Earlier today Amazon.com, Inc. announced that it had selected Arlington County, Virginia for a major new headquarters facility. It’s a huge economic development victory for Northern Virginia and the Washington region, bringing more than 25,000 high-paying jobs over a 12-year period. Northern Virginia and New York City, which will also host a new headquarters, emerge victorious in one of the largest and most closely-watched corporate location selection processes in U.S. history.
It’s an important development for a regional economy with a disproportionate dependence on the federal government and provides important diversification. It significantly enlarges the footprint of the region’s tech sector, much of which is based in the District of Columbia and the Dulles Corridor.
Virginia’s direct contribution to Amazon is estimated at $573 million, much smaller than the $1.5 billion pledged by New York State, and billions less than the sums offered by New Jersey and Maryland in their unsuccessful bids. In addition, $223 million in infrastructure spending is planned. It’s a savvy investment by state and local governments that will rejuvenate an aging business district with the capacity to support thousands of employees, occupying office buildings rendered obsolete when the Department of Defense ordered its personnel and contractors to move to more secure locations following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
While Arlington will reap the rewards of hosting Amazon’s actual offices, the benefits to Alexandria are enormous. As a joint press release by Arlington County and City of Alexandria announced, the two localities are collaborating on the National Landing district, which encompasses parts of Pentagon City and Crystal City in Arlington and Potomac Yard in Alexandria. The biggest prize of all may be a new partnership with Virginia Tech to develop a revolutionary Innovation Campus to fill demand for high-tech talent in the area.
The Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia Tech intend to provide $1 billion in funding for an Innovation Campus in Alexandria at the intersection of Swann Avenue and Route 1. The campus will provide graduate-level degree programs and research opportunities focused on computer sciences and software engineering, as well as data sciences; analytics and collective decisions; security and the Internet of Things; and technology and policy. According to the Arlington/Alexandria joint press release, the campus will build on the growing innovation economy in Alexandria and Arlington, anchored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and now private sector companies like Amazon.
The Virginia Tech campus provides an instant anchor for the Oakville Triangle area, a small area plan that has seen little new development since adoption nearly three years ago. Initial reports indicate the planned campus is consistent with the development and open space mandates of the city’s master plan. The cost to Alexandria is solely the foregone property tax revenue on 300,000 square feet to be occupied by Virginia Tech, out of 1.0 million square feet of planned new development. The campus is likely to lure additional commerce to the area, and accelerate development in the triangle and adjacent Potomac Yard.
Alexandria also stands to benefit in a number of other ways.
- The state will fund construction of a southern entrance to the new Potomac Yard Metrorail Station, which was proposed to be eliminated earlier this year as a cost-saving measure.
- Arlington and Alexandria public schools will also have access to new resources related to computer science education, to be made available statewide. They include: ongoing professional development for current and future teachers; high-quality curriculum and related resources; summer and after-school programming for students; and meaningful career exposure and work-based learning opportunities in high-demand fields.
- There is also a commitment to to fund affordable housing, workforce housing and public infrastructure, bolstered by revenues generated from Amazon’s new presence. Combined, Arlington and Alexandria project investment of at least $150 million over the next decade, resulting in the creation and preservation of 2,000 to 2,400 affordable and workforce units in and around the Crystal City, Pentagon City and Columbia Pike areas and throughout Alexandria.
Historic Perspective
In July 1970, Sears, Roebuck and Co.–at the time, the world’s largest retailer–announced that its new headquarters in Chicago would be the world’s tallest building.
Nearly 50 years later, Sears is bankrupt and Amazon, one of the world’s largest retailers, is looking to make a similar statement with its headquarters selection.
Fifty years from now, will Amazon continue to be a dominant retailer? It’s anybody’s guess. But almost certainly, Virginia Tech will continue to play a leading role in higher education in the Commonwealth.
In the long run, Virginia Tech’s innovation campus may be a better bet for Alexandria than Amazon itself.
PlanAlexandria 