Pentagon City | ARLnow.com

Crystal City Civic Association Urges Swift Approval of Amazon Incentive Deal

Published March 7, 2019 at 10:00AM

Some of Amazon’s future neighbors in Crystal City now say that they’re eager to see the County Board approve an incentive package to bring the company to Arlington.

The Crystal City Civic Association penned a letter of support Monday (March 4) for the company’s arrival in the neighborhood, encouraging the Board to give the green light to a plan to hand over $23 million in grant money to the tech giant over the next 15 years. The Board is set to consider the deal, publicly revealed for the first time this week, later this month.

Around Town

Women’s Fashion Store Windsor Coming to Pentagon City Mall

By Alex Koma

Published March 7, 2019 at 9:00AM

Windsor, a women's clothing store bound for the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall.

A new women’s fashion boutique is on the way for the Pentagon City mall.

Signs posted in a space on the third level of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City advertise that Windsor will soon open in the mall. The shop will be located next to a Lids location and the Life in D.C. store.

News

Amazon Could Take Advantage of a Tech Incentive Program to Generate Hefty Tax Savings

By Alex Koma

Published March 6, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated March 7, 2019 at 9:37AM

The office building at 241 18th Street S. that Amazon plans to occupy in Crystal City.

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) Once Amazon starts to move into Arlington, the company could take advantage of a little-used county incentive program for tech firms to substantially slash its local tax burden.

Documents released in late January show that Arlington officials explicitly pitched the tech giant on the prospect of scoring major tax savings through the county’s “Technology Zone” program, back when they were still wooing Amazon last year. Created in 2001 and last updated in 2014, the program was designed to provide incentives for high-tech businesses to move to Arlington by offering significantly reduced rates for the county’s “Business, Professional and Occupational License” tax in certain neighborhoods.

Around Town

Invicta Set to Open New Watch Store in Pentagon City Mall

By Alex Koma

Published March 6, 2019 at 9:00AM | Updated March 6, 2019 at 11:49AM

(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) Invicta will soon start selling its high-end watches — well, high end to a working journalist anyway — at the Pentagon City mall.

Signs posted at a space in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City indicate that the timepiece retailer will open on the mall’s second level soon. The new shop will be in between the Pandora Jewelry location and the Papyrus stationary store.

News

County Unveils Amazon Incentive Deal, Sketching Out How Company Can Earn $23 Million in Grants

By Alex Koma

Published March 5, 2019 at 3:45PM

Arlington officials have, at last, unveiled a detailed version of the county’s proposed incentive package designed to bring Amazon to the county.

A draft copy of the county’s “Economic Development Incentive Grant Agreement” posted online for the first time today (Tuesday) sketches out the exact amount of office space Amazon will need to occupy in Arlington in order to win $23 million in incentive cash over the next 15 years.

Around Town

UPDATED: Haagen-Dazs in Pentagon City Mall Shuts Down for Renovations, Set to Re-Open Soon

By Alex Koma

Published March 5, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated March 5, 2019 at 4:10PM

(Updated at 4 p.m.) The Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop in the Pentagon City mall has shut down for renovations.

All evidence of the small store on the first floor of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is now gone, but an employee says they’re hoping to reopen by the end of the week.

Events

County Board Sets Plans for Bevy of Amazon-Focused Community Meetings Ahead of Vote This Month

By Alex Koma

Published March 1, 2019 at 11:00AM

Arlington leaders will soon convene more than a dozen town halls to discuss Amazon’s plans for the county in the run-up to a planned vote on the matter later this month.

County Board members plan to spend the next few weeks holding meetings with a variety of civic associations and advocacy groups to discuss the tech giant’s arrival in Crystal City and Pentagon City, and have now released a schedule of the impending gatherings.

News

Amazon ‘Felt Welcome’ in Arlington Before Moving In, But Still Plans More Extensive Outreach

By Alex Koma

Published February 28, 2019 at 1:30PM

JBG Smith CEO Matt Kelly, left, and Amazon executive Holly Sullivan, center, at a Bisnow event.

When Amazon first started seriously considering Arlington for a new headquarters, the company went so far as to send employees out to local coffee shops and bars to gauge how people around here felt about the tech giant moving in.

The company’s head of worldwide economic development, Holly Sullivan, says Amazon employees were regularly surveying Crystal City locals about the prospect of becoming the neighborhood’s newest, and largest, occupant. And by the time the tech firm was ready to select Arlington for the project, she had full confidence that Amazon would be greeted with open arms.

Around Town

Here’s Where You Can Pick Up Girl Scout Cookies Around Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published February 26, 2019 at 9:00AM

If you’ve got a hankering for samoas, thin mints and tagalongs these days, you’re in luck — it’s officially Girl Scout cookie season around Arlington.

Local troops have begun setting up booths around the county, with proceeds of the annual sale set to benefit the local Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and fund a variety of trips and programs for kids around Arlington.

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Amazon is a Perfect Fit for Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Published February 25, 2019 at 4:15PM | Updated February 25, 2019 at 5:13PM

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), who writes in support of Amazon’s plans to open up a new headquarters in Crystal City and Pentagon City.

The Crystal City-based group lobbies on behalf of more than 2,200 consumer technology companies, Amazon included, and it has recently come out in strong support of the company’s vision for Arlington. Shapiro appeared at a recent forum of Amazon executives and regional leaders, and the CTA even organized a pro-Amazon demonstration at the event.

News

UPDATED: Large Emergency Response Near Pentagon City Apartment Building

By ARLnow.com

Published February 22, 2019 at 3:05PM | Updated February 22, 2019 at 6:57PM

Update at 7 p.m. — The situation ended after police found the subject dead in the apartment, per ACPD.

UPDATE: The subject was located deceased and ACPD is now conducting a death investigation. Based on the preliminary investigation, this is an isolated incident with no known threat to the community.

News

In Rare Public Appearance, Amazon Leaders Pledge to Become ‘Good Neighbors’ in Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published February 22, 2019 at 1:30PM

An Amazon executive joins leaders from around the region for a panel discussion.

Amazon executives say they’re looking forward to becoming “good neighbors” in Arlington, delivering a decidedly optimistic message to local leaders in one of the company’s first public events since tabbing the county for its new headquarters.

The tech giant’s head of worldwide economic development, Holly Sullivan, assured a crowd of government officials and business executives last night (Thursday) that the company is looking to build a “sustainable long-term partnership” in the region. That presented a stark contrast with Amazon’s recent decision to spurn New York City over concerns that local leaders were insufficiently supportive of a new headquarters there.