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Tag: Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon and Metro team up for $125M affordable housing plan

Amazon.com Inc. and Metro announced Wednesday a plan to build more than 1,000 affordable housing units near Metro stations in the Washington, D.C., area over the next five years, with the e-tail giant committing $125 million in below-market capital.

The program is part of Amazon’s $2 billion Housing Equity Fund, which aims to build and preserve more than 20,000 affordable homes in regions where it has significant presences. In the Washington region, Amazon has partnered with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which manages Metrorail and Metrobus service, to create affordable housing in Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. close to Metro stations, easing commuting times and expenses for moderate to low-income residents.

The below-market capital will be available only to developers that have joint development agreements with Metro, and $25 million of the $125 million total will be exclusively available to minority-led developers on Metro’s joint development sites. Developers must apply for funding.

In January, Amazon announced its first Housing Equity Fund commitment in Arlington, where it is building its East Coast HQ2 headquarters, to give $381.9 million in below-market loans and grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy, which purchased the 16-acre Crystal House site in Arlington. Ultimately the deal will produce about 1,300 affordable units for the next 99 years, according to WHC.

Amazon has taken similar tacks in Washington state’s Puget Sound region and Nashville, Tennessee, for its Housing Equity Fund project, partnering with their public transit agencies in the round of investments announced Wednesday.

“Transit-oriented development has a proud legacy at Metro, and with this investment from Amazon we can continue to help the region tackle the challenges of housing affordability, congestion, and sustainability,” Metro General Manager and CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement. “Having a philanthropic partner in this effort, along with the support of the public and private sectors, puts the region on the best path possible to meeting our shared housing, transit, equity, and economic prosperity goals.”

According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, there’s an estimated need for 320,000 new housing units through the region by 2030, and the council recommended that at least 75% be near job centers or high-capacity transit, as well as 75% be affordable for low- and middle-income households.

“Amazon is committed to creating and preserving inclusive housing developments so moderate- to low-income families can thrive and benefit from the goodness our region has to offer,” Catherine Buell, ‎Amazon’s head of community development, said in a statement. “Housing and transit are the first- and second-largest expenses for most households in America, and Amazon’s funding will expedite affordable housing near transit, reducing costs for both while supporting families with long-term financial stability.”

 

Amazon to create 1,000 jobs with Henrico fulfillment center

Amazon.com Inc. plans to build a multistory, 650,000-square-foot facility robotics fulfillment center at Richmond Raceway in Henrico County, creating 1,000 jobs, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday.

The center, which will be built on 119 acres of ancillary land used for overflow parking by the raceway, is expected to open in 2022.

“Amazon continues to demonstrate confidence in Virginia by expanding and reinvesting in our commonwealth,” Northam said in a statement. “This new robotics fulfillment center in Henrico County is the latest milestone in the growing partnership between Amazon and Virginia, and reinforces our standing as both a technology hub and a leader in supply chain management. As we work to rebound from the impacts of the pandemic, we are grateful for Amazon’s commitment to supporting our communities and providing jobs to thousands of Virginians.”

The robotics facility is the second such Amazon facility in development for Virginia. The mammoth e-tailer also is building a $230 million, five-story robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk’s Northgate Commerce Park, as well as a $50 million, 650,000-square-foot import processing center in Chesapeake’s Western Branch area.

The Henrico facility will be located on one of two undeveloped parcels totaling 247 acres north of Azalea Avenue, east of Wilkinson Road and on either side of Richmond Henrico Turnpike that have previously been used by the raceway for overflow parking.

Richmond Raceway, which is owned by NASCAR, last week sold the 119-acre portion of the parcel where Amazon’s fulfillment center will be located to Dallas-based Hillwood Investment Properties. Hillwood worked with Richmond Raceway to get the two parcels rezoned for industrial use in 2020 as part of a larger partnership with NASCAR to redevelop surplus land at raceway tracks around the nation and spur economic development in communities where NASCAR operates. Hillwood has also partnered with Amazon to develop several distribution center projects around the country.

