Amazon

Park next to Amazon HQ2 set to get a new farmers market

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

When Amazon opens the first phase of its second headquarters in June, it is preparing to debut a new farmers market, too.

This farmers market is set to pop up four Saturdays a month starting June 24. It will be located inside the $14 million public park Amazon renovated as part of the Metropolitan Park or “Met Park” first phase of HQ2, at the corner of 13th Street S. and S. Eads Street.

Loudoun County-based EatLoco is set to operate the market within the park, which features meandering paths and public art.

The organization’s founder and CEO Dan Hine says it will be its first outside of Loudoun County and his “rock star” location, with at least 80 vendors and possibly live entertainment.

“When Amazon approached us back in August 2022 with this idea, we stepped up to the challenge by promising only the Best-of-the-Best Farmers, Food producers and Crafters for this one-of-a-kind, spacious venue,” Hine said in a statement on the EatLoco website. “This game-changer location has a neighboring dog park, children’s park and plenty of table seating for eating and relaxing provided by our Sponsors.”

Hine says he is working on plans for on-site entertainment “to keep customers coming and staying longer.”

“As always, we will do this the ‘EatLoco’ way,” he said. “Well marketed, professionally managed, and of course extremely well attended.”

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to consider a use permit allowing EatLoco to operate four Saturdays a month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., March through November. It will be located at a green space to the east of a meandering path users can access from 13th and 14th Street S. and S. Fair Street.

Aerial view of the location for the proposed farmers market in Metropolitan Park (via Arlington County)

EatLoco’s website says the market will run through Nov. 18.

As part of the agreement, the county is requiring EatLoco to work with the Aurora Highlands Civic Association and the county regarding signage, parking locations and noise restrictions.

Meanwhile, work on Met Park is almost complete, according to Clark Construction, which has overseen the project for the last three-and-a-half years.

Last week, it published the following construction update on its website:

After years of planning, and 40 months of construction, we’ve reached the final chapter in Metropolitan Park’s delivery. As our team puts the finishing touches on our work on site, we wanted to thank you — our neighbors and community partners — for your inquiries, engagement, and, most importantly, your patience and support over the last three years.

Soon the children’s park, edible garden and forest walk will be open and accessible to all. Soon, local businesses will activate new retail spaces, serving up new amenities and flavors that will further enhance this community. Soon, Metropolitan Park’s two 22-stories towers will be filled with new people and ideas.

While the physical structures our team will leave behind fill us with a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment, we are equally proud of the significant economic impact this project has created. From contracting opportunities for local, small, and diverse companies, to apprenticeships, to unique learning experiences for our craft workforce and project management team, Metropolitan Park’s construction has served as a platform for growth. We are honored to deliver this important asset that has and will continue to invigorate the Arlington community for decades to come.

Several local businesses will be moving into the 65,000 square feet of street-level retail, including a daycare and a spa, Arlington’s second Conte’s Bike Shop, District Dogs and an outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington.

There will also be a slew of restaurants and cafés, including Westover-based Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream and D.C.-based Taqueria Xochi, which were announced last month.

Pike fried chicken spot Queen Mother’s moving to revamped Crystal City Water Park

By Matt Blitz
1/9

The revamped Water Park in Crystal City is reopening this summer along with nearly a dozen new restaurants, including acclaimed local fried chicken spot Queen Mother’s.

The 1.6-acre park on Crystal Drive is reopening to the public this summer after a year-long construction effort, park owner JBG Smith announced this morning.

In addition to a number of food and drink spots, the revamped park will feature a live performance stage, public art installations, a building with public restrooms and bike facilities, and a “modernized fountain water wall” that empties into an “immersion fountain,” per a press release and renderings provided to ARLnow.

On top of the water wall will be an open-air raw and cocktail bar simply being called “Water Bar.” A New York-style pizza place will also be located in the park.

There will be a total of nine 300-square-foot restaurant kiosks lining Crystal Drive. Each will hold a small-scale eatery “meant to serve as incubator opportunities for up-and-coming culinary talent,” said the press release.

Among those are several notable local restaurants, including Queen Mother’s Restaurant — currently on Columbia Pike — and Reston-based Tiki Thai.

