Amazon joins DC chamber of commerce amid HQ2 discussion

Washington, DC.Alex Wong/Getty

• Amazon has joined the Washington, DC Chamber of Commerce, the chamber’s president told the Washington Business Journal.
• The company was invoiced in August for $2,285, based on its 101 to 200 employees in the district.
• Amazon is expected to announce its selection for its second headquarters, or HQ2, by the end of the year, and speculation has largely been centered on the DC area.

Amazon is formally joining Washington, DC’s business community, amping up the discussion about where its second headquarters will be located.

The e-commerce giant has joined the district’s chamber of commerce, according to the chamber’s president and CEO, Vincent Orange. He told the Washington Business Journal that Amazon was billed $2,285 based on its 101 to 200 employees in the district in late August.

“Amazon certainly is a major, major catch for us,” Orange told the online publication. “To be able to have them as part of our membership is just great. As a member, clearly we would anticipate them being part of the government affairs committee.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

The company already has its lobbying and part of its economic development team in DC, and it makes sense for Amazon to work more closely with other local businesses and those who run them. 

Evidence has also been mounting that Amazon will select one of the DC area locations that were shortlisted for its second headquarters project, also called HQ2. In recent months, the betting odds have quite literally zeroed in on Northern Virginia. The region’s status as the “bull’s-eye of America’s internet” has added to the speculation.

A local news site called ARLnow.com said it saw an unusual spike in traffic from Amazon to an article from December titled “County Wins Top Environmental Award from US Green Building Council,” which explained how Virginia’s Arlington County was the first in the US to be selected for an environmental award.

Bezos is set to speak at The Economic Club of Washington, DC, on September 13. Some have speculated he might have a bit of news to share during his keynote.