Furthermore, no Midwest city can match Chicago's critical mass of millennials, the employee demographic most desired by Amazon. And other non-traditional companies, such as Google, have already proven that Chicago can provide that workforce, and at the same time breathe life into a sparkling new office submarket like the West Loop, a neighborhood now similar to the one around Amazon in Seattle.

And “based on what they have created in Seattle,” an urban neighborhood such as the West Loop looks like the most viable Chicago option, says Emily Line, vice president of commercial services for Realtors Property Resource, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS. And the company won't be deterred by the fact that none of the potential sites in Chicago currently has the needed scale. “I don't think the existing inventory matters much to Amazon; I think they can write their own ticket.”

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CHICAGO—As Amazon considers possible locations for its HQ2, a second headquarters facility that will match and complement the firm's Seattle hub, cities across North America are scrambling to put together proposals. Most experts believe Chicago has a good shot, and may even be on a short list that excludes the vast majority of cities making the attempt. But dark horse candidates also exist.

“Atlanta could surprise us,” Deena Zimmerman, vice president in the SVN Chicago office, tells GlobeSt.com, “primarily due to its great transportation infrastructure.” The city's airport usually vies with Chicago's O'Hare for the title of nation's busiest. And Amazon wants a place where it can “quickly can get their people in and out.”

That's a key consideration for a headquarters expected to encompass millions of square feet and host up to 50,000 people, but Zimmerman is skeptical that any cities can match Chicago. It has two major airports connected to the downtown by subway trains, and that provides an advantage over rivals when it comes to transportation. And the city is also superior in other important aspects.

“One thing the Amazon team wants is a great workplace culture,” Zimmerman says, and that can only happen if it blends and creates synergy between each massive headquarters. The advent of advanced web conferencing may make that easier than in the past, “but it doesn't exactly reduce the need for both teams to be intertwined.” And a Midwest city like Chicago has an advantage over east coast cities by being one time zone closer to Seattle, while its workday still overlaps with Europe.

Furthermore, no Midwest city can match Chicago's critical mass of millennials, the employee demographic most desired by Amazon. And other non-traditional companies, such as Google, have already proven that Chicago can provide that workforce, and at the same time breathe life into a sparkling new office submarket like the West Loop, a neighborhood now similar to the one around Amazon in Seattle.

And “based on what they have created in Seattle,” an urban neighborhood such as the West Loop looks like the most viable Chicago option, says Emily Line, vice president of commercial services for Realtors Property Resource, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS. And the company won't be deterred by the fact that none of the potential sites in Chicago currently has the needed scale. “I don't think the existing inventory matters much to Amazon; I think they can write their own ticket.”