Amazon Makes It Official With New York and D.C.; Throws Another Curveball With Nashville

"Amazon laid out its plans for two of the biggest economic development projects in the country on Tuesday, announcing that it will put major corporate outposts in New York City and Arlington, Va.," reports Karen Weise for The New York Times.

"The two locations, in Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City in Arlington, just outside of Washington, will eventually house at least 25,000 employees, the company said in a statement. It also said the new sites would require $5 billion in construction and other investments," adds Weise, confirming critical details still hanging in limbo after news of Amazon's plans leaked from anonymous sources close to the selection process last week.

Then there was another surprise: "The company also said it will develop a smaller site in Nashville that will focus on operations and logistics. Amazon said that site will create 5,000 jobs," according to Weise.

Jonathan O'Connell, Robert McCartney and Patricia Sullivan also report the news for The Washington Post. "The choice of Crystal City in Arlington County as one of the winners cements Northern Virginia’s reputation as a magnet for business and potentially reshape the Washington region into an eastern outpost of Silicon Valley over the next decade," according to the article.

"The decision hands Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and local leaders the largest economic-development prize in a generation — one promising billions of dollars in capital investments alone — but could also put pressure on the region’s already steep housing prices, congested roads, and yawning divide between wealthy and low-income residents."

Kathy Orton and Tracy Jan provide additional coverage of the decision for The Washington Post, noting an ambivalent response to the news among local residents. The headline sums up the distinction: "Northern Virginia property owners are delighted Amazon HQ2 is moving in. Renters, first-time buyers, and low-income residents aren’t."

Elizabeth Weise and Mike Snider report for the USA Today Network in an article published in the Tennessean, burying the news relevant to the local audience beneath news about New York and D.C. and calling Nashville's share in the extravaganza a "nod" from Amazon.

"Amazon also announced it is investing $230 million in Nashville and adding 5,000 jobs at a new operations site," according to the article. "The new Amazon site will be located at Nashville Yards, located downtown. The new site, dubbed the Operations Center of Excellence, will be responsible for the company's customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities."

Natalie Neysa Alund provides more hyper-local coverage for the Tennessean, gathering reactions to the news from residents, including Mayor David Briley, on Twitter.