Mike Wuerthele
Hot on the heels of reports that North Carolina is on Apple's short list for a new campus, another report suggests that Apple is in the same point in the decision making process for one in Northern Virginia, adjacent to Washington DC.
Apple appears to be sourcing a four million square-foot facility capable of handling 20,000 employees, according to The Washington Post on Wednesday. Sites proposed by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam include Crystal City near Reagan National Airport, a spot in Loudoun County, and an area outside of the DC beltway at Scotts Run near Tysons Corner.
Other unnamed officials said that multiple sites in Alexandria, VA were pitched. Reportedly, the Crystal City, Loudoun county, and one of the Alexandria locations were also pitched to Amazon's quest for a second headquarters.
Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and Prince George's County, MD are among three locations that a report suggested that Apple was looking at for a new campus. The same report claimed that there were other potential states further afield, among them Florida, Illinois, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Any location on the eastern seaboard would have extra advantages however, particularly the ability to take tech support calls before the company's existing support centers open in Austin, Tex. and Elk Grove, Calif. Apple has said that the new campus will initially focus on AppleCare.
Northern Virginia has a sprawling public transportation network, thought to be one of the criteria for a new campus. The Loudoun county facility is likely not all that far from the Dulles area data centers as well.
The campus is part of an Apple pledge to pump $350 billion into the U.S. economy during the next five years, other contributions including a $38 billion tax payment on repatriated foreign reserves, and manufacturing and data center investments.
The list predicted in March is very similar, but not identical, to Amazon's declared second headquarters candidates.
Unlike Amazon's HQ2, Apple has said it will avoid any auction-like process. Apple has already narrowed down its list of cities without making the list public — a formal announcement should be made later this year.
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7 Comments
I guess nothing’s really real... until it is.
Crystal City is anything but. It’s a warren connected by underground tunnels between buildings. Only benefit is being beside DCA so you can fly fast away. No way Apple would subject even call center employees to crystal city.
Virginia would be much better off with Apple than Amazon. My guess is that Apple will get the deal, and will be given significant tax breaks to locate there.
I hope Apple chooses NC. Research Triangle has a huge talent pool from both an academic (3 major universities form the "research triangle") and technical perspective (lots of tech companies here - Research Triangle Park, at one point at least, was the third-largest tech corridor in the US (after Silicone Valley and Route 128 in MA).
But it may not. There isn't enough public transit here and the "International" airport is only international if you want to travel to France, England, or the Caribbean :-( But hopefully one of the promises NC makes in return for Apple (or Amazon, for that matter) locating here, is to address these shortcomings.
Come to Florida Apple. Imagine the solar power!!!