You know how annoying it is when your Amazon package isn’t delivered on time? Imagine how pissed-off officials in Northern Virginia must be now that Amazon says it will be late in building its big HQ2 development. While the landmark Helix, a 350 foot tower resembling the Poop Emoji with an outdoor spiral of landscaped trees will be built as scheduled, other buildings on the sprawling development are on hold. So much for the vaunted local economic benefits the retail giant promised in return for big tax incentives.
You may recall that saner jurisdictions rejected the HQ2 project. Northern Virginia neighborhoods under the retail behemoth’s footprint are so embarrassed they’re changing their names.
More:
“Amazon says it is pausing construction at HQ2 in Arlington,” Teo Armus and Rachel Lerman, Washington Post
“Amazon pauses construction of 2nd headquarters in Virginia, dubbed ‘HQ2’,” Max Zahn, ABC News
“The Lie Behind Amazon’s HQ2 Sweepstakes Becomes Clear,” Davi Dayen, American Prospect
“Amazon suspends Virginia HQ2 construction in latest cost-cutting move,” Emma Roth, The Verge
Update:
“As Amazon’s HQ2 Stalls, Incentives Have, Too,” Sarah Holder and Linda Poon, Bloomberg CityLab
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Image (“Amazon HQ2 Helix Concept, after Jan Luyken and Willem Goeree, 1682″) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: Amazon, Amazon HQ2, architecture, Arlington VA, art, commercial development, edifice complex, Helix, HQ2, Northern Virginia, office construction, Poop Emoji, The Helix, Tower of Babel
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