A week after news leaked that Amazon would split its second headquarters—referred to as HQ2—between Crystal City in Arlington, Va., and Long Island City in Queens, N.Y., the tech giant has confirmed the reports with an official announcement this morning. As part of the news, Amazon revealed it will also open a new business center in Nashville responsible for "customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities."
“We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia,” said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in the announcement. “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.”
Amazon will split its promised $5 billion investment between the two new headquarters and has committed to creating upward of 50,000 jobs between the two markets. The Nashville outpost will create 5,000 jobs.
“With an average salary o f$150,000 per year for the tens of thousands of new jobs Amazon is creating in Queens, economic opportunity and investment will flourish for the entire region," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York in the release. "Amazon understands that New York has everything the company needs to continue its growth. The state’s more than $100 billion transportation infrastructure program—the most ambitious in our history—combined with our education initiatives like K-12 tech education and the first-in-the-nation Excelsior Scholarship program, will help ensure long-term success and an unrivaled talent pool for Amazon.”
“Virginia put together a proposal for Amazon that we believe represents a new model of economic development for the 21st century, and I’m excited to say that our innovative approach was successful," said Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam in the release. "The majority of Virginia’s partnership proposal consists of investments in our education and transportation infrastructure that will bolster the features that make Virginia so attractive: a strong and talented workforce, a stable and competitive business climate, and a world-class higher education system.”
Since Amazon's second headquarters competition was announced, cities have fought to incentivize the tech giant with investment plans, tax cuts, and more. Last month, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced $180 million in funding for Long Island City transportation and infrastructure improvements. Similarly, earlier this year, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia committed to spending a total of $500 million on the region's Metro line.