The full list of restaurants moving into the kiosks is below.

  • Brij, a DC-based café and wine bar by Skyler Kelley, whose vision is to bridge people and communities together with proceeds benefiting single mothers, the LGBTQ+ community, and the un-housed.
  • Bubbie’s Plant Burger, a plant-based and kosher certified Americana burgers, fries and soda pop shop from chef Margaux Riccio and general manager Shaun Sharkey, the creators of DC’s award-winning Asian fast casual restaurant Pow Pow.
  • Cracked Eggery, launched by Potomac native Mike Tabb and his partners as a popular food truck serving inventive egg sandwiches, bowls and tasty sides throughout DC. It now has permanent locations in Cleveland Park and Shaw, where it occupies space in a JBG SMITH-owned building.
  • DC Dosa, Bombay-born Priya Ammu’s South Indian street food concept, and her first location outside of Union Market.
  • Dolci Gelati, a DC-born gelato shop by Gianluigi and Anastasia Dellaccio serving up 450+ seasonal and artisanal flavors made fresh on a daily-basis as well as a robust coffee/espresso program.
  • Falafel Inc., launched by Ahmad Ashkar in Georgetown with a simple, inexpensive menu of falafel bowls, sandwiches and sides and the goal of feeding refugees alongside the World Food Programme.
  • PhoWheels, a family-based business from Tuan and Jennifer Vo featuring Vietnamese inspired dishes. Their kiosk will be the first brick and mortar location for the popular DC food truck.
  • Tiki Thai, a new outpost of chef Porntipa “Pat” Pattanamekar’s Reston eatery that has been dubbed “Virginia’s first premier tiki bar and Thai restaurant,” offering a wide-range of eats inspired by Thai and Polynesian cuisine.
  • Queen Mother’s, Virginia native and James Beard Award Semi-Finalist Chef Rahman “Rock” Harper’s tribute to his mother through his renowned fried chicken joint.

Queen Mother’s owner and chef Rahman “Rock” Harper, who was semifinalist for a James Beard award earlier this year, told ARLnow that the new Crystal City location will serve the fried chicken sandwiches and duck-fat fries the restaurant is known for. The plan is to also debut new flavors — and alcohol.

“We’re going to introduce some cocktails, maybe a cocktail on tap or a beer or two. So you’ll be able to get your chicken sandwich and your duck-fat fries with a nice little tasty beverage,” Harper said.

The new location at the Water Park will also mark the end of Queen Mother’s run on Columbia Pike, at least for restaurant-style service. Harper said he’s going to keep the space to help with catering orders, though.

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Makers Union appears to be coming to Amazon HQ2

By Matt Blitz
A look around Metropolitan Park and Amazon HQ2 in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It appears another new restaurant is coming to Amazon HQ2.

Makers Union has applied for a Virginia ABC permit for a location inside Amazon’s second headquarters at 510 14th Street S. in Pentagon City.

The pub is owned by the local restaurant group Thompson Hospitality, which also operates Matchbox, Big Buns Damn Good Burgers, Wiseguy Pizza, and a number of other local restaurant concepts.

This would be the second location of Makers Union, the first location of which is in Reston. The menu consists of gastropub-styled lunch with more upscale choices for dinner.

ARLnow has reached out to Thompson Hospitality to confirm the opening and other details but has yet to hear back as of publication. Eater reported last year that the company was “in talks with Amazon to put some of its restaurants into HQ2.”

Reston-based Thompson Hospitality launched three decades ago with the purchase of several Bob’s Big Boys. It has since become a nearly billion-dollar company, with most of its restaurants still in the D.C. area. The group has recently added locations in Florida and Ohio, with more expansion potentially on the way.

Locally, it recently opened a couple of new restaurants in McLean.

Over the last year, Amazon has announced a slew of new businesses and restaurants that are coming to the first phase of the company’s second headquarters, dubbed Metropolitan Park.

Many of them are local, including Peruvian Brothers, Good Company Doughnuts, Conde’s Bike Shop, Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream and Taqueria Xochi.

