The rumors of Amazon moving to the Northern Virginia region have proven true, as Amazon officially announced this morning that NoVA will serve as one of the two locations for its much anticipated and highly sought after second headquarters, better known as HQ2.
“We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a statement. “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”
Launching its search for HQ2 in fall 2017, Amazon drummed up strong competition across the country, with cities and regions putting together enticing pitches on why they would be the perfect home for HQ2. This past January, Amazon revealed 20 finalists for HQ2, from Los Angeles to Toronto, including Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland. Arlington County and the City of Alexandria worked together on the proposal that will encompass parts of Pentagon City, Crystal City and Potomac Yard. Ultimately, Amazon decided to split HQ2 between that proposal and Long Island City, a neighborhood in Queens, New York.
The Washington Post described the result as “the largest economic-development prize in a generation” with the presence of HQ2 expected to lead to “billions of dollars in capital investments alone.” Amazon is expected to create more than 25,000 jobs, invest approximately $2.5 billion and occupy 4 million square feet of office space, with the opportunity to expand to 8 million square feet over the next 12 years in the area that is being newly branded as National Landing.
The buildings that were part of the proposed plan for HQ2, are all owned by JBG Smith. The HQ2 building will be at 1851 South Bell St. or 1770 Crystal Drive, according to The Washington Post’s reports.
In addition, Virginia Tech has announced that it will build a new Innovation Campus near Amazon’s new headquarters. This graduate campus will specifically target tech talent with a focus on computer sciences and software engineering.
The arrival of Amazon adds another corporate headquarters to move to Northern Virginia in the past 15 years. Others have included Volkswagen Group of America in Herndon, Northrop Grumman in Falls Church, Hilton Worldwide in Tysons and Nestle’s U.S. headquarters in Arlington.
While those behind Virginia’s economy are buoyed by the news, reports also indicate that there are some with concerns of what Amazon’s presence in the region could mean. The potential impact on traffic, housing costs and other economic factors have been areas of concern. “Tens of thousands of new workers and their families are sure to strain community resources when it comes to affordable housing, mass transit and traffic, and quality local schools,” Anna Scholl, executive director of Progress Virginia, told The Washington Post. In Arlington and the City of Alexandria’s join statement, they highlighted that portions of the investment from Amazon will go to K-12 and higher education, transportation and housing.
“We are proud that Amazon has selected National Landing for a major new headquarters,” said Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol in the statement. “This is, above all, a validation of our community’s commitment to sustainability, transit-oriented development, affordable housing and diversity.”
