Around $15 billion in fresh investment and creation of 62,000 more jobs will come as a boost to the economy of the D.C. area and Northern Virginia, according to a new study released last week by the Virginia Chamber Foundation (VCF).
The study states that the functioning of Amazon offices will create approximately $6.4 billion per year between 2019 and 2030, and an average of 27,928 jobs will be supported in the region each year.
Although Northern Virginia will largely benefit from the money, D.C. also stands to gain from the investment.
“Amazon’s MCH will generate significant economic impacts in Virginia and the Washington MSA. From 2019 through 2030, the capital expenditures and operations of Amazon’s MCH can produce an annual average of $6.3 billion (in nominal dollars) in economic impact (including direct, indirect, and induced impacts) in Virginia, supporting a total of 27,463 jobs,” the report states in its conclusion. “In the Washington MSA, the total economic impact can reach $6.6 billion per year from 2019 through 2030, supporting 28,715 jobs.”
On November 13, following a 14-month country wide search for its second headquarters, Amazon announced the selection of Crystal City and Long Island City, N.Y., which will be sharing the company’s HQ2.
Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, said in a statement that they are excited to build the new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia. “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come,” said Bezos. “The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities.”
Amazon will invest $2.5 billion, creating 25,000 high-paying jobs in the area. An office space of 4 million square feet will be utilized and in the following 12 years, an additional space of 8 million square feet is expected to be occupied for the HQ2.
“I’m thrilled that our skilled workforce helped persuade Amazon to bring a major new headquarters and its tens of thousands of jobs to Virginia,” said Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.). “Congratulations are in order to Governors McAuliffe and Northam and the local leaders who worked to ensure that this deal includes investments in our education and transportation infrastructure.”