HQ2

HQ2 refers to Amazon.com’s plan to establish a second, large corporate headquarters in North America, announced in 2017. The project aimed to create a major new campus to house tens of thousands of employees and to serve as a regional hub for the company’s operations, technology development, and management functions. The initiative was described as a nationwide search for a location that could accommodate up to 50,000 jobs and as much as several billions of dollars in investment over time, with the intent of diversifying Amazon’s geographic footprint beyond its Seattle headquarters.

In 2018, Amazon identified two final candidate sites for HQ2: Long Island City in Queens, New York, and National Landing in Arlington, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.). The bid process generated extensive attention and attracted significant incentives offers from local and state governments. The selection of two locations reflected Amazon’s preference for a distributed approach, at least in the early stages of the project.

In early 2019, Amazon announced that it would not proceed with the New York City site and would instead proceed with the Arlington location as the company’s primary HQ2. The decision reframed HQ2 as a major expansion and new campus presence in the Virginia area, with ongoing plans to invest, hire, and grow over time. The Arlington campus, paired with existing Seattle operations and other facilities, has been the central focus of Amazon’s HQ2 efforts.

The HQ2 project has influenced discussions about corporate subsidies, regional development, and urban planning, illustrating the complexities of large-scale site selection and the economic and social considerations involved in relocating or expanding a major corporate headquarters.