Add College Park to the Maryland locales interested in hosting the Amazon's second headquarters, dubbed HQ2.
The University of Maryland announced Monday that it wants to partner with the state, Prince George's County and the City of College Park to bid on the Amazon project, which the company said would eventually employ 50,000 people spread across as much as 8 million square feet of space.
The Seattle-based online retail giant launched a public search for a new headquarters site last week and municipalities everywhere — including around Baltimore and elsewhere in Maryland — expressed interest in what could be a $5 billion project.
In its announcement, the University of Maryland said College Park would meet all of Amazon's requirements, citing access to transit and international airports, the available workforce and the educational infrastructure.
"When you read through the entire Amazon H2Q RFP it screams the University of Maryland and College Park," said Ken Ulman, the school's chief strategy officer and former Howard County executive, in a statement. "We hit the marks in every category — land availability, business friendly environment, labor force, logistics, cultural community fit and so much more."
The university is pitching its new Discovery District, a 150-acre research park located across Baltimore Avenue from the main entrance to campus, as Amazon's potential new home.
The company is soliciting bids through Oct. 19 and plans to choose a location next year.
Site selection experts expect intense competition for the new headquarters with states and localities ponying up massive incentives to attract the company.