Amazon’s Metropolitan Park office complex is on track to open this summer along with many of the businesses. However, the second phase of the company’s massive Pentagon City presence is currently on “pause.”

NEW: Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream, Taqueria Xochi added to HQ2 retail roster

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Taqueria Xochi and Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream are among another group of local businesses that are set to move into Amazon’s HQ2.

Amazon announced today that four more businesses will be opening up in Pentagon City, in the forthcoming first phase of the company’s second headquarters dubbed Metropolitan Park.

The group includes Westover-based Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream, Alexandria-based Mae’s Market, popular D.C. taco spot Taqueria Xochi, and an outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington, which is based in Virginia Square.

All of the businesses are planning to open up this summer, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow, along with the rest of “Met Park.”

This new shop will be Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream’s third location. It originally just had a shop in Westover Village before expanding to Vienna a year ago.

“You know, we present ourselves as your friendly neighborhood ice cream shop. We are ingrained in the Arlington community,” co-owner Toby Bantug said in a press release.  “When we heard that Met Park’s focus was going to be on giving local community businesses expansion opportunities, we knew it aligned with our philosophy. It goes hand in hand.”

MoCA Arlington, the county’s preeminent art museum, is opening an “Innovation Studio” at Amazon HQ2.

This will be “where the public can experience the artistic process directly by interacting with artists and making art themselves,” said Amazon’s press release. The space will offer artists talks, public programming, and a museum retail store.

“When the organization was established, one of MoCA Arlington’s founding principles was to connect the community to contemporary art and artists,” said MoCA Arlington Executive Director Catherine Anchin. “This continues to be the mission that guides us today. Next year, we’ll celebrate our 50th anniversary, and our new location in Met Park will help us reach more of the county’s residents and visitors, providing a venue to celebrate the energy and creativity of both artists and the community.”

The coffee shop and cafe Mae’s Market, which opened in Old Town Alexandria in 2021, is also expanding with a second location inside of the new office complex. It’s owned by Nicole Jones, who also runs Del Ray’s Stomping Ground but it will be shuttering this month and turned into a taqueria.

The Amazon HQ2 shop will be the same concept as its original Mae’s Market in Old Town, per the press release.

Finally, popular D.C. fast-casual taco eatery Taqueria Xochi is making its move across the river with its inaugural Arlington location at Amazon HQ2. Launched by two chefs who cooked at celebrity chef José Andrés’ restaurants, it earned rave reviews when it first opened on U Street NW in 2020.

“Our dream when we opened the first Taqueria Xochi location was to bring authentic Mexican food to the D.C. area,” said co-owner Teresa Padilla. “Our tacos, how they are served, the simple ingredients, and the bold flavors are the same you would find on a trip to Mexico. To launch this second location at Amazon’s HQ2 is an expansion of that dream.”

These four new businesses joins a number of others that have previously announced their moves into the complex along S. Eads Street.

The already-announced businesses include Peruvian Brothers, Good Company Doughnuts, District Dogs, and Conte’s Bike Shop. Some are expected to open in the coming months, with the HQ2 complex along S. Eads Street wrapping up construction and set to open as soon as May.

Conte’s Bike Shop gearing up to open in the next few weeks at Amazon HQ2

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Conte’s Bike Shop could open later this month in Pentagon City, perhaps making it the first business to open at Amazon’s new HQ2.

The nearly seven-decade-old, Virginia-based bike shop is planning to open its newest location inside of the still-under-construction office complex at 1350 S. Eads Street late this month or in early May, manager of strategy and operations George Lee told ARLnow. It will be situated adjacent to Good Company Doughnuts, which is set to start serving later in the summer.

If Conte’s Bike Shop meets that timeline, it will be the first business to open within the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters, also known as “Metropolitan Park.”

The 4,000-square-foot store will be a bit different than other Conte’s locations, including the one in Virginia Square, in that it will feature a small cafe with complimentary coffee and will be focused “on being a start/stop/mid-ride point for cyclists with [Mt. Vernon Trail] access just a few blocks away,” per Lee.

It will also host “inclusive beginner-friendly group rides” and provide retail sales, repair services, and rentals like its other stores.

