Virginia offered Amazon up to $750 million in public subsidies in exchange for creating local jobs and investment.
When Amazon built its 'HQ2' headquarters in Northern Virginia, it promised to create 25,000 new jobs by 2038. Per an agreement with the state, the company should have added 11,643 jobs by the end of 2025.
According to a Washington Post article by Kendall Staton, the company claimed economic forces beyond its control affected its ability to staff up faster. Amazon was offered up to $750 million in incentives as part of its permit to build the complex, which was the culmination of a competitive process that saw multiple cities vying for the project. Holly Sullivan, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide economic development policy, said "The company has invested millions in multiple education initiatives across the state and has donated more than $239 million to local groups since 2018, including more than $60 million in the past year."
However, the company is now only "moderately confident" that it will create as many jobs as it promised. Amazon has also failed to develop a large vacant lot it originally planned to build on by the end of 2025.
FULL STORY: Amazon is behind on jobs promised for funding to build Virginia headquarters
Key Warehouse Centers Challenge Distribution Center Expansion
Communities near major e-commerce distribution centers are increasingly resisting new construction, citing air pollution and other public health impacts.
Amazon Plans Further Expansion
On the heels of building its HQ2 facility in Arlington, Amazon continues to expand its hubs in cities spread out across the country.
Warehouse Sprawl Prompts Calls for Regional Planning
As e-commerce giants like Amazon build more and more facilities, advocates say a regional approach is needed to prevent sprawl and look beyond local benefits.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association