Amazon is holding advanced discussions about opening its second North American headquarters, dubbed “HQ2,” in Northern Virginia, according to The Washington Post.
Sources close to the discussions told the Post that Amazon is discussing details such as which buildings HQ2 would occupy and how the announcement would be made public. They are zeroing in on Crystal City, an up-and-coming area in Arlington County.
{mosads}The tech giant last year launched a high-profile search for the location that would host its next North American headquarters, asking city governments to submit proposals as it weighed options across the continent. Amazon, in January, announced a list of 20 finalists, which included Northern Virginia.
The discussions involving Northern Virginia have been more detailed than those with other cities, the Post reported. However, the company has not announced any updates publicly and the process remains confidential.
Crystal City’s top real estate developer, JBG Smith, reportedly pulled some of the area’s buildings off the market this month. Amazon, according to the Post, is eyeing two of its buildings, both of which have been targeted for redevelopment.
All parties involved declined to comment for the Post’s report.
“There’s a lot of activity,” one source close to the discussions told the Post. “[People] seem really positive, and they seem pretty confident … What we don’t know, maybe there are two or three other sites, and they’re doing the same thing. That’s what’s scary to people around here.”
Stock market investors and corporate relocations experts, largely, have said Northern Virginia is a top choice for Amazon’s next North American headquarters, according to the newspaper.
The second headquarters would bring around 50,000 new jobs to the location.