- Amazon HQ2 is Amazon's second headquarters,
which it's building kind of right on the edge
between Pentagon City and Crystal City in South Arlington.
It's a stone's throw away from the Pentagon,
really close to downtown DC.
It's just across the Potomac River.
- There was a very clear sense already in this area
that this was the location that Amazon was going to select
because of its proximity to government agencies.
- Amazon bringing 25,000 workers to the region
is going to change the economic trajectory of this community.
The question is, in what way?
Arlington County is one of the core urban counties
in the DC metropolitan area.
In fact, it's what I'd called an inner suburb.
It's home to 250,000 residents.
It's a very diverse county.
So the question is, with all of these job openings,
who benefits?
And I will say that data that we've produced
and that others have produced show that Hispanics,
African-Americans are highly underrepresented
in the computer science/engineering
occupations in this region.
So huge opportunities to close that gap
and be much more intentional about,
what's the composition of talent
that's gonna really drive the economy here?
- I think mixed alongside that,
a lot of people were very concerned about the impact
or the effect might be on the neighborhood.
Northern Virginia is already an expensive place to live.
- Our community already in Arlington County,
and also in the region, right -- when we say "our community,"
we mean people of color, migrant communities,
low and poor working people, right --
are already left out of decision making,
are already facing the worst parts of the housing crisis,
of gentrification.
We're gonna see a lot of increased rents.
We're gonna see a lot of redevelopment
that is going to displace people.
Not only rent goes up,
but the cost of living goes up in the area, right?
There will be new restaurants.
There will be new grocery stores.
There will be new shops, right,
that are catering to high-income people
that will also make things less accessible.
Folks won't be able to afford to live in their communities.
- Living in the area, I already see property tax assessments
going up in the region,
recognizing the Amazon HQ2 site, National Landing,
is literally within a mile of one
of the most vibrant Latino neighborhoods
in the region, called Arlandria.
- In the communities where we organize, right,
there are migrants from El Salvador,
from South America, Bolivia, right?
There are also community members from African countries,
South Asian communities.
There also are historically Black communities
in Arlington County, like Green Valley, right,
where folks have been living for a long time,
having community,
and unfortunately now are also feeling the challenges,
right, or have been feeling the challenges of displacement,
as well.
- In terms of infrastructure and the built environment,
we can definitely expect the neighborhood
to look totally different.
I mean, JBG Smith and Amazon, both of them, I think,
are really trying to create
what they call an 18-hour neighborhood,
which means it's a place you can work,
but also where there are restaurants and coffee shops
and places to take your dog and farmers' markets.
They have also rolled out this Housing Equity Fund,
which is this $2 billion fund that is split between Nashville,
Seattle, and the DC area,
and are basically using that fund mostly in the form
of sort of low-rate loans, below-market-rate loans,
to either preserve or build new affordable housing.
I think for the most part, people at this point accept
that Amazon is here, it's not going away.
The big question from people who maybe have some criticisms
or some hesitations is, how do they live with Amazon?
How can they push Amazon into being a good neighbor?