News

Utility work for HQ2’s stalled second phase is continuing this month, but Amazon is still keeping mum about a construction timeline.

Several sidewalk and crosswalk closures are scheduled for the next few weeks in the area of the planned PenPlace site in Pentagon City, contractor Clark Construction said in an update to neighbors.


Events

A free concert is coming to Metropolitan Park tomorrow (Wednesday) as Amazon prepares to celebrate HQ2’s one-year anniversary later this month.

Indie rock artist Zach Person will be performing his sophomore album, “Let’s Get Loud,” from 5-5:45 p.m. on the park’s Central Green at 525 14th Street S. A “loud and raw” blend of “high-energy rock anthems and head-bobbing funk rhythms” is promised, along with free picnic blankets.


News

As Google plans to funnel $1 billion into Northern Virginia data centers, places such as Arlington may have renewed opportunities to attract tech investment.

Although the data center expansions announced last week are based in Loudoun County and Prince William County, they impact the entire area, said Terry Clower, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.


Events

Amazon’s blowout Q1 earnings are not the only cause for celebration at HQ2.

The Pentagon City office complex will also get some special outdoor guests, starting this week: live alpacas. The South American camelid mammals will be outside of Peruvian Brothers (1450 S. Eads Street) from 4-6 p.m. Friday for the restaurant’s first Alpaca Happy Hour.


News

Crystal City is losing what is currently its only grocery store.

The Amazon Fresh store that opened in July 2022 at 1550 Crystal Drive will close after Sunday, ARLnow has learned. Multiple readers told us yesterday that the store had launched a sudden, massive sale.


News

First Lady Jill Biden came to Amazon’s HQ2 in Pentagon City today and touted her husband’s record on women’s health issues.

Speaking this morning at the Amazon Web Services Imagine: Nonprofit conference, Biden emphasized the President’s recent allocation of $100 million in federal funding for the ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, a program focused on advancing research and development in the field.


News

Some early utility work in anticipation of the second phase of Amazon’s HQ2 is scheduled to start next week.

The first phase of the massive office complex in Pentagon City opened last summer. The second phase, located across 12th Street S. from the first phase and known as “PenPlace,” is delayed indefinitely.


News

A planned apartment complex is set to have even more affordable housing.

Speakers at an Arlington County Board meeting on Tuesday were divided in their thoughts about the Board’s unanimous vote to approve 88 units of additional affordable housing at 1900 S. Eads Street, in the Crystal City area.


Around Town

An art studio featuring free classes and a light-up scrapyard velociraptor opened its doors yesterday (Wednesday) in Pentagon City.

Catherine Anchin, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (MoCA), cut the ribbon for the new Innovation Studio + Store alongside several local officials at Amazon’s second headquarters. The project, a collaboration between Amazon and MoCA, seeks to take a fresh approach to connecting the public with contemporary art.


Events

Menorah lights are set to brighten up Arlington after Hanukkah begins next Friday.

On Sunday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m., Chabad Lubavitch of Alexandria-Arlington, a local branch of the global Jewish outreach organization, will light its “giant 9-foot Menorah.”


Opinion

This week marks the five-year anniversary of Amazon’s decision to locate its second headquarters in Arlington.

The initial plan had HQ2 split between Arlington and New York City, but a few months later NYC was out and Arlington was the sole destination for the tech and retail giant.


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