Amazon shows how it courts its Arlington neighbors at HQ2

A headquarters that doubles as a park

As aboutamazon.com reported in a roundup of posts about its second headquarters, known as HQ2, Amazon is working to make its Arlington, Virginia campus feel like a public place. The campus centers on Metropolitan Park, or Met Park. Amazon says it was built as a place where Arlington comes together.

The posts cover roughly a year of activity. Amazon says 2026 marks its 20th anniversary in Virginia, and it describes its approach as community-centered investment rather than traditional economic development.

This is the company's own account. It gives a good picture of what Amazon wants neighbors to notice, but it offers no outside measure of how locals see it.

Giveaways, markets and a Community Day

In October, Amazon and the National Landing BID, a local partner, ran a daily giveaway at Met Park. Each day pointed neighbors to a different shop, restaurant or landmark, and they checked in to learn at once whether they had won. More than 840 people signed up and logged nearly 3,300 check-ins. Prizes came from local businesses such as Good Company Doughnuts & Cafe and Peruvian Brothers.

The park also keeps a weekly routine: farmers markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays, children's art sessions and drop-in fiber arts workshops. Amazon's third annual Community Day added a homecoming theme, with marching bands, a foam pit and local vendors. The day before, employees brought their parents to work for the first time in Arlington, with more than 20 interactive experiences.

Amazon also points to a book fair where author Danica McKellar read to children and every child took home a copy of her book. It announced a new Little Library on campus, stocked with books from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, so families can get free books all year.

Kids, AI and the next workforce

Some events touch on AI directly. At Bring Your Kids to Work Day, held June 26 on the HQ2 campus, children visited 15 stations. At one, called the Agentic Arcade and built using AWS, kids answered questions that helped an AI create a custom video game, which they then played. At another, they designed AI-powered stickers.

Amazon also hosted an Axios Live conversation called Future of Work: Succeeding in the AI Era. Panelists included Amazon's Holly Sullivan, Sen. Todd Young and Northern Virginia Community College president Dr. Anne M. Kress. They discussed how governments, schools and companies might build training for new and not-yet-defined jobs.

The account does not name any specific programs or commitments from that panel. It describes the talk as part of Amazon's effort to bring leaders together.

Bikes, races and the street-level test

The most concrete business item is a delivery pilot with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Delivery Service Partners, the companies that run Amazon deliveries, will use up to 15 battery-powered e-cargo bikes in Washington, D.C. These bikes have four wheels, a rear cargo hold, covered seating, a windshield and wipers. Amazon says they can use bike lanes, which may ease traffic and noise.

Amazon vice president Dave Alperson said the pilot should help "ensure we get it right here in D.C." Amazon says it already uses similar delivery methods in New York City and more than 50 cities in Europe.

On the sports side, Amazon has been title sponsor of the Armed Forces Cycling Classic since 2025 and has a new partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation, the company behind the Tour de France. Employee Logan Cunningham leads Amazon's team there, which grew from 20 riders to more than 250.

What comes next

Amazon says more is scheduled. Its Cherry Blossom Festival tie-ins include Pink in the Park, now in its fourth year, ending with Art in the Park on April 10. That night features 50+ local artists and runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Later in the season come a handcrafting workshop and a winter festival at Met Park.

The larger milestone is Arlington Community High School, which Amazon says will open at Met Park this fall. Amazon has not detailed in this post how the school will work, so that is the part to follow most closely.