Steve Burns
WMAL.com
DULLES – (WMAL) The D.C. region has appeared on many short lists as a serious candidate to win Amazon’s coveted HQ2 and the 50,000 high-paying jobs that come with it. The only question left was the site. Now, two Northern Virginia counties are settling on what they believe is the best place – a plot of land just across from Dulles International Airport.
Sources confirm to WMAL both Boards of Supervisors in Fairfax and Loudoun, along with the state, have coalesced around the current site of the Center for Innovative Technology, across Sully Road from Dulles. The plot includes land from both counties. The state has been looking to unload the CIT land, and would donate the land should it end up winning over Amazon. Officials say the plan originated in the Governor’s office.
The news also means other Northern Virginia sites will likely be passed over, including Tysons and Reston. While other proposals are expected from private developers and stakeholders, few will likely gain as much attention as a proposal backed and promoted by local governments. Multiple bids from Maryland and the District are also expected.
The CIT land will be home to the Innovation Avenue Silver Line station once the Metro extension opens, currently expected in 2020. But smart growth advocates worry that the CIT site might be too rural for Amazon’s liking.
“The only way this can work is if you do have robust and intersecting transit services, and a strong mix of uses in a walkable environment,” Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth told WMAL. “I hate to start off behind the curve like we are right now at the CIT site.”
Schwartz mentioned Tysons and Crystal City as areas that are already seeing strong growth and might be preferable to a company looking for an exciting, millennial-centric area.
“That is a primary desire of large corporations around the country – to be in a downtown, transit-rich environment,” he said.
While the CIT site does have potential for new development, Schwartz said the Dulles Toll Road could make that difficult.
“It can inhibit the amount of mixed-use, walkable development that can occur. It acts like a big moat. It’s a big barrier.”
Some have also expressed concern around the effect a mega-development and 50,000 jobs would have on surrounding roads, housing, and schools. Loudoun County Supervisor Ron Meyer, however, said improvements in those areas are already coming for all of Loudoun’s potential sites.
“We are already building roads in those corridors. We are preparing to build schools in those corridors,” Meyer told WMAL.
Plus, he said, a Loudoun site would make a reverse commute more viable – Amazon’s workers headed away from D.C. while everyone else heads in, reducing the impact on major highways.
“If we’re talking about needing money for roads and schools, you know what helps with that is commercial development,” Meyer said. “If you land a headquarters, that means not only would you be able to pay for the roads and schools in that area, you’d be able to help with Loudoun and frankly, maybe even other jurisdictions with paying for their schools and infrastructure as well.”
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