Amazon executives are very close to reaching a decision on the location of the company's second headquarters — called Amazon HQ2 — and it may be in Crystal City in Arlington, with the potential for additional office leases in the Potomac Yard neighborhood of Alexandria.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that a major commercial property management company suddenly de-listed multiple office spaces in Crystal City ahead of an expected Amazon announcement.
Amazon executives toured locations in Alexandria (near the Eisenhower Metro station and near North Potomac Yard), Arlington and Loudoun County in the past two years, along with dozens of other sites nationwide.
With 50,000 potential jobs coming, relocating local or new-to-the-area Amazon employees may need homes, but the way it changes real estate in Arlington and Alexandria isn’t entirely clear yet.
Part of the reason it isn’t clear is because we don’t know yet what the salaries will be of those who move here to work for Amazon, according to McEnearney Realtor Peter Crouch.
Crouch said that unless Amazon brings high-tech salaries to the area, there may not be a huge impact on housing. It could be equivalent to a change in political party at the White House — it never has as big a change on the local real estate market as people may think.
Other real estate professionals see a bigger change coming.
"HQ2 will affect the natural laws of supply and demand in a market already experiencing low inventory,” Elizabeth Lucchesi, a Realtor with Long & Foster, told Alexandria Living Magazine earlier this year. “Additional demand will create an even tighter supply and could increase home sale prices."
Brittany Patterson, vice president of The Patterson Group at TTR Sotheby’s, agreed. “The Amazon effect, as it’s now coined, would be readily apparent in Northern Virginia and, specifically, Alexandria real estate. Neighborhoods near the metro and within a one-hour commute would see an increase in home values as 50,000 ‘high-paid’ employees secured housing,” she said.
Prior to Amazon’s decision, both the Eisenhower East area surrounding the Eisenhower Metro station and the Potomac Yard area were undergoing significant development. Both areas have gotten dozens of new home, apartments and condo buildings in the past few years, and both are (or will be) near a Metro Station — a key feature for Amazon, as "HQ2 guidelines require the location to be near public transportation. This can only bring prosperity to the area,” Lucchesi said.
According to Amazon: “Amazon HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America. We expect to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs – it will be a full equal to our current campus in Seattle. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.”
Amazon’s Seattle headquarters encompasses 33 buildings totaling 8.1 million square feet. Travel to the headquarters has had a significant impact on Seattle’s hotel industry and public transportation.
Amazon’s search for a suitable HQ2 location had a number of requirements: “We are looking for a location with strong local and regional talent—particularly in software development and related fields—as well as a stable and business-friendly environment to continue hiring and innovating on behalf of our customers,” Amazon wrote in its request for proposals (RFP).
The RFP requested a city or metro area with a population of greater than 1 million people, a “stable and business-friendly environment.” The location needed to be close to a major airport, within a mile or two of major arteries and direct access to mass transit.
The campus will be built out in phases, not all at once, but the entire endeavor could total $5 billion in capital investment in its initial 15 to 17 years, according to Amazon.