Amazon is currently building its $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington, where it has hired about 1,600 of its projected 25,000 to 37,850 HQ2 employees. The company has more than 27,000 full-time and part-time employees in Virginia, where it has 10 fulfillment and sortation centers and delivery stations, as well as 13 Whole Foods Market locations and three Prime Now hubs.

“Amazon has been proud to call Virginia home since 2006,” said Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment. “Collectively, it takes a strong workforce and local support network to serve our customers across the commonwealth and the region. The launch of this state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Central Virginia will create more than 1,000 jobs with industry-leading pay and benefits starting on the first day of employment. I’m excited to see Virginians continue to excel at Amazon, building better and brighter futures.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with the Henrico Economic Development Authority, The Port of Virginia and the Greater Richmond Partnership to secure the fulfillment center for Virginia. Funding and services to support Amazon’s employee training activities for the center will be provided through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program. Amazon is eligible to receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program for the project, as well as the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

Teresa Carlson leaves Amazon Web Services

Teresa Carlson, the Herndon-based executive who founded Amazon Web Services’ public sector business, is leaving Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud computing subsidiary to become president and chief growth officer of Splunk Inc., the San Francisco tech company announced today.

Carlson was an influential and visible presence in the Washington, D.C., region for a little more than a decade in her role as vice president of worldwide sector and industries at AWS. She previously served as an executive at Microsoft.

Carlson’s former boss, Andy Jassy, was tapped to replace Jeff Bezos as CEO of Amazon in February. That led to some speculation that Carlson could be an internal candidate to become CEO of AWS. But Jassy announced in March that Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky was taking the job.

With Carlson moving to the data management and cloud services company Splunk, her replacement will be Max Peterson, currently vice president of the public sector’s international business, an AWS spokesperson confirmed.

Carlson’s will start her newly created role at Splunk effective April 19. The company says she will be responsible for driving go-to-market business segments, advancing cloud-first initiatives, accelerating growth and pursuing new market opportunities.

Splunk reported revenue of $2.23 billion last fiscal year — $554 million of which was attributable to cloud revenue, an increase of 77% from the previous fiscal year. Splunk’s customers include Tide, Lockheed Martin Space, California Pizza Kitchen, The New York City Fire Department and the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Together,” Carlson said in a statement, “we will build on Splunk’s legacy of innovation as one of the fastest growing companies in the history of enterprise software.”

Regarding Carlson’s departure, an AWS spokesperson said in an email, “We’re really proud about the work Teresa has done to help public sector customers around the world reimagine digital transformation and achieve mission success, and we wish her the best moving forward.”

Amazon’s Helix gets green thumbs-up

What is now a quiet, achromatic area of Arlington, the National Landing neighborhood in a few years’ time will be a bustling urban area with distinctive office buildings and large green spaces open to the public.

In early February, Amazon.com Inc. released plans for its 2.8-million-square-foot redevelopment of the PenPlace block, including three 22-story office buildings with coworking space designed by Seattle-based architecture firm NBBJ. The jewel in the crown of the development, however, will be “The Helix,” a 370,000-square-foot spiral tower atop 2.1 acres of green space. 

Employees will be able to walk around the building on paths lined with native Virginia trees and other foliage. In a nod to The Spheres at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters (which features more than 40,000 plants), the Helix will be open to the public for tours on select weekends.

“When the public health situation improves and as regulations allow, we will continue to see value in bringing our employees together in a physical space to cross-pollinate ideas and foster collaboration,” John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, said in a February statement.

Later this year, Arlington County’s Board of Supervisors will review Amazon’s proposals, and the e-commerce giant hopes to begin construction at the beginning of 2022, with a 2025 completion date.

Green in more ways than one, Amazon’s PenPlace buildings will run on 100% renewable energy from a Pittsylvania County solar farm. In January 2020, Arlington County and Amazon entered into agreements with Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. to purchase power from the farm, which is anticipated to be operational by 2022.

