Towering High-Rises In Arlington May Be Coming

ARLINGTON, VA -- Get ready for the Crystal City neighborhood and beyond to turn into a "mini-Manhattan" thanks to the arrival of Amazon, according to a report.

DCist spoke with a realtor who predicted that Amazon's decision to place 25,000 employees in Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Potomac Yard in Alexandria will bring about towering high rises and an explosion in land costs that will have this Arlington neighborhood resembling the Big Apple more than Northern Virginia.

It's something that's already been happening to the area, of course, and not just to Crystal City but also Rosslyn to the north, but experts believe that Amazon's decision will rapidly accelerate that trend.

“People will get used to smaller spaces and the prices will increase as we move forward,” Jeff Lockard, co-partner with the Jeff & Joseph Group, told DCist.

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Locals have some time: Lockard predicts that it will take 12-16 months for the real effects of Amazon's move to be seen. However, then you're really going to feel the impact with demand skyrocketing and density increasing, he said.

Amazon chose Crystal City as part of a nationwide search for its second headquarters. Initially, Amazon was going to choose just one location that would house all 50,000 employees, but ended up splitting the headquarters between Crystal City and New York due to concerns about finding enough tech talent to fill all of those positions in just one place.

Amazon will also spill into neighboring Pentagon City to the west and Potomac Yard in Alexandria to the south, and the whole area is being referred to as "National Landing."

Amazon reportedly received $819 million in incentives to place the headquarters in Crystal City.

Northern Virginia's new congresswoman, Jennifer Wexton, expressed concern after the HQ2 announcement, questioning whether the area has the infrastructure to support it.

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)