Amazon’s massive HQ2 development outside Washington D.C. may be expanding.
The e-commerce leviathan bought a Residence Inn by Marriott near the Arlington, Virginia site that’s earmarked for its second North American headquarters, the Washington Business Journal reported. Amazon plans to demolish the hotel.
The seller is an affiliate of Blackstone Group, which let the property go for $148.5 million. Blackstone purchased the hotel for $99.1 million last July, eight months after Amazon chose the area for its second headquarters.
The property is part of an 11.6-acre development known as PenPlace, which will be part of the second phase of HQ2 development. The rest of the site is still owned by JBG Smith Properties, though Amazon plans to acquire it once development plans are approved. Amazon has yet to submit plans for the PenPlace section of HQ2.
A company spokesperson said the development could have worked with the hotel there, but removing it would allow the company to build a “more robust” and “cohesive urban plan” with improved pedestrian circulation and more open space, according to WBJ.
Construction on the first phase of HQ2, on a site known as Metropolitan Park, is already underway. Amazon’s presence in the D.C. area has also boosted prices and activity in the local housing market. [Washington Business Journal] — Dennis Lynch
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