After a dramatic competition that pitted US cities against one another, years of contested planning, and claims of unwavering dedication regardless of the pandemic, Amazon now says its plan for a second headquarters, aka HQ2, is on pause. The corporate said at present that it’ll delay development of greater than half of the thousands and thousands of sq. toes of house in a campus deliberate for Arlington, Virginia, together with a twisting tower meant to turn out to be a signature landmark for town.
Amazon, which remains to be within the strategy of shedding more than 18,000 corporate workers, didn’t set a brand new date for development to renew in Arlington, throughout the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Arlington County board chair Christian Dorsey says the county discovered “not too long ago” of the deliberate pause and doesn’t know when development will resume.
Amazon additionally declined to offer any timeline for development to renew. “Our second headquarters has at all times been a multiyear undertaking, and we stay dedicated to Arlington, Virginia, and the larger Capital Area,” says John Schoettler, Amazon’s vp of worldwide actual property and services.
Amazon has pledged to make use of the undertaking, the primary section of which already dominates the Crystal Metropolis neighborhood during which it’s positioned, to finally deliver at the very least 25,000 high-paid employees to Virginia. Arlington and different cities, together with Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas, competed to win the undertaking partly to safe a tranche of elite employees and related tax income. How many individuals or new tax {dollars} Amazon will deliver to Arlington, and on what timeline, is now unclear.
Amazon initially deliberate to build its second HQ in two phases. The primary featured two giant buildings housing about 2 million sq. toes of workplace house, and the second one other three workplace buildings and a centerpiece tower referred to as the Helix, a construction one thing like a cross between a custard swirl and the poop emoji.
HQ2’s first section, referred to as Metropolitan Park, will open on schedule in June of this 12 months, Amazon says. However the firm not has a date for development of the bigger second section and its signature swirl, all of which was initially deliberate to incorporate about 2.8 million extra sq. toes of workplace house and 115,000 sq. toes for retail.
That ratio might theoretically change. Whereas Amazon spokesperson Zach Goldsztejn says that Amazon’s long-term dedication stays the identical, the development pause will permit the corporate extra time to review how its house is finest used. In February the corporate introduced that it’ll finish its versatile, fully distant work coverage and require employees to be within the workplace three days per week starting Could 1. The regime change will probably shift how staff use the corporate’s workplace areas.
“It’s not extremely shocking that Amazon is taking a pause earlier than starting the second section,” Dorsey stated on a briefing name at present concerning the firm’s undertaking. “In the event you have a look at the world, there’s lots of uncertainty about what’s forward. Everybody from each sector is considering its long-term plans in a brand new gentle, and sadly we don’t all have the entire solutions.”
