Queens, Crystal City Land Amazon HQ2s for $2.05 Billion in ‘Direct Incentives’

Amazon will get $1.5 billion from New York State and $550 million from Virginia in “performance-based direct incentives” over the next decade to split its second headquarters between Long Island City, Queens, and Crystal City, Virginia, said Amazon Tuesday. The incentives will reach full potential when Amazon fulfills its agreement to hire 25,000 employees at each location with an average salary of more than $150,000, it said. Crystal City’s high-skilled workforce and easy access to Washington make it “the perfect match for Amazon's mission and goals,” said CTA Chief Financial Officer Glenda MacMullin, who chairs the Crystal City Business Improvement District. CTA “has been one of the few building owners” there for the past 12 years, she said. Amazon in Queens will occupy an 8 million-square-foot "campus" on Long Island City's waterfront, said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) at a Tuesday news conference. "In many ways, this is a perfect location, and there's a lot happening in Queens." The site is "proximate" to LaGuardia and JFK airports, which are undergoing reconstruction, and will be near a 10-minute water taxi to Manhattan, said Cuomo. Amazon's "initial buildout" will be at the Citibank building at 1 Court Square, next to three existing subway lines, said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D).