There were rumors and speculation for months — so when Amazon announced on Tuesday that its new headquarters will be located in Virginia, we weren’t surprised. What did surprise us was that the announcement named “National Landing” as the location. At this point in the press conference, many Arlington residents looked at each other mouthing the question, “Where?”

 

National Landing turns out to be a nickname given to the area spanning Arlington and Alexandria that Amazon is investing in. National Landing spans parts of Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Potomac Yard. The name National Landing was developed as a partnership between Arlington and Alexandria, creating useful shorthand to refer to the three neighborhoods without excluding any.

 

Not all locals were happy to hear the new National Landing moniker without any warning or context. Understandably, someone who grew up in Crystal City may not react well to hearing their home is now considered to be part of Amazon’s “National Landing.” This is a phrase locals never heard before Tuesday.

 

“That name’s never going to catch on,” said Arlington resident Alex. “Who are you? You can’t just come in and rename my neighborhood.”

 

However, Amazon didn’t invent the name National Landing — locals did.

 

The name “National Landing” was never intended to be an official new name for Crystal City, and National Landing will not be the name of any actual jurisdiction. You can’t find National Landing on a map. It’s just a nickname that local economic officials used while pitching Amazon on coming to Virginia. The area spans three existing neighborhoods and two different cities, after all.

 

Still others are concerned that area housing prices, already high, are going to rise and become unaffordable to long-time residents.

 

This is a valid concern. We’ve already seen sellers in the area hiking their prices, some within mere hours of the Amazon HQ2 announcement. Property values and demand will both rise as the area receives over 25,000 Amazon employees.

 

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home in or near Arlington, now is the time to buy — before property prices begin what could be a very steep climb.