It is hard to believe that one company wields the clout to change the name of three different neighborhoods, but that’s exactly how 2 miles of Arlington and Alexandria’s Potomac River waterfront became National Landing.
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When Amazon announced in November that it would bring over 25,000 new jobs to Northern Virginia, simultaneously christening the area as National Landing, it began a snowball effect that has touched every conversation about commercial real estate in Northern Virginia and Washington since.
Amazon’s move heralded the merging of Potomac Yard, Crystal City and Pentagon City into a new, amalgamated whole. It also set off a cavalcade of investment: $342M in public infrastructure, $3B in regional transportation and $4.7B in private sector investment.
While a few companies have signed on to follow Amazon to the neighborhood, including National Cooperative Bank and Interstate Hotels, how the area will grow remains to be seen, especially with Amazon scrapping plans for a twin office in New York. Some developers are courting new office tenants, while others are planning out where droves of young, highly paid employees will live and play.
Bisnow's Amazon HQ2-Apalooza event Feb. 28 will explore how the region will grow and expand in response to the move. The commercial real estate community is watching excitedly as National Landing invents itself.
