Amazon’s new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, are now officially open for business. The Seattle-based technology giant broke the ribbon on Metropolitan Park, a site that will serve as the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters. Metropolitan Park is 2.1 million square feet in size.
The complex includes two buildings with a total of 22 stories, and initially it will be able to house 8,000 employees from Amazon. According to the first draft of the proposal, by the year 2030, HQ2 will be home to 25,000 employees.
Andy Jassy Praised Arlington As Her Home
Contents
In a tweet that he posted, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy referred to Arlington as “tremendous” and expressed the company’s pride in calling the city its home.
Jassy wrote in an email that the company was looking forward to “inventing for customers and being an active part of the community for many years to come.”
The opening of the new headquarters comes after the business put a temporary halt in building on the second phase of HQ2 in March while it continued to deal with the effects of its hybrid work arrangements, layoffs, and a slowing economy.
In a statement sent to Geekwire at the time, Amazon real estate executive John Schoettler said, “We’re constantly evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a positive atmosphere for employees.” “And because Met Park will have the capacity to fit more than 14,000 employees, we’ve decided to move the official opening of Pen Place (also known as the second phase of HQ2) a little bit earlier than we had originally planned.”
Glenn Younkin was seen getting the full tour treatment, which included a stop at an Amazon Banana Stand and the opportunity to pet an office dog. Both of these activities are routine in Seattle workplaces and have been so for decades.
Younkin expressed gratitude to Amazon for their “commitment to the community,” and stated ” At the moment, I want to thank Amazon for your commitment.” “We rejoice in this relationship that is shaping a more promising and improved future right here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Amazon staff is deeply invested, not only in their own business but also in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Both Of The Office Buildings’ Names Are Jasper, As Follows:
Jasper is a codename for a project that aims to improve the user experience of Alexa, and Merlin is a codename for a product called Quick Sight, which assists AWS clients in the creation of dashboards that are powered by artificial intelligence insights. The two office towers have been given these codenames.
According to Amazon, the buildings will produce zero operational carbon emissions and will be powered by one hundred percent renewable energy derived from a solar farm located in the vicinity.
There is a public open space that is 2.5 acres in size and features 175 native trees and shrubs, a dog park, walking trails, public art pieces, a children’s garden and play area, and room for seasonal weekend farmers markets.
The produce grown in a rooftop vegetable garden will be donated to local nonprofit organizations as part of the garden’s mission.
There are 620 bike racks, two bike repair and wash facilities, a half mile of protected bike lanes, and four levels of below-grade parking with 290 electric car charging stations. In addition, there is a protected bike lane that runs the length of the half mile.
The Helix:
In earlier iterations of the concept for HQ2, a spiraling centerpiece structure referred to as “The Helix” was envisioned.
As part of their search for a location for a second headquarters in North America, Amazon began holding the widely publicized HQ2 sweepstakes in the year 2017. The corporation had first stated that it would split a 50,000-person second headquarters between Northern Virginia and New York City. However, after receiving political pressure, the company decided to abandon its plans for New York City.
