a significant downside.

Though dubbed a “Miami” bid, the application was submitted by economic-development arms of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. The details largely remain a secret, with Miami-Dade not responding to requests to make the application public.

Miami is the only Florida city to make the cut, and it bested other cities known as corporate hubs. Houston didn’t make the Amazon cut. Neither did Sacramento, Calif., or Baltimore, Md. The New York Times writer who covers the Amazon beat called Miami’s selection “unexpected,” and one organizer involved in the Miami bid said: “I’m shocked we made it.”

The Amazon HQ2 finalists are:

▪ Atlanta, Georgia

▪ Austin, Texas

▪ Boston, Massachusetts

▪ Chicago, Illinois

▪ Columbus, Ohio

▪ Dallas, Texas

▪ Denver, Colorado

▪ Indianapolis, Indiana

▪ Los Angeles, California

▪ Miami, Florida

▪ Montgomery County, Maryland

▪ Nashville, Tennessee

▪ Newark, New Jersey

▪ New York City, New York

▪ Northern Virginia

▪ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

▪ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

▪ Raleigh, North Carolina

▪ Toronto, Ontario

▪ Washington, D.C.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Miami’s a finalist for Amazon’s second headquarters. Does it have a chance of winning?."