Amazon has reportedly selected New York City and Arlington, Va., to house the company's second headquarters, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
Sources said Amazon is expected to make an official announcement regarding the decision Nov. 13. The company is also expected to announce additional projects in other cities, sources told the publication.
Amazon, which declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal, will reportedly split its second headquarters between the Long Island City neighborhood in New York City and Arlington's Crystal City neighborhood. City officials in both locales are also expected to hold their own announcement events on Nov. 13, sources said.
The tech giant factored in a host of qualifications for the selection of HQ2, including access to mass transit, proximity to major airports with direct flights to its other headquarters in Seattle, and a pool of major tech talent. The company also reportedly sought to show it would influence the economy in the area it selected through investments and job creation.
Crystal City is just south of Washington, D.C., and is home to several Defense Department offices. Sources familiar with the decision told the publication the area was long considered a candidate for HQ2, in part because Amazon Founder, Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos owns a home in the area and owns The Washington Post, also in Washington.
Similar to Crystal City, Long Island City in New York's Queens borough is near several major transportation venues and is in the midst of a residential housing boom as one of the fastest-growing communities in New York City, according to the report.
Amazon began its search for its second headquarters in September 2017 and narrowed down to 20 finalists in January. The company had reportedly been in late-stage negotiations with several locations, including New York City, Crystal City and Dallas, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Last week, media reports indicated Amazon planned to split HQ2 evenly between two locations rather than pick one city. Amazon executives reportedly concluded they would be able to recruit more talent if they spread its offices over two locations. The move would also help ease potential issues with housing, transit and other factors where adding thousands of employees may cause issues.
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