Amazon selects two for HQ2

Amazon has chosen New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as the locations for the company’s new headquarters. The online giant will invest $5bn (£3.9bn) and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters locations, with more than 25,000 employees each in New York City and Arlington. The new locations will join Seattle as the company’s three headquarters in North America. Nashville has been selected for a new Center of Excellence for Amazon’s operations business, which is responsible for the company’s customer fulfilment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities. It will create more than 5,000 jobs. The new Washington, DC metro headquarters in Arlington will be located in National Landing, and the New York City headquarters will be located in the Long Island City neighborhood in Queens. Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos said: “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.” The site in Long Island City, New York will provide some 4m sq ft of space, with the potential to expand to 8m sq ft. Amazon has agreed to donate space on its campus for a tech start-up incubator and for use by artists and industrial businesses. It will also provide a site for a new primary or intermediary public school, infrastructure improvements and new green spaces. New York mayor Bill de Blasio said: “This is a giant step on our path to building an economy in New York City that leaves no one behind. We are thrilled that Amazon has selected New York City for its new headquarters. The city and state are working closely together to make sure Amazon’s expansion is planned smartly, and to ensure this fast growing neighborhood has the transportation, schools, and infrastructure it needs.” The Amazon HQ in National Landing, Virginia, will be of equal size with the same capacity to expand. “We are proud that Amazon has selected National Landing for a major new headquarters. This is, above all, a validation of our community’s commitment to sustainability, transit-oriented development, affordable housing, and diversity,” said Arlington County board chair Katie Cristol. “Arlington’s real strength is the decades of planning that have produced one of the most vibrant, civically engaged communities in the world. Those plans have paved the way for this investment, and we look forward to engaging the Arlington community about Amazon’s plans and how we can grow together.” The new operations centre in Nashville will be based downtown and extends to some 1m sq ft of office space. Read Amazon’s MOU with New York >> Read Amazon’s MOU with Virginia >>   To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette