Amazon Picks New York City, Northern Virginia for HQ2 Rentals

The imminent announcement is expected as soon as Tuesday, according to the people. Other cities may also receive major sites, some of the people said.

Amazon is the second largest headquarter in New York's Long Island City and Arlington County's Crystal City neighborhoods, which are both located directly across the major city centers. The company plans to evenly split the offices with as many as 25,000 employees.

The decision gives a major presence in three coastal areas that are politically lean left, at a time when they are under scrutiny for their perceived elitism and liberal social views.

Amazon declined to comment.

Government officials in both New York and Northern Virginia were expecting to hold events for announcements on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.

New York City Mayor Bill of Blasio discussed the Amazon deal Monday night, he did not confirm that the city had been officially selected. He was hopeful that HQ2 would come to New York City. "We're talking about the single biggest economic development deal in the history of New York City," he said.

Amazon's move to New York pits it against rival Google, which is gearing up for its own expansion in the city. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the

            Alphabet
Inc.

It will be important to know that there is a lot of people working in the city. On Monday night at the Journal's D.Live tech conference, Google financial chief Ruth Porat confirmed the company's plans to double its New York City staff of 7,000 over a decade.

New York City, Crystal City, and Dallas, people familiar with the matter said said. Aside from its HQ2 decision, Amazon may also announce that other cities have won big projects, but it was not clear what form they might take or where they would go.

The District of Columbia area, which has been one of the leading exponents of Crystal City, has long been considered by Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos has a second home there and he owns the Washington Post.

Crystal City, 1960s-era office and residential development close to the Pentagon, has seen its fortunes in the past decade or so, as major tenants, including Defense Department and private-sector tenants, have pulled up stakes.

Washington, DC, Reagan National Airport, metro stops and other transportation, made it an attractive prospect for Amazon's ambitious second-headquarters plan, according to which people have been involved in the discussions. Adding to its appeal, it is also largely in the hands of a single developer.

A potential downside is the region's notoriously bad traffic, which would likely require significant new investment, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon's impact on housing could be substantial.

Virginia could be a good fit for Amazon politically, as an important purple swing state. While the D.C. area lacks New York's cutting-edge culture, it is big, highly diverse and just maybe hip enough.

Long Island City, Queens, has been experiencing a residential housing boom, with more than 16,000 new apartments built since 2006. It is the fastest-growing community in New York City.

The neighborhood is along the East River and is accessible by multiple subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road and two ferry stops. It is also close to La Guardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports.

While the city included four neighborhoods in its original bid, officials were leaning on Long Island City from the start, according to people familiar with the process.

Amazon started the search across North America in September 2017, with the aim of creating a second, equal headquarters in Seattle. It was said that it would be 50,000 jobs and represent billions in investments.

Amazon narrowed the contest to 20 finalist cities in January, then asked for reams of data and made two-day site visits, during which the company tried to impress the company's economic development team.

Then came the big surprise a week ago when the newspaper reported that Amazon planned to split its second headquarters between two locations rather than picking one city. The change in plans came after Amazon executives concluded it could recruit more of the best tech talent if it spread the office over two locations. And by halving the size, Amazon would help ease the issues of housing, transit and other areas.

The decision to split what is considered to be one of the largest economies in the history of the world. Some city officials said they would have made their proposals to match that, while others said they thought it would increase their city's chances.

The split has also been raised with Amazon's current Seattle base, which employs more than 45,000 people.

Amazon factored in a host of qualifications for the selection of its new headquarters, including access to mass transit, proximity to an airport and direct flights to and from Seattle and perhaps most important-a pool of available tech talent nearby. The company also weighed it would be one of the largest companies in a city, something that might make it a magnet for the same kind of scrutiny it receives in Seattle over social problems. Plus, Amazon has a new location, highlighting its job creation abilities.

Some economic development experts scratched their heads at Amazon's decision to make the process public, which resulted in complicating factors and speculative real estate sales sites.

Amazon may also receive to locate in certain areas.

Still, the process has resulted in a year of positive publicity, highlighting Amazon's ability to create jobs and investments, even the company has faced criticism from President Donald Trump to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who have called the company over issues like wages.

"This was really a platform for Amazon to market its transition from traditional e-commerce" to a major tech company creating jobs across industries, said John Boyd, senior at site-selection consultancy at the Boyd Co. "It was also a platform for cities to promote themselves to a global audience. "

The choice of its new office sites will cost $ 15 an hour. Amazon also has announced major hiring plans over the past year as well as warehouses and expands its U.S. workforce.

Amazon's decision leaves a group of cities that have a clear reward. Some cities have said the process of raising awareness for other potential economic-development deals. Amazon has said it might be considered some other-rans for other projects.

-John McKinnon and Jimmy Vielkind contributed to this article.

Write to Laura Stevens at [email protected] and Keiko Morris at [email protected]