Recent excitement about Amazon’s announcement that they are seeking a location for a second headquarters has prompted speculation and discussions about opportunities in our region. New reports say more than 100 jurisdictions may compete for the headquarters. Bothell has been mentioned as a potential partner.

City staff is always supportive of economic development opportunities. We have been working with the community for a decade on our downtown revitalization and we’re starting a new master plan visioning process for Canyon Park.

In all our efforts, we recognize and highly value the businesses that have already made Bothell home. With that in mind, we are focusing on initiatives that support existing businesses. For example, Bothell is a leader in a regional effort to secure funding to alleviate traffic congestion on I-405 and SR-522. We worked closely with the governor and the Washington State Department of Transportation on the new peak-use shoulder lane that opened to I-405 traffic last spring.

The City of Bothell is happy to partner with Snohomish County or the region to support all businesses, including Amazon, but the city is not independently seeking to site Amazon’s second headquarters here. Instead, through the process, we hope to gain recognition from Amazon that could lead to some satellite offices or some Amazon presence in Bothell in scale with our city of 44,000.