Pentagon City | 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.

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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.

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As Amazon Moves In, Crystal City Business Group Works to Expand to Pentagon City, Potomac Yard

By Alex Koma

Published February 21, 2019 at 1:30PM

A map of the Crystal City BID's proposed expansion (via Arlington County)

Crystal City’s leading business advocacy group is taking its most concrete steps yet to expand and represent Pentagon City and Arlington’s portion of Potomac Yard as well.

The Crystal City Business Improvement District is hoping to bump out its borders as soon as next year, according to documents submitted to the County Board. The BID plans to spend the next few months working secure the support of businesses in its adjacent neighborhoods, then finalize the change sometime in fiscal year 2020.

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County Officials, Activists Say Amazon Executives Have Failed to Engage with Arlington Community

By Alex Koma

Published February 20, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated February 20, 2019 at 3:20PM

Brian Huseman, Amazon's vice president for public policy, at HQ2 announcement in Pentagon City

Amazon can feel a bit omnipresent around Arlington these days, but, in one key way, local leaders and activists say the company has been missing in action.

The tech giant sent a few emissaries to Pentagon City in mid-November, as politicians from around the state and the region congregated to hail the company’s massive Arlington expansion. Since then, however, people closely watching the Amazon debate say they’ve seen barely any evidence that the company’s executives have shown their faces in the community.

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BREAKING: Amazon Cancels NYC HQ2 Plans, But Leaders Say ‘Nothing Has Changed’ for Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published February 14, 2019 at 11:50AM | Updated February 14, 2019 at 6:00PM

A rendering of Amazon's planned development at the "PenPlace" site in Pentagon City

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Amazon is cancelling plans to build half of its “HQ2” in New York City, citing mounting criticism from local officials and activists in its reasoning for abandoning its other proposed location for a new headquarters outside Arlington.

But Amazon said in a statement announcing the change that it does not intend to re-open the HQ2 search and will “proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville.”

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Amazon Signals It Could Sign Agreement with Local Unions to Govern Arlington Construction

By Alex Koma

Published February 13, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated February 13, 2019 at 5:01PM

Amazon is showing an increasing willingness to sign a collective bargaining agreement with local unions before it sets to work building new office space in Arlington, perhaps meeting a frequent demand of activists concerned about the tech giant’s labor practices.

Though the company cautions that nothing is set in stone until county officials formally sign off on an incentive deal to bring the tech giant’s new headquarters to Crystal City and Pentagon City, Amazon is sending signals that it’s open to the prospect of striking a “project labor agreement” with construction workers who could someday erect the company’s future home in Arlington.

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Northam Signs Amazon Incentive Deal, Finalizing Key Piece of Plan to Bring Tech Giant to Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published February 6, 2019 at 11:00AM

Embattled Gov. Ralph Northam has signed a bill to send up to $750 million in incentive cash to Amazon, quietly sealing the oft-discussed deal to bring a new headquarters to Arlington.

Northam put pen to paper on the legislation last night, a day before it was set to become law without his signature. An identical companion bill is still pending in the state Senate, but Northam’s approval and the General Assembly’s overwhelming support of both pieces of legislation likely means its passage is a mere formality.

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County Board Delays Consideration of Amazon Incentives, After Targeting February for a Vote

By Alex Koma

Published January 30, 2019 at 3:30PM

Arlington leaders are pushing back their consideration of an incentive package to seal the deal for Amazon’s new headquarters by at least a month.

Ever since the tech giant announced its plans to bring 25,000 workers to the county in mid-November, the County Board has pledged to hold a public hearing and vote on the logistics of its offer to Amazon no earlier than its Feb. 23 meeting.

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Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Support Incentive Bills to Bring New Amazon Headquarters to Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published January 28, 2019 at 3:30PM

State lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved an incentive package designed to lure Amazon to Arlington, sending legislation to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk that will direct hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funds to the tech giant over the next 15 years.

Virginia’s House of Delegates passed a bill on the matter by an 83-16 margin today (Monday), after the state Senate signed off on the legislation with a 35-5 vote last week. Northam will ultimately have the final say on the issue, but considering that his administration helped broker the deal with Jeff Bezos’ firm in the first place, it now seems a sure bet that the company has the state’s support for a massive expansion in Pentagon City and Crystal City.

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More Traffic Changes Coming for S. Eads Street As Road Runs Near Pentagon Parking Lots

By Alex Koma

Published January 23, 2019 at 5:45PM

A map of morning detours on S. Eads Street near the Pentagon's south parking lot (via Transurban)

Construction work around some of the Pentagon’s parking lots is prompting a new round of traffic changes and detours in the area.

Work focused on the new I-395 express lanes previously prompted the closure of the west side of S. Eads Street from Army Navy Drive to where it nears the Pentagon’s south parking lot at S. Rotary Road. Starting yesterday (Tuesday), workers are now moving to the east side of S. Eads instead, allowing traffic to use both sides of the street once more in the area.

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Amazon Shouldn’t Spell ‘Doom’ for Most Local Renters, But Observers Still Fear Its South Arlington Impacts

By Alex Koma

Published January 23, 2019 at 1:45PM | Updated February 4, 2019 at 9:57AM

For people fearful about how Amazon will impact Arlington, a single question tends to rise above all others — will the company’s arrival price me out of my home?

There are certainly plenty of other concerns surrounding the company, and the 25,000 jobs it has promised to bring to its new home in Pentagon City and Crystal City, stemming from its highly criticized business practices to its potential impact on roads and transit in the region.