The other Amazon forest! The retail giant will build a spiraling tower at its new HQ2 in Virginia, complete with a tree-lined ‘mountain’ for visitors to climb on weekends
- The 350-foot-tall building received planning permission from officials in Arlington on Saturday
- Will be the centerpiece of Amazon’s $2.5 billion Virginia campus when it opens in 2025
- Includes a ramp that runs around the outside of the building to its green-lined top
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Amazon’s second Virginia headquarters will feature a unique spiral tower with an outdoor “mountain” for visitors to hike on weekends.
The Arlington County Board on Saturday gave unanimous approval for the 350-foot-tall building designed by architecture firm NBBJ.
It will be the centerpiece of Amazon’s new $2.5 billion campus across the Potomac River from Washington DC.
Skyscrapers are banned in the District of Columbia, and the Amazon buildings will be among the tallest in neighboring Arlington County.
From some vantage points, the Helix will dominate the region’s skyline like no other building other than the Washington Monument.
The spiral features a spiral walk around its exterior, complete with trees, and lets visitors follow a meandering exterior ramp around the edge of the building to its summit.
A rendering of Amazon’s new spiral building at its forthcoming second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The building has a ramp around its exterior that can be used as a tree-lined walkway
The new tower will be directly across from Washington DC’s Potomac – where skyscrapers are prohibited – and will be one of the tallest buildings in the area’s skyline
The planned building was first unveiled by Amazon in February 2021 and is one of several large offices that the web giant will build on the site.
It is expected to be completed by 2025 and will house around 25,000 workers once fully operational.
The campus will also include a separate park, as well as a community high school and several shops.
Amazon has claimed that the Helix will have its own artist-in-residence, as well as a meeting place for employees working there.
The online giant’s global headquarters are in Washington, and Virginia is now set to become its second-largest US base.
The new Arlington campus will also include an outdoor park and community high school and is scheduled to open in 2025
Virginia will be Amazon’s second most important US city after the company scrapped plans to open its second headquarters in New York City
It spent years looking for a potential second headquarters, with several cities across the US putting up their booths.
Some even promised to change local laws to make it easier for Amazon to establish and do business there.
They did so in hopes that their presence would boost their economy.
Amazon finally announced in late 2018 that it had chosen New York City as its location.
It said it plans to open a massive new base in Long Island City in Queens, just across the East River from Midtown Manhattan.
Amazon’s global headquarters is in Seattle, home to its equally unique offices in glass spheres
That sparked anger from the losing cities, angered that a metropolis already strewn with jobs had landed another multinational.
Many New Yorkers themselves were also upset, fearing that Amazon’s presence would further gentrify a city already notorious for its astronomical cost of living.
There were also fears from progressive lawmakers – including US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – that the new headquarters would price out poorer locals.
On Valentine’s Day 2019, the company announced that it was withdrawing its bid for its New York headquarters and instead focusing on building its Arlington location, which was announced along with the Long Island City deal.
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