Boston’s Amazon bid hinges on Suffolk Downs

Boston’s bid to host Amazon’s second headquarters hinges on the shuttered Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston, according to Mayor Marty Walsh.

Walsh disclosed the focus during a Wednesday evening radio interview with WBUR’s Meghna Chakrabarti. The city is expected to post its official bid, which is due Thursday (today), online on Friday.

The selection of Suffolk Downs is not exactly mind-blowing.

The 161-acre racetrack has long been the city’s preferred site for its Amazon bid. There’s that space, for one thing. The e-commerce behemoth wants to eventually employ 50,000 people in 8 million square feet, so it will need room to grow.

Suffolk Downs is also close to two Blue Line stops—built-in transportation infrastructure, which Amazon also wants. And it’s near Logan Airport. Proximity to an international airport, too, is one of the company’s prerequisites.

Meanwhile, several other Massachusetts spots—perhaps, most prominently, Somerville—are submitting their own bids for Amazon. Stay tuned.

• Boston Amazon sites: City picks 4 likeliest spots [Curbed Boston]
• Somerville’s Amazon pitch imagines multiple sites along the Orange Line [Curbed Boston]
• Massachusetts’ Amazon bids: Shouldn’t everyone be working together? [Curbed Boston]