Mayor scrambling to try to woo retailer giant Amazon to Hamilton

Retailer giant Amazon is looking to open a second North American headquarters, and Hamilton is rushing to meet the deadline to be in the running.

The city is "acting quickly" to reach an Oct. 19 deadline to get the company to consider Hamilton, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said in a statement.

The Seattle-based company is scouting locations for HQ2, and will invest $5 billion US to develop the second headquarters. Within a decade, it'll house as many as 50,000 workers in more than eight million square feet of space.

A "quick read" of Amazon's criteria shows Hamilton fits the requirements, Eisenberger said.

That includes being located in a "large metropolitan area, proximity to mass transit and rail, proximity to major arterial roads, and proximity to an international airport," he said.

The city is also talking up Hamilton being close to the U.S. border, he said, as well as its restaurants, culture, educational and medical sectors and access to natural areas.

The city still has to do a detailed analysis of Amazon's request for proposals document. Eisenberger's office has already contacted the province for help.

Hamilton won't be the only city trying to woo the company. Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax have already said they're interested.Ottawa has even struck a task force to try to lure the company.