Insiders are buzzing that Northern Virginia could soon be awarded Amazon's HQ2 as Jeff Bezos makes high-profile visit to Washington, DC
- The Washington, DC, area is buzzing with speculation that Northern Virginia could soon land Amazon HQ2.
- Two sources said as much to Business Insider.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is amid a high-profile trip to Washington, DC.
The Washington, DC, area is buzzing with speculation that Amazon could soon select Northern Virginia as the location for its highly sought-after second headquarters, two sources told Business Insider.
Amazon has sought to tamp down on the speculation as the company's CEO Jeff Bezos makes a high-profile visit to the region. Ahead of a major event on Thursday night where Bezos will be interviewed by Carlyle Group co-founder and co-CEO David Rubenstein at the DC Economic Club, Amazon told The Washington Post on Tuesday that no announcement would be forthcoming on Bezos's visit to the city. Reached by Business Insider on Thursday, an Amazon spokesperson said they had nothing to add on top of what was reported in The Post.
One person who spoke with Business Insider, a lobbyist, said that Thursday night event was a likely time for the announcement to be made. Speculation has run for months about what, if anything, Bezos will say about HQ2 during the event.
The Post reported that roughly 1,550 people registered to attend Bezos's discussion. That's more than double what the club typically attracts for similar events, The Post noted. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, and Democratic Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser are all expected to attend, The Post reported.
(Have any information on Amazon's plans for HQ2? Reach out to this reporter at asmith@businessinsider.com.)
JBG Smith declined comment to Business Insider.
Meanwhile, a source close to Rubenstein told Business Insider they were unaware of any plans for Bezos to make the announcement during the interview. Business Insider reached out to multiple local developers, county officials, and would-be stakeholders in a Northern Virginia-based HQ2. All either declined to comment, did not respond, or said they had not heard of such an imminent announcement.
Joseph Parilla, a fellow at the Brookings Institute's Metropolitan Policy Program, said the Thursday night event was one targeted for a while by observers as one where some HQ2 action could take place. Parilla, who said he had no knowledge of any imminent announcement, added that the Northern Virginia bid has long been viewed as the frontrunner.
Although Amazon said no announcement would be made on Bezos's trip this week, four people close to the company's board of directors told The Post that board members are making the trek to Washington, DC. The Post reported that it was unclear whether any formal meeting of the board is being held. The Post reported that Amazon booked the Renwick Gallery for a 40-person dinner on Tuesday night, a museum spokesman told the outlet, declining to offer any additional details.
Northern Virginia already considered the top contender
There are already plenty of signs pointing to the Northern Virginia bid as the one that will ultimately prove victorious. Oddsmakers have given Northern Virginia the best chances of pulling in HQ2, and GeekWire found last week that Virginia had the highest average number of open Amazon job postings from May through July of any of the HQ2 finalists.
Amazon told Busines Insider it remains committed to announcing the winner before the end of 2018.
In March, Business Insider reported on mounting evidence that HQ2 would ultimately be awarded to Northern Virginia and be built on a 26-acre plot of largely undeveloped land near Dulles International Airport.
Business Insider's Hayley Peterson wrote that the company was quietly expanding its presence near that site on the border of Loudoun and Fairfax Counties.
Less than three miles from that site is a new headquarters for Amazon Web Services, while the company plans to build a 600,000 square-foot data-center campus on a 44-acre plot of land within a 10-minute drive of the possible HQ2 location.
In addition to its location next to the airport, an under-construction Metro station will provide direct access to Washington, DC, and its suburbs.
The site is also at the center of Data Center Alley, what is also known as the "bull's-eye of America's internet" where much of the world's internet traffic travels through.
Additionally, a site adjacent to the proposed HQ2 location is being developed into a 5.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project called The Hub. That project is expected to house office and retail space, residential units, and hotel rooms. The project's developers were involved in the Northern Virginia HQ2 bid.
Olivia Oran contributed reporting