The surrounding PenPlace area will also include more than 2.5 acres of green space for public use, including an amphitheater to host concerts, farmers markets and outdoor movies — a plan that aligns with the National Landing Business Improvement District (BID)’s goal to create more parks and outdoor public spaces.

“One of the things that the pandemic has illustrated is just how equally important it is to employers and employees to have access to great outdoor spaces,” says Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, president of National Landing BID, an Arlington-based public-private partnership. “I think we’ll appreciate that even more in the future as we think about outdoor meetings and work-life
balance in new and different ways.”

Amazon plans to host public input sessions for the development with the Arlington County Department of Parks & Recreation. 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO in Q3

Amazon.com Inc. announced Tuesday that Jeff Bezos, who founded the e-commerce company in 1994, will step down as CEO and transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter of 2021. Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy will succeed Bezos.

“Amazon is what it is because of invention,” Bezos said in a statement. “We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice and much more.” 

As part of Amazon’s massive growth since its inception, the company in late 2018 announced its would bring its second headquarters to the East Coast — and Northern Virginia no less. The Long Island City area of Queens in New York had also been in the running for the headquarters, but Virginia came out on top. The $2.5 billion HQ2 project promises to bring 25,000 jobs to Virginia in the next decade. As of December 2020, Amazon had hired more than 1,600 people for its Arlington location. Bezos also owns a mansion in Washington, D.C.’s tony Kalorama neighborhood, which he paid $23 million for in 2016. (His neighbors there include former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.)

On the same day the company announced Bezos’ change in status, Amazon also released its record-setting 2020 financial results, showing a 72% increase in operating cash flow to a whopping $66.1 billion for the whole year, compared with 2019. Its net sales for the year were $361.1 billion, a 38% increase from 2019. For the fourth quarter of 2020, the company posted $125.5 billion in holiday-fueled sale. It was the first time Amazon’s quarterly sales have surpassed $100 billion. Amazon posted $7.2 billion in net income in the fourth quarter.

“If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal,” Bezos said in a statement. “People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive. 

“When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

Despite impressive 2020 financial results, Amazon stock took a sharp dive around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, around the time the company made the announcement that Bezos would be stepping down.

Despite the drop, Bezos retains his spot at the top of the Forbes real-time list of the world’s wealthiest people, with a net worth estimated at $196.2 billion as of Tuesday evening, Feb. 2.

 

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Amazon reveals Arlington HQ2’s ‘Helix’ centerpiece

Despite lingering questions around when or how remote workers may return to office life following the pandemic, Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday released fresh plans for the second phase of its $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters in Arlington’s National Landing area, where it is gearing up to employ 25,000 people during the next decade.

“When the public health situation improves and as regulations allow, we will continue to see value in bringing our employees together in a physical space to cross-pollinate ideas and foster collaboration,” John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, said in a statement. “With our hiring and construction on pace, we’re ready for the next chapter.”

Rendering of The Helix. Photo courtesy Amazon
Rendering of The Helix. Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.

After two years of planning, Amazon released plans for its 2.8-million-square-foot redevelopment of the PenPlace block in Arlington’s Pentagon City area. The Amazon HQ2 complex’s next phase will include three 22-story office buildings with ample open coworking space, designed by Seattle-based architecture firm NBBJ. It will also feature 2.1 acres of green space topped by “The Helix,” a distinctive 370,000-square-foot spiral-shaped tower that will offer “alternative working environments” for Amazon employees. Trees and plants native to Virginia will be used in the project, which also includes plans for 100,000 square feet of retail and outdoor gathering space.

The helix-shaped design is a nod to Amazon’s devotion to the innate human desire to be connected to nature, as reflected in the e-commerce giant’s Seattle headquarters, The Spheres, which features a collection of more than 40,000 plants. The Helix building is expected to be completed by 2025 and Amazon plans to offer weekend tours of the facility, just like it does with its Seattle Spheres building.

