An inside look at the cities that will split Amazon's HQ2

The hunt for Amazon's HQ2 is officially over.

The e-commerce giant announced Tuesday that its splitting its second headquarters project, dubbed HQ2, between the Long Island City section of Queens, New York, and the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia.

The decision follows more than a year of speculation and lobbying by more than 230 communities around the U.S. and Canada who summited applications.

News of the split decision comes as a curveball because now both cities will need to divide the promised 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ team has promised the winner.

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Amazon picked its winners but what about the 18 other finalists?

Here’s a look at what both New York and Virginia offered Amazon to land the prize.

Long Island City

•             New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitted to reporters on Monday that he is doing everything he can to lure Amazon to New York, saying, “We have a great incentive package.” While he did not release any official number on how much the state offered, reports say it could include hundreds of millions in subsidies.

•             In its proposal, it offered the company more than 13 million square feet of real estate at lower prices than in other boroughs of New York City.

•             It also highlighted that the neighborhood has more than 150 restaurants, bars and cafes as well as 41 new apartment buildings constructed since 2010.

•             Another big selling point was its location. Long Island City is centrally located between Manhattan and the city’s two major airports, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy Airport. And, just last week, the city released a new proposal to add more transportation options to Long Island City, including a potential new subway stop.

Crystal City

•             Just like the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, Crystal City has easy transit access and proximity to Reagan National Airport.

•             It also has ready-to-occupy office buildings throughout the city.

•             An urban downtown-like setting with restaurants, hotels, shopping and other amenities within walking distance.

•             Low state taxes.

•             The city also comes with all of the benefits of the D.C. region, including ample tech talent, universities nearby and proximity to the federal government.

•             Plus, an added bonus for Bezos, it’s an easy drive from his new $23 million Kalorama mansion.