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.