Amazon To Spend $20M On Affordable Housing In Arlington: Report

ARLINGTON, VA — Online retail behemoth Amazon will spend $20 million to help Arlington County create more affordable housing in exchange for being allowed to erect two 22-story office buildings as part of its effort to set up a new second headquarters in Crystal City.

A county official told WTOP that the figure represents months of negotiations between Arlington and Amazon, and therefore it is not expected to change.

Amazon will also be expected to contribute to transportation improvements and open space, such as the construction of a two-acre park at Metropolitan Park, which will be the main site of Amazon headquarters, according to the report.

The Arlington County Board still must approve the plan, and that is expected to happen next month.

Jeff Bezos, the multi-billionaire founder of Amazon, said earlier this year that he was "really glad" that the company's second headquarters would be going in the Crystal City neighborhood in Arlington.

ABC 7's Tim Barber reported that Bezos also said the new headquarters would be a key part of Amazon's effort to become carbon neutral by 2040.

"We are going to work very hard with the community to make sure that our presence [in Arlington] ends up being a net positive [and] doesn't end up being a net negative," Barber quoted him as saying.

#JeffBezos on #Amazon #HQ2:

“I am really glad that it is where it is. And by the way, we are going to work very hard with the community to make sure that our presence there ends up being a net positive doesn’t end up being a net negative.”@ABC7News #Virginia #Arlington pic.twitter.com/D3LxGJ9hxP
— Tim Barber (@ABC7TimBarber) September 19, 2019

The Washington Business Journal reports that Bezos made the remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and that he termed the initiative a "Climate Pledge" to meet the goals of the 2016 Paris Agreement ahead of schedule.

LEED-certified buildings in Arlington will be part of this initiative, WBJ reported.

Amazon says its new headquarters in Crystal City will employ 25,000 workers and bring in billions of dollars in investment (although some critics have disputed these figures). Crystal City reportedly offered $819 million in incentives.

“We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, in a statement at the time of the announcement last year, and before the company pulled out of New York due to fierce local opposition. “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”

“We are proud that Amazon has selected National Landing for a major new headquarters," said Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol in a statement. National Landing refers to a neighborhood that includes both Crystal City as well as Pentagon City and neighboring Potomac Yard in Alexandria. "This is, above all, a validation of our community’s commitment to sustainability, transit-oriented development, affordable housing and diversity."

Northern Virginia was one of 20 areas on the e-commerce giant's short list when it was released. But experts had long identified Virginia as a likely destination because it was considered a business-friendly state.