Why Boeing Is Moving Its Global HQ To Arlington, VA

Boeing’s decision to relocate its global headquarters from a Chicago office tower to a much smaller facility in Arlington, VA wasn’t driven by the need to reduce its office footprint in the Windy City, although that’s part of the deal.

In making the relocation announcement, the company did not indicate how many—if any—of the approximately 500 workers it employs in its Chicago office will be moving to Arlington. President & CEO Dave Calhoun said Boeing would maintain its office presence in Chicago in a footprint it has reduced during the past two years by implementing “flexible and virtual” solutions for using its workspace.

By deciding to shift the global HQ designation to a six-story building in Arlington that Boeing built a decade ago, the aerospace giant is doubling down on a commitment to help lead the ongoing digital transformation of advanced manufacturing.

Boeing’s relocation had its roots in two huge projects just a few blocks away from the building that will now serve as its world HQ: Amazon’s mammoth HQ2, now under construction on the National Landing site that straddles Arlington and Alexandria; and Virginia Tech’s new $1B Innovation Campus in Alexandria.

The largest incentive that the Virginia Economic Development Partnership put on the table to seal the deal with Amazon in 2018 was a $2B Tech Talent Investment Program, involving 11 state colleges and universities, that will generate 31,000 new computer science grads in VA.

The crown jewel of the tech talent program is the Innovation Campus, part of a 3.5-acre mixed-use district JBG Smith is developing near the future Potomac Yard Metrorail Station.

Last year, Boeing—which has a 70-year relationship with Virginia Tech—announced the largest gift in the history of the university, a $50M multi-year commitment to become the first foundational partner of the Innovation Campus, which aims to be the most diverse computer science grad program in the nation.

“The future of Boeing is digital,” Greg Hyslop, Boeing’s chief engineer said, in a statement. “Focusing our R&D and talent development in areas that support digital innovation will fuel the introduction of cutting-edge capabilities.”

Boeing said it plans to develop a research and technology hub around the new HQ to make use of the tech talent it is developing with Virginia Tech.

The Amazon HQ2 campus, which will include three 22-story office towers and a 355-foot spiraling HQ building known as The Helix, eventually will encompass up to 8M SF. New housing for the tech hub is rising with the campus. Construction is underway on 1,500 apartment units, with 6,400 more in the pipeline.