Amazon has local support for HQ here

Columbus residents are giving a fairly strong thumbs up to the idea of Amazon building its second headquarters in the city.

Nearly half of all residents say they “strongly support” the project that Amazon has dubbed HQ2, and 32 percent say they “somewhat support” the project, according to a poll released Wednesday by Elon University in North Carolina in partnership with the Business Journals.

The survey is meant to gauge the level of support for the project among residents of the cities that are finalists for HQ2, and the backing from Columbus residents was among the highest in the cities surveyed.

In Columbus, only 6 percent say they are somewhat or strongly opposed to the project being here, and 12 percent said they neither support nor oppose it.

Columbus is one of 20 finalists for HQ2, a project that will bring a $5 billion investment and 50,000 new jobs to the city that Amazon chooses.

Last year, Seattle-based Amazon announced its plans for a second headquarters and opened the competition for the project to cities across North America. The company has said it will decide this year; some economicdevelopment officials think a decision could come in the next few weeks.

Should Amazon choose Columbus, the internet giant will find plenty of support here, according to the survey.

The 49 percent who say they strongly support Amazon coming to Columbus ranks fourthhighest in the survey. Atlanta and Pittsburgh are tied for first, and Indianapolis is third.