“It is a big deal for us as we are now the bike shop in the DC area with the best coverage of locations so customers are able to utilize services that come with bike purchases in any of our locations; we have a lot of customers in this area that used to travel 30-40 mins to get to a bike shop and now there will be one on their door stop,” Lee said.

This new location will be Conte’s second Arlington shop. The company also has stores in Alexandria, Vienna, and Falls Church. In total, the company has 21 locations in five states plus D.C.

Last May, Amazon announced that Conte’s and several other businesses were set to move into HQ2. Two months later, it announced that Peruvian Brothers, Good Company Doughnuts, and others would be joining them there as well.

“We are also humbled to have been selected by Amazon as a local… family business with deep history in the market as one of the most professional and approachable bike shops,” Lee said.

Conte’s hoped-for spring opening comes a bit sooner than Amazon’s planned summer debut of HQ2. Last month it was reported that the company was delaying construction of the second HQ2 phase — with the distinctive “Helix” tower — due to economic conditions and post-pandemic work patterns.

Good Company Doughnuts to fill a hole at Amazon’s HQ2 early this summer

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Good Company Doughnuts and Cafe is looking to open its new location at Amazon’s HQ2 in early summer.

Construction is nearly complete on the 3,000-square-foot second location of the Ballston-based donut shop, which is coming to 1400 S. Eads Street, managing partner Charles Kachadoorian told ARLnow. The plan is to open there in late May or early June, he said.

Like Peruvian Brothers, that hoped-for debut aligns with Amazon’s schedule for the first phase of its new Pentagon City office complex, also known as “Metropolitan Park.” Back in July, it was announced Good Company and a number of other local businesses were opening at HQ2 Phase 1.

The eatery first opened on N. Glebe Road in Ballston in 2019 and has since become popular as well as crowded on weekends, with lines and seating sometimes spilling onto the sidewalk.

That history played a big part in how this new location is being approached and designed, Kachadoorian said.

“It’s almost twice the size… compared to our tiny little spot in Ballston,” he said. “We’ll have more seating, indoor and outdoor seating, and we will have a great flow which we are excited about. Folks tend to get cramped up here in Ballston.”

The larger space will allow the cafe to have dinner service as well, a feature of the Ballston location prior to the pandemic. The menus will be pretty much the same at both locations.

“The [food] will be very, very similar. I’m sure there will be small things,” Kachadoorian said. “But, for the most part, the bulk of the menu is the same. The donuts are the same and the same coffee.”

The new Pentagon City location isn’t the only one that Good Company will be opening in the coming months. The company just completed construction on a new commercial baking facility in Tysons that will allow the majority of the baking to shift to that location. The hope is that it will open as soon as next week and alleviate some of the customer congestion often found in Ballston.

“We [currently] make everything in Ballston. We’ve spilled out of the kitchen into the dining room, so it’s time to get some more capacity,” Kachadoorian said.

Beyond baking for the two Good Company locations, the Tysons facility will also pick up the slack with the wholesale items the shop sells to area coffee shops and for catering. One of those places that Good Company provides pastries to is Misha’s in Old Town Alexandria.

Kachadoorian said he expects the company’s wholesale offerings and commitments to increase “dramatically” over the next few months due to the opening of the new Tysons commercial baking facility.

There’s also a plan to open a Good Company location in D.C. in the spring of 2024, but exact plans have not been finalized as of yet.

For the moment, what Kachadoorian is most excited with the new Pentagon City location is getting to know the community.

“It’s a new neighborhood. What’s really fun thing when you open a restaurant is getting to know everybody from the area,” he said. “So, we hope that, just like it has in Ballston, it becomes a really cool spot for people to gather and weave the fabric of the community a little bit.”

Peruvian Brothers eyes summer opening at Amazon’s HQ2

By Matt Blitz
1/3

Empanada eatery Peruvian Brothers is set to return to Arlington this summer.

The fast-casual Peruvian restaurant owned by two brothers is planning to open in the first phase of Amazon’s HQ2 sometime in the summer, co-owner Giuseppe Lanzone told ARLnow. That timeline appears to follow Amazon’s schedule for opening its gleaming new office complex at 1400 S. Eads Street.

