Major real estate company targets Crystal City Amazon HQ2 employees

by | Feb 6, 2019

By Andrew Giambrone posted Feb 5th, 2019 on dc.curbed.com

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Crystal City in Arlington County, Virginia
 Joseph Gruber/Shutterstock

With 2019 underway, Amazon is set to launch its corporate operations in Arlington County’s Crystal City in the coming months. The Seattle-based tech behemoth is anticipated to install around 400 employees in Northern Virginia this year, the first step in ramping up to 25,000 “Phase I” jobs through 2030. Amazon’s arrival will likely help remake the D.C. area economy.

The company’s Northern Virginia employees will also need places to live. Recently, Virginia-based real estate firm Long & Foster débuted a dedicated page on its website that is tailored to Amazon workers who plan to move to the region. The page mentions “National Landing,” the unofficial name for the parts of Arlington County and the City of Alexandria that will be most directly impacted by the company’s presence. (In a related branding exercise, Amazon advertised its corporate expansion as “HQ2” when courting dozens of municipalities across North America to host its new offices. The company chose Crystal City and New York City.)

The page includes links to Long & Foster’s Realtor search, locality sections, and information on financing. “Demand for housing will push even higher in the coming years, causing more stress on our low inventory environment,” notes Long & Foster President Larry Foster, in a release. The page says over 4,000 of the firm’s agents “live and work near National Landing.”

Last month, the Virginia General Assembly approved up to $750 million in public incentives for Amazon to move to the commonwealth. The package still must be signed by embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who has faced widespread calls to resign after a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page was unearthed. But as the Washington Business Journal points out, Virginia Lieutenant Gov. Justin Fairfax, who would fill Northam’s role should the governor step down, has previously voiced his support for Amazon’s expansion.

Meanwhile, in New York City, prominent officials and advocates have been challenging the company’s planned move to Long Island City. It may well net billions of dollars in subsidies.

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