Virginia Tech to open $1 billion campus in Northern Virginia next to Amazon HQ2

With Amazon coming to Virginia, state colleges are expanding their plans for computer science and innovation.

Virginia Tech announced plans Tuesday to build a $1 billion campus near Amazon’s new headquarters in Northern Virginia, a 1 million-square-foot project that officials said was a key reason the world’s largest internet retailer chose Virginia for the location of its HQ2. Amazon announced the location of its second headquarters Tuesday after a year of public jockeying for the tech giant’s 50,000 jobs and $5 billion of investment.

Rather than choose one location, Amazon opted for two — the other is New York City. Virginia’s offer included a higher education package centered on expanding education in computer science and related fields. Virginia Tech’s new campus was the centerpiece of that package.

“This is a watershed moment for Virginia Tech and a great day for the commonwealth that we are committed to serve,” school President Tim Sands said in a news release.

Tech’s new campus — named the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus — will be in National Landing, the newly branded neighborhood that includes parts of Pentagon City and Crystal City in Arlington County and Potomac Yard in Alexandria. The new campus will be about 2 miles from U.S. Route 1 in Alexandria and about 1 mile from Amazon’s HQ2.

“Our new Innovation Campus will be the global center of technology excellence and talent production — where highly skilled students, world-class faculty, smart ideas, and forward-thinking companies will meet to propel the commonwealth and the region forward,” Sands said.

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