The new 2,000-square-foot restaurant on the first floor of the new building will have a full menu and a cocktail bar, serving pisco sours, among other drinks. This marks a return to the neighborhood for Peruvian Brothers, which previously occupied a stand at the Crystal City Water Park before the park underwent renovations.

Last July, it was announced that the restaurant was one of several moving into HQ2. The recently-announced delay for the second phase of the headquarters didn’t impact Peruvian Brothers since it’s moving into the almost-completed first phase.

“We are very much looking forward to going back into the National Landing area because the last they know we only had a small stand selling empanadas and some drinks,” Lanzone said. “Now, we are bringing our whole menu and a whole new bar concept. We hope all the neighbors… come enjoy a drink, a bite of food, and hang out.”

Giuseppe and fellow co-owner Mario Lanzone are originally from Peru and moved with their family to McLean in 1997. Prior to becoming a restaurateur, Giuseppe was a two-time Olympic rower for Team USA.

It was a decade ago when the Lanzone brothers first began their Alexandria-based food truck and catering business. Lanzone said they are celebrating its ten-year anniversary this week.

In February 2020, the brothers opened their first brick-and-mortar spot in La Cosecha, a Latin American market in D.C. Then, the pandemic hit and shut down the newly-opened location.

Thankfully, Lanzone lived in Crystal City and often jogged by the then-unoccupied stand in the privately-owned water park. The brothers struck a deal with park owner JBG Smith to serve a limited menu of empanadas and a few drinks out of the small space.

They were there for about two years before closing, but it led to an even bigger opportunity with the brothers moving into the largest restaurant space they’ve ever occupied.

The new restaurant will feature a similar menu as its La Cosecha location, which includes sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, and ceviche along with empanadas, but with at least one new addition.

“One of the things that were very popular with my brother and I growing up in La Punta on the coast of Peru were croquetas y pulpos, Peruvian croquettes,” Lanzone said. “It’s like an octopus burger, so to speak, which is absolutely delicious.”

The space will be designed with art and murals influenced and done by fellow Peruvians, he said.

Lanzone admits it’s been a bit of a challenge to build out the expansive space, from the back of the kitchen all the way to the front doors, but the reward is that they get to show off their shared heritage and culture to all who come by.

“We are very much looking forward [to bringing]…a little bit of a taste of where my brother Mario and I grew up… and where we come from,” Lanzone said. “From day one, teaching and sharing our Peruvian culture to everybody else that hasn’t been there yet. And, hopefully, one day will get to go there.”

BREAKING: Second phase of Amazon’s HQ2 delayed, county ‘not surprised’ but optimistic

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 3 p.m.) Amazon is putting the second phase of its second headquarters in Arlington on pause, Bloomberg and various other business news outlets are reporting.

“The construction moratorium will delay the online retailer’s full arrival at its biggest real estate project, and could create headaches for local developers, as well as construction and service workers banking on Amazon’s rapid expansion,” Bloomberg first reported.

It is a move that is not totally unexpected but yet will have significant local economic ramifications. Phase 2 of HQ2, approved by the Arlington County Board in April 2022, would have come with hundreds if not thousands of construction jobs, nearly 3 million square feet of office space, and the futuristic, nature-inspired Helix building.

That’s not to mention possible impacts on some of the development in the area spurred by Amazon’s arrival.

Amazon is still on track to complete the first HQ2 phase in Pentagon City this summer and told the Washington Business Journal that it still plans to eventually hire some 25,000 workers for its Arlington presence.

Thus far, this move is being described as a “pause” and not a cancellation. Amazon still plans to apply for permits associated with the project’s second phase, on what’s known as the PenPlace site, according to the Business Journal.

Amazon recently announced that it would be bringing most employees back to the office at least three days per week, after three years of working from home during the pandemic. Some employees, including those who work on national security-related business lines, have been working out of rented office space in Crystal City during that time.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to lay off more than 18,000 employees across the company. It also paused work on office construction projects in Nashville and in the Seattle area.

Arlington County issued the following statement about Amazon’s decision today.

