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Amazon Incentives Approved in NoVa for HQ2
The five-member Arlington County Board unanimously approved $23 million in incentives over the weekend for Amazon to construct its HQ2 at JBG SMITH’s National Landing in Northern Virginia. It also agreed to spend an estimated $28 million on infrastructure improvements and open space around the buildings in Crystal City.
JBG SMITH’s Matt Kelly says, “The Arlington County Board’s unanimous support for Amazon’s HQ2 project represents a major milestone in the collective effort to establish National Landing as a global hub for innovation and technology.”
The Virginia General Assembly has also offered Amazon a package of subsidies that could add up to $750 million over 15 years.
K.C. Conway, an economist and real estate advisor on ports and logistics, says, “Site Selection requires incentives at some level. These incentives are largely accretive to the community, and are NOT cash-checks to the locating company; rather reductions of total tax liability over say a 10-year period.”
The online retail giant plans to create at least 25,000 jobs over 12 years in the Northern Virginia suburb. The incentives agreement requires Amazon to occupies 6.05 million square feet of office space in Crystal City and Pentagon City through 2035.
Conway adds, “Just as we look for coupons, sales, and reasons to attract our business, so too do corporations looking to locate a major facility. That is not evil or even wrong. It is how capitalism works – and is a discipline in college known as Marketing or Business Development.”
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser
- ◦Development
