Amazon Gains Juicy Incentives With New Headquarters Locations

No offense against a great part of New York City, but sometimes it can take a little bit of a push to get people (tourists, mainly) to visit Queens. For Amazon, the encouragement includes $1.525 billion in performance-based direct incentives — part of the package that led to the eCommerce operator deciding to base one of its headquarters in Long Island City.

Amazon has selected New York City and Northern Virginia as the homes for its second and third headquarters. By selecting New York City, Amazon will also get a refundable tax credit, via New York State’s Excelsior Program, that could total $1.2 billion. According to a report, “the amount is based on a percentage of salaries Amazon expects to pay employees over the next decade, or $48K per job for 25K jobs.”

And that’s not it. Empire State Development, an economic development group, has promised Amazon a $325 million cash grant, an amount reportedly determined by the square footage that Amazon plans to occupy in Queens buildings over the next decade.

For the Northern Virginia headquarters — specifically, Crystal City in Arlington County, near Washington, D.C. — Amazon reportedly will receive $575 million in performance-based direct incentives, the amount based on 25,000 jobs created, with an average wage of at least $150,000. Virginia has also pledged $195 million in infrastructure improvements, work that involves subway stations and a pedestrian bridge for people headed to Reagan National Airport.

A reported 238 locations competed to land Amazon’s new headquarters. The decision of the Seattle-based company to split it between two locations was a surprise to those following the process. Each new headquarters will employ as many as 25,000 employees, according to reports.