Arlington County values the ongoing partnership with Amazon throughout the creation of its second headquarters – HQ2 has always been a multi-year project, and it continues to be a long-term commitment to Arlington and Virginia. We’re confident Amazon remains committed to the second phase of the project — PenPlace — and its benefits to the community, including affordable housing and the exciting partnership with Arlington Public Schools for the Community High School. We remain committed to working with Amazon in the years ahead, and look forward to the opening of phase one — Met Park — later this year.

At a virtual press conference this afternoon, County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said the HQ2 delay is “not exactly surprising” and “makes sense” given economic conditions and post-pandemic work patterns.

“It really doesn’t concern me, in fact i’m quite understanding,” Dorsey said. “Every [organization], from every sector, is thinking of its long term plans in a new light.”

“We’re going to ultimately see all of the benefits that we envisioned at the beginning, it’s just going to take longer,” Dorsey said, confidently predicting that the second HQ2 phase will still get built. “There’s no indication that I have that as Amazon expands, a central piece of that won’t be HQ2 and Arlington.”

(more…)

Arlington seeks funding to increase bus service to Amazon HQ2 via Columbia Pike

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

Arlington County is applying for regional funding to run buses every six minutes between Fairfax County and Amazon’s second headquarters in Pentagon City during peak hours.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday authorized staff to apply for up to $8 million in Northern Virginia Transportation Commission funding. Funding would offset the operating costs associated with running 10 buses per hour during peak times for two years along a new Metrobus route dubbed the 16M, connecting the Skyline complex in the Bailey’s Crossroads area of Fairfax County down Columbia Pike, to Pentagon City and Crystal City.

The report suggests that the county is preparing for an increase in ridership after the opening of the first phase of Amazon’s HQ2, despite work from home trends.

“The 16M service will provide a direct connection to Amazon HQ2 with its first phase of construction (2.1 million square feet of commercial space) coming on-line in Summer/Fall 2023,” per a county report. “This service will also take advantage of the recently built portions of Columbia Pike and [eight] new transit stations located on Columbia Pike.”

But recommendations to increase frequency along this route date back well beyond Amazon’s decision to move into Arlington, says Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors.

She says the request acts on a 2016 study, which “recommended creating a route connecting Skyline with Crystal City through Columbia Pike in anticipation of growth in Crystal City.” That followed the cancellation of the Columbia Pike streetcar project, which would have followed largely the same route.

“The study evaluated ridership forecasting, current service patterns, like bus and seat availability, and travel patterns, like trip lengths, ridership rates and traffic volume in the area to make the recommendation to increase frequency,” Pors said.

Sometime this spring, the new 16M route will begin revenue service with a base frequency of buses every 12 minutes during the service day.  The new route will replace existing 16G/H service.

Pors said the average weekday ridership for the last four-and-a-half years along the 16G/H line peaked at a little over 4,500 average weekday riders before Covid, and is now about 60% recovered compared to pre-pandemic levels.

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Amazon touts investments for upping Arlington affordable housing stock by 20%

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

Amazon announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it is shutting down its charitable e-commerce platform AmazonSmile, which lets customers support their favorite nonprofits while shopping.

Instead, the tech company says it will focus on areas of more “meaningful change,” chiefly, investments in affordable housing. One of the first examples it highlighted was its contributions in Arlington County, the home of its forthcoming second headquarters.

“In one year alone, our investments have been able to increase the affordable housing stock in communities like Bellevue, Washington and Arlington, Virginia by at least 20%,” it said.

That’s a fair statement, according to Arlington County.

Per a 2022 annual report on affordable housing, Arlington County had 8,650 total committed affordable units (CAFs) in the 2020 fiscal year.

“With Amazon’s support, we added 619 CAFs via Crystal House in FY21 and 1,334 CAFs via [Barcroft Apartments] in FY22, which is 1,953 total CAFs added between those two projects and a more than 20% increase over the FY20 CAF total,” says Erika Moore, a spokeswoman for the Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development.

In December 2021, Amazon loaned $160 million — on top of a $150 million from Arlington County — to real estate developer Jair Lynch to  facilitate the purchase of the Barcroft Apartments on the condition that Jair Lynch preserve 1,334 units for affordable housing.

