National Landing is an area in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

encompassing parts of the Crystal City and

Pentagon City Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood (also called an "urban village") located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Location Pentagon City is located less than a mile ...

neighborhoods of

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

and the

Potomac Yard Potomac Yard is a neighborhood in Northern Virginia that straddles southeastern Arlington County and northeastern Alexandria, Virginia, located principally in the area between U.S. Route 1 and the Washington Metro Blue Line / Yellow Line tracks ...

neighborhood in the city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

that has been announced as the location for

Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...

's HQ2 headquarters project. While redevelopment efforts in the area had already begun as early as 2014, the cross-jurisdictional neighborhood was branded and announced as "National Landing" in 2018 as a part of local

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

plans to bring Amazon HQ2 to the area. The announcement also included plans to build a graduate-school satellite

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

campus of

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in the area. The "National Landing" name derives, in part, from the area's proximity to

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

Branding campaign

When the name "National Landing" was announced on November 13, 2018, in concert with the Amazon HQ2 launch, it was met with significant confusion, and mockery since locals had never heard this name before and did not feel that "National Landing" was a real place. Prior to the Amazon announcement, "National Landing" was not used by locals. While initial comments suggested Amazon was changing the name of Crystal City unilaterally, local officials explained that the region included more than just Crystal City, and that the name and branding campaign came from the local jurisdictions and their

committees (Arlington Economic Development and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership), in partnership with Amazon and developer

JBG Smith JBG SMITH Properties is a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 62 properties and has 2 additional properties under construction, all of which are in the Washington me ...

. The rebranding is not expected to change the names of the existing neighborhoods, like Crystal City, but instead to serve as an umbrella term.

Redevelopment history

Oakville Triangle redevelopment and Virginia Tech Innovation Campus

Even before the Amazon HQ2 announcement, development in the National Landing area had been in the works. In June 2013,

The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...

acquired industrial properties from First Potomac Realty Trust. StonebridgeCarras, on behalf of landowner The Blackstone Group was employed to redevelop the Oakville Triangle, a 20-acre industrial park. Consultations about the Oakville Triangle development began with the local community groups in 2014 with groundbreaking to occur summer of 2017 and first 1 million-square-foot phase to open in Summer 2019. In March 2018, the Oakville Triangle project reportedly stalled, while

officials met with Amazon to discuss "Project Cooper," Virginia Tech's plan for an "innovation neighborhood." On November 3, 2018, Virginia Tech signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Alexandria to put its new Innovation Center at Oakville Triangle, a decision announced in tandem with the HQ2 announcement on November 13.

Potomac Yard redevelopment

In Summer 2015, developer

JBG Companies JBG SMITH Properties is a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 62 properties and has 2 additional properties under construction, all of which are in the Washington me ...

indicated a desire to begin the process for redevelopment of North

. In June 2016, Alexandria completed revisions to the 2010 plan and adopted a new the North Potomac Yard Small Area Plan. This plan included plans for a new

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

station, the

Potomac Yard station Potomac Yard station is a Washington Metro station under construction in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The station will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), serving both the Blue and Yellow Lines, an ...

. The plan also "anticipates approximately 1.3 million square feet of

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

to include office, hotel, residential, and concentrated areas of retail within a 1/4 mile of the new Metrorail station."

Transportation

The area includes an existing Washington Metro station at Crystal City as well as the planned

. The

Virginia Railway Express Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from ...

(VRE)

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

system also has a Crystal City station. The

Metroway Metroway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as part of their Metrobus system. It consists of a single line operating in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. It opened on Augu ...

, a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

, runs through the area, with 15 stations covering the area from Arlington's

Pentagon City station Pentagon City station is an underground Washington Metro station in the Pentagon City neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, United States. It serves the Blue and Yellow Lines. History The station was opened on July 1, 1977, along with 16 other ...

to Alexandria's

Braddock Road station Braddock Road is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The station was opened on December 17, 1983, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service ...

(south of National Landing), with some of this route located in an exclusive busway. Future planning for the area includes a pedestrian bridge to connect National Landing to

Reagan National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

and improvements to the existing Metro rail stations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landing, National Neighborhoods in Arlington County, Virginia Geography of Alexandria, Virginia