It’s official: Amazon is coming to Northern Virginia. If you are thinking about buying, selling, or renting a home in the area over the next couple of years, this can bring a lot of uncertainty. Kay Houghton and Associates is here to help the community understand the impact that Amazon’s HQ2 will have on the area.
Jobs
According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) released by the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, and Amazon.com Services Inc., Amazon HQ2 will bring a minimum of 25,000 jobs to the area, which may go as high as 37,850. This will happen in two phases and will take until 2038 to be completed. In 2019, only 400 jobs are expected to be created!
Development
In addition to creating new jobs in the area, the Commonwealth of Virginia has committed tens of millions of dollars in support of the development of the Crystal City East and Potomac Yard metro stations. The Commonwealth is also going to be investing in improving Rt. 1, building a pedestrian bridge from Crystal City to Reagan National Airport, and transit expansion to the Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Potomac Yard areas.
Big Gamble on Tax Incentives
Selecting Crystal City for Amazon’s HQ2 does come with a cost in the form of massive tax incentives for Amazon. The overall hope is that bringing higher paying jobs (the average annual target wage is $150,000, which increases by 1.5% every year) to the area will spur increased tax revenues and economic growth. Seasonal or temporary employees do not count towards the new job totals.
Tune in later this week to learn what the Amazon HQ2 expansion means for you!
