Construction is well underway at Metropolitan Park, the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. More than 3,500 Amazon employees are currently assigned to HQ2, and more than 2,500 technical and non-technical roles are open. In addition, Amazon has donated more than $30 million to the local nonprofits, community groups, and small businesses, including to organizations La Cocina and Bridges to Independence, since it announced that Arlington would be home to HQ2 three years ago. These commitments are in addition to Amazon’s announcement earlier this year to create the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, which has committed more than $500 million in low-rate loans and grants to create or preserve up to 2,300 affordable homes in the HQ2 region so far.
As the project progresses, commitment to community and sustainability remain top priorities. Met Park includes two 22-story office buildings, more than 50,000 square feet of retail space for local small businesses, and a more than 2-acre public park for the entire community to enjoy.
Met Park, which will be complete in 2023, is part Amazon’s $2.5 billion commitment to bring more than 25,000 great jobs to the region over the next decade.
Check out new renderings that detail what’s to come at Met Park:
Photo by ZGF
Aerial view of Met Park
Met Park consists of two new buildings encompassing more than 2 million square feet of sustainable workspace, retail, and open space.
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And, check out behind-the-scenes photos of the Met Park construction site:
Photo by Tasha Dooley
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Keep reading or download the fact sheet to learn more about the new development at Amazon's second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
Building Met Park
- Construction at Met Park began in early 2020 under strict health and safety guidelines, and Amazon will complete the project in 2023.
- In total, the construction project is more than 2.1M square feet.
- As of November, 2021, more than 100 local contractors have worked on the project.
- More than 3,000 skilled craft workers specializing in fields including electrical, mechanical, concrete, and carpentry have contributed more than 1.4 million hours to the project.
Met Park includes:
- Two 22-story office buildings.
- More than 50,000 square feet of retail space for local small businesses.
- A 2-acre public park for the entire community to enjoy.
- The project needs 937 door frames that, if stacked, would equal the height of 12 Washington Monuments.
- Once complete, the project will include 200,000 cubic yards of concrete, which is enough to fill the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool six times.
- Met Park will be bird friendly thanks to non-reflective glazing throughout the building and bird-safe glass on lower levels facing the park.
Sustainability
- Met Park will play an important role in upholding Amazon’s Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement. It also helps Amazon move further down the path to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025—five years earlier than the original target of 2030, with the entire development powered by energy generated at a new 120-megawatt solar farm being constructed in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
- For both Met Park office buildings, we are targeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum—the highest level of LEED certification.
- As part of that commitment, the project is on track to achieve and exceed the following goals:
- 20% energy savings below The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) baseline.
- 50% water savings below building code thanks to low-flow water fixtures and using captured and treated rainwater and greywater for flush fixtures and cooling tower makeup.
- 75% carbon emissions reduction in building operations through the use of renewable energy, an all-electric central plant, and high-performance systems that drive down Met Park’s energy demand.
- Reducing the carbon footprint of our concrete structures by using low carbon mixtures and incorporating CarbonCure, a process that introduces recycled carbon dioxide into fresh concrete to reduce its carbon footprint without compromising performance.
- 84% of all construction materials have been diverted from the landfill thus far, including concrete, drywall, metals, wood, cardboard, and plastic.
- Met Park, which will be complete in 2023, is part Amazon’s $2.5 billion commitment to bring more than 25,000 great jobs to the region over the next decade.
Community commitment
Through its Met Park development, Amazon is contributing more than $20 million to Arlington County to fund the creation or preservation of committed affordable housing units.
- Met Park will include the 700-person event space built with 14,000-pound timber beams that will be used for Amazon and community events.
- Amazon is prioritizing women-owned and minority-owned local small businesses to fill the more than 50,000 square feet of retail space at Met Park, including designated space for a daycare.
- The first retailer to sign a lease at Met Park is District Dogs, a full-service pet-care company.
- A half-mile of protected bike lanes will be incorporated into Met Park.
- As of November, 2021, the crews working at Met Park have handed out more than 430 dog treats to neighborhood dogs to date.
- The 2-acre park within the Met Park site will be open to the public to enjoy.
Community areas include:
- An 8,800 square foot Central Green, an open lawn within the park, with capacity to host several hundred people for movie nights and events.
- Two dog runs for small and large dogs, totaling 4,000 square feet.
- A 5,000 square foot public playground.
- A 2,300-square-foot landscaped garden with edible plants and a community table in the center for gathering.
- Public arts throughout the park by national and local artists.
- A variety of seating options, ranging from hammocks and lounge chairs to natural stone seating and custom benches.
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