The green theme doesn’t stop there. Amazon’s PenPlace buildings will be designed to meet the LEED Platinum standard, the highest certification for sustainable developments. The project’s all-electric central heating and cooling system will run on 100% renewable energy from a Pittsylvania County solar farm. In January 2020, Arlington County and Amazon entered into agreements with Richmond-based Dominion Energy Inc. to purchase power for local government operations and Amazon’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters from the Pittsylvania County solar farm. The solar farm is anticipated to be operational by 2022.

The PenPlace development also sets aside more than 2.5 acres of green space for public use, including an amphitheater to host concerts, farmers’ markets and outdoor movies.

Rendering of green space as part of PenPlace project. Photo courtesy Amazon
Rendering of green space as part of PenPlace project. Photo courtesy Amazon

Aside from the new PenPlace development, Amazon has already made a major mark on the National Landing area. In December 2020, Amazon’s HQ2 developer, JBG Smith, announced that it had completed renovations on a 14-story, 273,000-square-foot office space for HQ2. Additionally, Amazon has leased a whopping 857,000 square feet across five buildings from the Bethesda, Maryland-based developer, which is also managing construction of an additional 2.1 million square feet of office space to be split among twin towers. JBG Smith’s Amazon development plans also include a one-acre park and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

“Despite many of our employees working from home at this time, we view our Arlington headquarters as a long-term investment, and we remain committed to creating 25,000 jobs and investing $2.5 billion in Arlington over the next decade,” Schoettler said in a statement.

As of December 2020, Amazon had hired more than 1,600 people for its Arlington location. In early January, Amazon announced it is committing nearly $340 million to affordable housing efforts in Arlington. The commitment is aimed at establishing as many 1,300 affordable homes.

 

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Co-working space opens in National Landing

A 39,000-square-foot Hana co-working space in National Landing — the stomping grounds of Amazon.com Inc.’s new East Coast headquarters, HQ2 — has opened, the CBRE Group subsidiary announced Friday.

The building, located at 2451 Crystal Drive in Arlington, includes private office suites, conference and event space and co-working space. This is Hana’s third co-working and flexible space location in the United States, including its locations in Dallas and Irvine, California.

JBG Smith, the developer behind a lion’s share of Amazon-related commercial real estate developments in National Landing, owns and operates the property.

Co-working space at Hana’s National Landing location. Photo courtesy Hana. Click to expand.

“As a co-creator of the space, JBG Smith has worked with Hana to deliver a flex solution that meets the unique needs of the building and National Landing area by providing plug-and-play workspaces, on-demand meeting rooms and overflow accommodations,” Hana CEO Andrew Kupiec said in a statement. “With three additional East Coast locations opening this year, Hana at National Landing joins our expanding network.”

Those who are interested in using the shared space have three different membership options based on need. There are options for private flexible offices for small and large teams, single-person co-working memberships and on-demand meeting space options.

“Hana’s unique approach and highly amenitized office space complements the existing offerings in the submarket while also addressing the need for flexible ‘on-demand’ office space solutions in a post COVID-19 business environment,” JBG Smith Executive Vice President David Ritchey said in a statement. “Together with Hana’s flexible space and JBG Smith’s evolving range of offerings, we give our customers the ability to grow with us as their office needs change and expand.”

 

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Amazon makes $340M commitment to Arlington affordable housing

Amazon.com Inc. announced Wednesday that it is committing nearly $340 million to affordable housing efforts in Arlington, where the e-commerce giant is establishing its $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters.

This is part of the company’s $2 billion commitment to affordable housing, the Housing Equity Fund, which was announced Wednesday. The remaining funding will go toward affordable housing in other highly-concentrated Amazon areas, including Washington state’s Puget Sound region and Nashville. Funding will go toward preserving existing affordable housing and creating housing developments with below-market loans and grants.

Amazon’s Virginia commitment includes a $339.9 million below-market loan and $42 million in grants to the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC), a nonprofit organization that preserves affordable housing. The Arlington commitment is aimed at establishing as many 1,300 affordable homes. During the next decade, it is anticipated that Amazon will hire approximately 25,000 employees in the National Landing area in Arlington.

