It’s official: Amazon will split HQ2 between Northern Virginia and New York City

Amazon announced a shortlist of finalists for its second headquarters in January that included three DMV finalists. In the end, Northern Virginia was picked as one of the two East Coast locales for the expansion.

The tech giant said Tuesday that it selected Northern Virginia and New York City to split its second headquarters that will bring more than 50,000 jobs across the two locations.

The two locations are in Arlington, Va., and Long Island City, N.Y. In Arlington, Amazon identified National Landing as the neighborhood for development, saying it is “located less than 3 miles from downtown Washington, D.C.” A website for National Landing from developer JBG Smith says it “encompasses Crystal City, the eastern portion of Pentagon City and the northern portion of Potomac Yard.”

The new projects will bring more than 25,000 full-time jobs, $2.5 billion in Amazon investment and 4 million square feet of energy- efficient office space for each location, the press release states. For Arlington specifically, this headquarters will bring an estimated incremental tax revenue of $3.2 billion over the next 20 years.

“We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia,” Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon said 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.”

If Amazon creates the forecasted 25,000 jobs for Arlington, the company will receive performance-based direct incentives of $573 million. Additionally, the Commonwealth of Virginia has committed to investing $195 million in neighborhood infrastructure improvements and to fix up the Crystal City and the Potomac Yards Metro stations and other areas to improve the safety and accessibility experience for pedestrians. The press release states that Arlington will also give an estimated $28 million based on 12 percent of future property tax revenues earned from an existing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for infrastructure and open space in National Landing.

“This is a big win for Virginia – I’m proud Amazon recognizes the tremendous assets the Commonwealth has to offer and plans to deepen its roots here,” Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia said in a statement. “Virginia put together a proposal for Amazon that we believe represents a new model of economic development for the 21st century, and I’m excited to say that our innovative approach was successful. The majority of Virginia’s partnership proposal consists of investments in our education and transportation infrastructure that will bolster the features that make Virginia so attractive: a strong and talented workforce, a stable and competitive business climate, and a world-class higher education system.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser called the news of Amazon coming across the river to Arlington “a win for D.C.”

“We will continue preparing residents with the skills and knowledge they need for the job of the future, including at Amazon,” she said in a statement, adding that the District wants to work regionally to address transportation and housing challenges that may arise as a result.

Amazon in Arlington is a win for DC. We will continue preparing residents with the skills and knowledge they need for the jobs of the future, including at Amazon.

See my full statement below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UmLEnIxFDD

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) November 13, 2018

Amazon also announced that the new distribution hub for the East Coast will be in downtown Nashville, and will come with 5,000 full-time jobs, $230 million in investment and one million square feet of energy- efficient office space.