Amazon's development arm wants to use a portion of the Pentagon City park next to its future HQ2 to stage the construction of its first two office towers.
Metropolitan Park next to the Amazon HQ2 site(via Arlnow)
According to Arlnow.com, The Seattle-based Acorn Development is seeking permission from the Arlington County Board to use a sizeable part of Metropolitan Park--a patch of open space one block from Costco, mostly used by nearby apartment residents-- as a staging ground for construction equipment.
“The proposed License Agreement between Acorn and the County will permit Acorn to use the County Easement Area for temporary off-site staging, parking, and office trailers in conjunction with the construction,” a county staff report says. The company “will pay the County a License Fee of $10,000.00 per month… during the time the Use Permit is in effect.”
Several trees are expected to be removed from the park as part of the project, for which Acorn will pay the county at least "$2,400 for every tree it destroys during the process," according to the Washington Business Journal.
“Arlington would typically expect Amazon to replace each tree taken down at the park… during the staging process,” the Business Journal reported. “But since the trees likely can’t be replanted on site, Amazon would need to pay into the County’s Tree Canopy Fund — money used to maintain the county’s 755,000-tree stock.”
Amazon will fund the renovation and maintenance of Metropolitan Park which will be designed by New York-based James Corner Field Operations.
Charity W. is a professional and skilled writer with a diploma in Mass Communication. When she is not glued to her computer screen, Charity spends her time reading, traveling, and watching movies. She is an expert on Arlington Virginia and keeps current with local events and occurrences.