“With Amazon’s support, we are advancing our vision for inclusive, mixed-income communities of racially diverse middle-income and low-income families and individuals, to live near their employment and access high-performing schools and community amenities,” WHC Executive Director Kimberly Driggins said in a statement.

Since 2000, Arlington County has lost approximately 14,400 affordable housing units, according to Arlington County government, and between 2010 and 2018, median home values rose approximately 20%. With Amazon funding, WHC purchased the Crystal House property in Arlington, which will be turned into “more affordable apartments,” according to Amazon. JBG Smith will manage the property.

“Amazon’s investment in affordable housing in Arlington is transformational — and couldn’t come at a better time,” Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a statement. “We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Amazon and to work together to serve our shared commitment to equity and economic opportunity for all of our residents.”

 

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Renovation of Amazon office building completed in Arlington

A newly renovated 14-story office building in National Landing is ready for Amazon.com Inc. employees to move in, developer JBG Smith announced Wednesday. The revamp of the 273,000-square-foot space at 1770 Crystal Drive, which is mostly leased by the e-tail giant, was finished two quarters early and under its $80 million proposed budget as outlined in a 2018 letter to shareholders.

JBG Smith declined to disclose the final cost of the renovation.

The building is an early part of the company’s HQ2 expansion in Arlington County, which was announced in November 2018. Amazon has leased 857,000 square feet in five buildings from Bethesda, Maryland-based JBG Smith. Meanwhile, the developer is managing construction of 2.1 million square feet of office space in two towers, as well as a one-acre park and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

“The return to productive use of 1770 Crystal Drive represents yet another significant milestone in National Landing’s ongoing transformation into a vibrant 18-hour neighborhood,” Matt Kelly, JBG Smith’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Amazon and accommodate its growing presence in the region as we continue to make progress on its modern new headquarters.”

The full cost of the HQ2 development is set at $2.5 billion, and Amazon is expected to hire 25,000 people to work there by 2030.

San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler designed the renovation of 1770 Crystal Drive, and Bethesda-headquartered Clark Construction Group completed construction.

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Amazon announces investment in two more solar farms in Halifax County

Part of a global renewable energy purchase, Amazon.com Inc. announced Thursday it will invest in two more Halifax County solar farms, in addition to a deal announced in March that is expected to come online in 2021.

The two new solar farms, which are expected to provide 70 megawatts and 51 megawatts of power by 2022, according to an Amazon map, are located in Powell’s Creek, in the southern part of the county, and Sunnybrook, northeast of South Boston. The projects will be the 13th and 14th Amazon solar farms in Virginia; others under development and in operation are in Accomack, Buckingham, Frederick, Gloucester, New Kent, Pittsylvania, Powhatan, Prince George, Southampton and Sussex counties.

Halifax County supervisors approved the Sunnybrook and Powell’s Creek projects in April 2018. Both projects were submitted by developer Carolina Solar Energy, a Durham, North Carolina-based solar company. Amazon invested in a 65-megawatt solar project in South Boston in March, with the global online retailer saying the project will provide renewable energy capacity to the grids that supply its data centers.

Amazon announced 26 new utility-scale wind and solar energy projects around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S. on Thursday, expanding its 2020 renewable energy investment to 35 projects offering more than 4 gigawatts of capacity. The company says it’s the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year.

Amazon has pledged to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2025 and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. The company currently holds a total of 127 renewable energy projects worldwide.

“Amazon is helping fight climate change by moving quickly to power our businesses with renewable energy,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “This is just one of the many steps we’re taking that will help us meet our climate pledge. I couldn’t be more proud of all the teams across Amazon that continue to work hard, smart and fast to get these projects up and running.”

Amazon’s footprint in Virginia has expanded significantly in the past two years, with the 2018 announcement that it would establish its East Coast headquarters in Arlington County. Amazon HQ2 is expected to employ 25,000 people by 2030. Currently, the e-tailer is one of the top 10 employers in Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, and it employs about 18,500 people across the commonwealth, where it has 10 fulfillment and sortation center and delivery stations, as well as data centers and operations facilities in the works in Hampton Roads.

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