Dive Brief:
- Amazon said it will spend $5 billion to construct its next headquarters, split between Arlington, Virginia, and New York City, and ushering in 25,000 jobs for each location.
- Amazon also said it will open a $230 million "center of excellence" in Nashville focused on customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities. The center will create 5,000 jobs and will be located just north of the Gulch neighborhood.
- "These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities," Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, said in Tuesday's statement.
Dive Insight:
Amazon's selection of its headquarters brings to an end a nearly yearlong competition among America's major metro areas, which vied for the chance to land billions of dollars in investment, potentially high-paying jobs and tax perks.
The new locations give the online retail giant three headquarters in North America, including its original Seattle location.
In moving to Northern Virginia, Amazon will be less than three miles from the nation's capital, a prime spot to lobby on a multitude of issues. Amazon plans to construct 4 million square feet of office space there with the option to double its footprint.
In its move to Long Island City in New York, a neighborhood in Queens, the HQ will be across the East River from Midtown Manhattan. The locale will also have the same footprint as D.C., with the option to double its size as well. Among the big health systems with presence in that area is NYC Health + Hospitals, the country's largest public health system, as well as privately-run New York Presbyterian, Mt. Sinai and others.
It's unclear how the decision impacts Amazon's healthcare ambitions, but Nashville for its part, is home to the biggest private hospital chain, HCA, and Community Health is located nearby as well.
Over the past year, Amazon has made significant inroads in the healthcare sector. It recently purchased PillPack, which sends customers pre-sorted medications, in a deal that pushes the company into the management of pharmaceuticals. The deal follows Amazon's partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and J. P. Morgan Chase to curb employee healthcare costs.
In its search for a second headquarters location, Amazon was likely on the lookout for specific talent, said Randall Ellis, an economics professor at Boston University. "Access to the latest scientific ideas and thought leaders in academics and the health industry" will be key, he told Healthcare Dive recently. "The academic leaders in innovation in healthcare payment systems would have to include" New York City, he added.