(xpost) From the VA House of Delegates representative re Crystal City and Amazon
The original topic at the UUCA of Arlington was to be state legislative updates.
Instead, Alfonso Lopez (D-49th) led with the de-embargoed announcement about Crystal City getting an Amazon site.
The proposed initial site is at 1400 S. Eads Street, currently occupied by old brick warehouses.
((I went by there after the meeting. The site was surrounded by white fencing that was festooned with fake bikes and statements of "What If...))
He said this would solve Crystal City's ((post-911)) office vacancy issues, currently about 23%.
The sweetener was said to be $500 million. Someone asked if this was what Arlington County would pay? The answer was that most of this was coming from the state, and would only be paid in 2022 if there was adequate progress towards the goal of 25,000 new jobs. The goal was to have that many good-paying jobs in ten years.
He said it was estimated that the state would receive about $ 2 billion in recordation fees over the next 15 years.
He said he was concerned about those, specially in historically-black neighborhoods, who bought their houses for $12,000 in the 50s and 60s who even now pay $5,000 a year in taxes. He said he wanted to find a way for Arlington's teachers and firefighters to be able to live near their work. He proposed that if the state was running a surplus above a certain level, a part of the extra surplus be dedicated by law toward funding the Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund, instead of having to beg to get the $9-11 million approved each year in the General Assembly.
((This was mostly a bunch of older folks, and I had to leave early, so I don't know if anyone brought up the issues of potential impacts on the already-crowded Arlington County school system.))