In January 2021, Amazon issued another loan to help the Washington Housing Conservancy purchase the Crystal House apartment complex (1900 S. Eads St) and stabilize rent at the complex, one block from Amazon’s future HQ2.

Arlington County has selected a developer to oversee the construction of 655 CAFs of infill development within the site, which would further increase the number of affordable units with ties to Amazon donations.

“We’re investing $2 billion to build and preserve affordable housing in our hometown communities,” the company said. “In just two years, we’ve provided funding to create more than 14,000 affordable homes — and we expect to build at least 6,000 more in the coming months. These units will host more than 18,000 moderate- to low-income families, many of them with children.”

The end of AmazonSmile, which the company says has not created “the impact we had originally hoped,” comes just a few days after the tech company announced it will lay off 18,000 employees. The company maintains it will still bring 25,000 jobs to its second headquarters, despite slowing growth.

Should it hit that mark, the tech and retail giant will be able to claim $550 million in state grants through 2042, and another $200 million should it hire 37,850 full-time HQ2 employees by 2035. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has proposed setting aside $78 million in the new two-year state budget to help fund the grants, the Washington Business Journal reports.

The full AmazonSmile announcement is below.

(more…)

NEW: Amazon says HQ2 office towers and public park will open this summer

By Jo DeVoe
1/14

Three years ago this month, Amazon started setting the stage for construction of the first phase of its second headquarters.

Since then, construction work has continued on-pace, with banners across the Pentagon City site, located at the corner of 13th Street S. and S. Eads Street, heralding a 2023 arrival.

Now that 2023 is here, an Amazon spokeswoman says work on the Metropolitan Park or “Met Park” phase of HQ2 — comprised of two office towers and a $14 million public park renovation — will wrap up in time to open this summer.

“Construction is well underway and nearing completion at Met Park,” says Hayley Richard. “We’re excited to open Met Park and start welcoming employees, neighbors, and visitors to our offices and public park spaces this summer. We will share a formal date and more updates in the coming months.”

In this phase, a block of warehouses were torn down and two LEED Platinum towers totalling 2.1 million square feet are being built in its place.

“Inside both towers, crews are working their way up the building installing signage, furniture, and floor paint,” Clark Construction said in an email last week.

Several local businesses will be moving into the 65,000 square feet of street-level retail: a daycare and a spa, Arlington’s second Conte’s Bike Shop, a slew of restaurants and cafés, and District Dogs. It’s unclear if RĀKO Coffee will still be moving in after the company’s first location closed and its goods were auctioned off.

Nearby, Amazon is also turning a large patch of grass south of 12th Street S. into a park with lush, meandering paths, dog areas and public art. The art installation — “Queen City” by Nekisha Durrett — pays tribute to the former Black community by the same name, which was located nearby before it was razed by the federal government to make way for the Pentagon. The structure’s reclaimed brick façade will highlight the area’s past as a hub for brick production.

“We have started placing exterior brick on the Nekisha art sculpture, and have added fencing and lighting around the daycare center, and begun laying stone pathways,” said Clark Construction, which also filmed a tour of the under-construction park.

 

The number of current HQ2 employees working from home or from leased office space in Crystal City remains somewhere above the 5,000 mark. In September this year, the tech company told ARLnow that it had assigned more than 5,000 employees to HQ2, after it was first announced in April that it had hired its 5,000th HQ2 employee. Some 28 jobs are currently posted on its job board for Arlington.

That puts Amazon one-fifth of its way toward its promise to bring 25,000 jobs to its second headquarters, in divisions ranging from web services to retail to Alexa.

Amazon and other tech companies such as ride-sharing platform Lyft are seeing their upward trajectory falter after years of accelerated growth during the pandemic. Like other companies, Amazon intends to lay off workers and pare back on spending. Some 18,000 employees could be let go in a cost-cutting effort targeting its corporate ranks, human resources, Alexa and retail.

When asked if these economic conditions were impacting hiring at HQ2, Richard demurred.

“Regarding your other questions, while I don’t have anything to share on that story, what I can tell you is that our long-term intention and commitment to the communities where we have a presence, like HQ2, remains unchanged,” she said.

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