As Amazon’s decision to split its second headquarters between New York City and metropolitan Washington, D.C., draws plaudits and scattered criticism about incentives used to lure the e-commerce giant, contractors are weighing the impacts of major new construction programs in what are already the nation’s top two construction markets.
Announced Nov. 13 following a 14-month location search that attracted 238 proposals from cities across North America, Amazon’s plan calls for building 4 million sq ft of new office space in both Long Island City in Queens and Arlington, Va.’s Crystal City and Potomac Yards, across the Potomac from downtown Washington. Each campus will support more than 25,000 workers, and have the capacity for further expansion to 8 million sq ft. Amazon’s total investment will top $5 billion, according to the company.