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Bezos: HQ2 Decision Coming By End of Year

Amazon will select a location for its second headquarters by the end of the year, CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday night.

At a sold-out Economic Club of Washington event, Bezos did not give any hints of whether Arlington has a leg up on other locations. He sidestepped a question from interviewer David Rubenstein about whether HQ2 would be coming to the D.C. area, but did confirm that the HQ2 decision would come by the end of the year.

The process has been subject to months of breathless speculation about the company’s plans, with two different sites in Arlington advancing as finalists in the unusual bidding war for HQ2. Amazon expects the new headquarters will bring as many as 50,000 new jobs to wherever it lands.

While communities across the country earned looks from Amazon, the D.C. region has long been viewed as a favorite to earn Amazon’s new headquarters after the company listed Northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. among its 20 finalists in January.

Industry watchers and even betting markets have zeroed in on the D.C. area as a likely landing spot for HQ2.

Arlington earned high marks as a particularly strong contender after the county submitted both a Crystal City site and locations along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor for consideration.

Amazon officials subsequently toured those locations this spring, and even linked many of its employees to a particular ARLnow article about the county’s environmental accolades.

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  • Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.

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