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© Reuters. Press conference on the new Amazon headquarters in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Amazon.com (The NASDAQ Project's second headquarters 🙂 in northern Virginia was reviewed on Saturday by local authorities, who approved an estimated $ 51 million in funding . In November, Amazon chose National Landing, a site owned jointly by Arlington County and Alexandria, just outside Washington, as well as New York for its headquarters, called the second headquarters. This followed a year – long search in which hundreds of municipalities, from Newark, New Jersey, to Indianapolis, competed for the coveted taxes and high – wage jobs promised by the project. In February, Amazon abruptly canceled the idea of building part of its second headquarters in Queens, New York, after opposition from angry local rulers by the incentives promised by city politicians and States.
The Arlington County Council, consisting of five members, voted 5-0 in favor of Amazon, who received the financial package after a seven-hour meeting in a room filled with about 150 citizens and representatives of local unions and minority groups.
Some residents and groups of workers have expressed strong opposition, many of them chanting "shame" and brandishing placards with slogans such as "Do not be the opposite of Robinhood," "Overworks and Underpays". Amazon ", and" Advocate for us and not Amazon. "A protester was escorted out of the meeting by the police.
A few dozen protesters in front of the county office chanted: "The united people will never be defeated."
Danny Candejas, an organizer of the "For us, not Amazon" coalition, who opposes the company's move to the region, said: "We are fighting for people living here not to be charged to rich."
Some supporters at the meeting waved placards saying "vote yes" and "Amazon is paramount to Arlington".
One hundred and twelve people registered to speak, an unusually high number for a county meeting, forcing Council Chair Christian Dorsey to reduce the number of minutes of discussion to three minutes for each regular speaker and five minutes, for representatives of organizations.
Many speakers opposed to the siege of the Amazon in particular opposed direct incentives, citing rising housing costs, the likely displacement of low-income families, the acceleration of the theft of wages for workers in the Amazon. construction and lack of guarantee of investment in affordable housing funds.
"Speculators are already driving home prices up, homeowners are raising rents and general contractors are raising prices for home improvement projects," said one of its residents, Hunter Tamarro.
Unions, including the AFL-CIO, opposed Amazon's failure to sign a project agreement providing wage guarantees and benefits for workers hired to build new buildings. .
But supporters such as resident June O'Neill Connell said that the presence of Amazon would allow Arlington to receive public funds for investment in transportation and higher education. "I want this money from the state," O Connell said. "Without Amazon, we would not have a cent."
Holly Sullivan, head of Amazon's economic development worldwide, said briefly that the company would invest about $ 2.5 billion, would create more than 25,000 jobs with an average salary of over $ 150,000, generating more than $ 3.2 billion in tax revenue.
"With regard to incentives, Amazon is only eligible for financial incentive after we have made our investments and occupied offices in the community," she said.
Dorsey, the chairman of the board, said before the vote that he hoped the measure would be pbaded. He said that Amazon's rejection would not solve the community's problems and concerns, and that it was the first agreement reached by the county, which was to allow the new growth of income from financing it.
Admittedly, the vote approved about $ 51 million, a fraction of the $ 481 million promised by the county. Only 5% of the incentives are direct. In addition, Amazon has been offered a $ 750 million package by the state, which the Virginia General Assembly has approved with little opposition.
The $ 51 million includes a controversial direct financial incentive or a $ 23 million cash grant to Amazon over 15 years, which will be levied from taxes on Arlington hotel rooms. This subsidy is contingent on Amazon occupying 6 million square feet of office space in the first 16 years.
Arlington also proposed to invest approximately $ 28 million over 10 years of future property tax revenues in the on-site infrastructure and open spaces located at the headquarters site.
A deposit on the county council website indicates that the $ 23 million grant and the $ 28 million strategic public infrastructure investment "played a key role in Amazon's choice of the head office of the company." Arlington ".
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