Alexandria Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber ALX’s State of Business panel on Embracing Transformation (L-R: SunTrust’s Ken Broussard, JBG Smith’s Matt Kelly, Amazon’s Holly Sullivan, and Virginia Tech’s Brandy Salmon).
“Transformation” was the clear theme at the 2019 State of Business.
Even the host and sponsor of the annual event showed it this year. The event was hosted by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, which is undergoing its own brand transformation to The Chamber ALX, and the new Truist bank (created through the merger of BB&T and SunTrust) sponsored the event.
With a special focus on the National Landing area (the new neighborhood created from part of Pentagon City, Crystal City and Potomac Yard as part of the Amazon HQ2 initiative, a panel discussion highlighted changes coming to the region. The panelists were Matt Kelly, CEO of JBG Smith, a commercial real estate and development company; Holly Sullivan, Director of Worldwide Economic Development for Amazon; and Brandy Salmon, Associate Vice President for Innovation and Partnerships for the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus.
Kelly spoke extensively about the transformation of the new National Landing area, where 400 Amazon employees already work, from a 9 – 5 work district to a live-work-play neighborhood with much more retail, services and residential housing in addition to Amazon’s offices. Long-term, this will include an expanded VRE station in Crystal City and lowering Route 1 to grade level to facilitate a more cohesive community.
Amazon’s office buildings themselves will include a variety of first-floor retail opportunities, giving new businesses opportunities to grow. This could include more restaurants, as Amazon doesn’t plan to have its own cafeteria or food brought in for employees, instead encouraging employees to support neighborhood small businesses.
Other transformations include the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, the groundbreaking of the new Potomac Yard Metro station and even new educational opportunities as Virginia Tech seeks partnerships with Alexandria City Public Schools.
As for the Chamber itself, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce will keep its formal name, but informally it will be called The Chamber ALX in 2020 and beyond. As Dave Millard takes over the reins from Chamber Board Chair Charlotte Hall, the new branding is dedicated to finding new ways to tell the story of Alexandria businesses.
Related stories:
Amazon’s Arrival Creates a New Neighborhood: National Landing
Dine-In Movie Theater Coming to National Landing
