<!-- wp:html --><p>Amazon's Metropolitan Park, the first phase of its second headquarters, opened Monday.</p>
<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
<p>Amazon's Metropolitan Park, the first phase of its second headquarters, opened Monday.<br />
Located in Arlington, Virginia, Amazon's HQ2 will welcome more than 8,000 employees by the fall.<br />
Take a look inside the new facility.</p>
<p>Amazon <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com/?h=a9cb5c4cc5409039cbd05e0cb932d61662c44945020388ce470c3813c0cc8d7a&postID=646b8a5875c45f494d5fee10&site=bi&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aboutamazon.com%2Fnews%2Famazon-offices%2Famazon-headquarters-hq2-arlington-virginia-photos">opened</a> Metropolitan Park on Monday, the first phase of its long-awaited second headquarters, located in Arlington, Virginia.</p>
<p>The massive project, spanning more than 2.1 million square feet, welcomed hundreds of employees. More than 8,000 are expected to work there by the fall. Amazon's HQ2 features two 22-story buildings, as well as amenities like rooftop gardens, a 2.5-acre park, and a sizeable retail space.</p>
<p>Take a look inside Amazon's Metropolitan Park:</p>
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<div class="slide-title">Amazon's second headquarters is here — well, sort of. The company on Monday opened Metropolitan Park, the first phase of its second headquarters, located in Arlington, Virginia.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">The project spans more than 2.1 million square feet.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">HQ2 has two 22-story buildings.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">One is called Jasper after the code name for a project to enhance customer experience for Alexa. The other is called Merlin in reference to the code name for QuickSight, a product that Amazon says "helps our AWS customers generate dashboards powered by AI insights."</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<p>Source: <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com/?h=a9cb5c4cc5409039cbd05e0cb932d61662c44945020388ce470c3813c0cc8d7a&postID=646b8a5875c45f494d5fee10&site=bi&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aboutamazon.com%2Fnews%2Famazon-offices%2Famazon-headquarters-hq2-arlington-virginia-photos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a></p>
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<div class="slide-title">The company says HQ2 will result in the creation of 25,000 Amazon jobs by 2030 and indirectly support thousands of other jobs in the region.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">Metropolitan Park welcomed hundreds of employees when it opened Monday.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">By the fall, more than 8,000 are expected to work there.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">HQ2 has eight quick-service food stalls and cafes.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">There's also a dog wall adorned with photos of employees' pets.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<p>Amazon famously lets employees bring their dogs to work and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-dogs-on-error-page-prime-day2018-7">includes pictures of its employees' actual pets on its error pages</a>.</p>
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<div class="slide-title">Outside, there's a 2.5-acre public park space with a children's playground, dog park, recreation areas, and seasonal weekend farmers markets.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">There are also rooftop gardens with views of Arlington, Washington, DC, and the Potomac River.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">Besides office space, Metropolitan Park also has 50,000 square feet of retail space. It currently has 14 businesses.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">The ground level of Metropolitan Park is open to the public.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">Amazon decided on the location for its second headquarters with a contest.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">The company initially selected both Arlington and Queens, New York City, before backing out of New York after receiving backlash from residents and politicians like US congresswoman and New York native Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">Amazon began construction on HQ2 in 2020.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="slide-title">In March, it said it was pausing construction on phase two of the project.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<p>"We're always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees, and since Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we've decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the second phase of HQ2) out a bit," Amazon real estate chief John Schoettler <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-pauses-construction-25-billion-headquarters-2023-3">said at the time</a>. "Our second headquarters has always been a multi-year project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region."</p>
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<div class="slide-title">The second phase of HQ2 construction, not pictured here, is expected to span 2.8 million square feet and include three new towers and a corporate conference center.</div>
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<p class="copyright">Lucas Jackson / Amazon</p>
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<div class="read-original">Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-second-headquarters-arlington-virginia-hq2-photos-2023-5">Business Insider</a></div><!-- /wp:html -->
Amazon’s Metropolitan Park, the first phase of its second headquarters, opened Monday.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
Amazon’s Metropolitan Park, the first phase of its second headquarters, opened Monday.
Located in Arlington, Virginia, Amazon’s HQ2 will welcome more than 8,000 employees by the fall.
Take a look inside the new facility.
Amazon opened Metropolitan Park on Monday, the first phase of its long-awaited second headquarters, located in Arlington, Virginia.
The massive project, spanning more than 2.1 million square feet, welcomed hundreds of employees. More than 8,000 are expected to work there by the fall. Amazon’s HQ2 features two 22-story buildings, as well as amenities like rooftop gardens, a 2.5-acre park, and a sizeable retail space.
Take a look inside Amazon’s Metropolitan Park:
Amazon’s second headquarters is here — well, sort of. The company on Monday opened Metropolitan Park, the first phase of its second headquarters, located in Arlington, Virginia.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
The project spans more than 2.1 million square feet.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
HQ2 has two 22-story buildings.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
One is called Jasper after the code name for a project to enhance customer experience for Alexa. The other is called Merlin in reference to the code name for QuickSight, a product that Amazon says “helps our AWS customers generate dashboards powered by AI insights.”
Outside, there’s a 2.5-acre public park space with a children’s playground, dog park, recreation areas, and seasonal weekend farmers markets.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
There are also rooftop gardens with views of Arlington, Washington, DC, and the Potomac River.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
Besides office space, Metropolitan Park also has 50,000 square feet of retail space. It currently has 14 businesses.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
The ground level of Metropolitan Park is open to the public.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
Amazon decided on the location for its second headquarters with a contest.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
The company initially selected both Arlington and Queens, New York City, before backing out of New York after receiving backlash from residents and politicians like US congresswoman and New York native Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
Amazon began construction on HQ2 in 2020.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
In March, it said it was pausing construction on phase two of the project.
Lucas Jackson / Amazon
“We’re always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees, and since Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we’ve decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the second phase of HQ2) out a bit,” Amazon real estate chief John Schoettler said at the time. “Our second headquarters has always been a multi-year project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region.”
The second phase of HQ2 construction, not pictured here, is expected to span 2.8 million square feet and include three new towers and a corporate conference center.
