Arlington County is working diligently with officials from Amazon both on permitting and inspecting building renovation work for its initial occupancy in Crystal City, as well as the planning and entitlement of its new construction projects in Pentagon City (commonly known as the Metropolitan Park site). Current plans for the first phase of the new headquarters include two new LEED-Platinum certified buildings, new retail space for area businesses, and open, community space, transforming the site from a block of vacant warehouses into a mixed-use neighborhood. Amazon will invest approximately $2.5 billion dollars over the coming years and occupy more than four million square feet of energy-efficient office space. Virginia Tech continues to make progress on building its Innovation Campus in Alexandria as part of a new mixed-use development in National Landing, just steps away from the future Potomac Yard Metrorail Station. The concept plans for Phase 1 of the development of this site were submitted to the City of Alexandria on November 1 and public meetings to review the plans are beginning, with related land use decisions expected to be made in 2020. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) recently approved a new master of engineering degree in computer science, the first newly created program for the Innovation Campus, and the university is planning to welcome the first class of Innovation Campus students next fall in existing space.
