Richard Rhodes

ARLINGTON, VA—As the local market prepares for Amazon's arrival, it is instructive to understand why Amazon was forced to seek out a new location (or locations as it turned out) in the first place: The approximately 40,000 employees in Seattle occupied 19% of all prime office space in the city, according to The Seattle Times. In short, the company's need for tech talent and space outpaced the availability in the Seattle area.

There is little doubt that the economic benefits for Crystal City will be enormous. Current residents anticipate that real estate speculators will descend upon the area thus driving up housing prices as they look to purchase and lease at pre-Amazon prices. In addition, companies that partner with Amazon or hope to do business with Amazon will, most likely, set up offices there.

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