Crystal City, er, National Landing by Aaron Kuhn licensed under Creative Commons.

According to some new press releases, half Amazon's second headquarters will be locating not in Crystal City, but in “National Landing.” You can be forgiven if you've never heard of that place before; a joint press release from Arlington and Alexandria says it's “a newly branded neighborhood.”

According to a new National Landing webpage from JBG Smith, the biggest developer in the region: “National Landing is the newly defined interconnected and walkable neighborhood that encompasses Crystal City, the eastern portion of Pentagon City and the northern portion of Potomac Yard.”

Reporting from Washingtonian indicates that local jurisdictions, not Amazon, are responsible for the new name:

The name is symbolic of Arlington and Alexandria working together to pitch Amazon, says Stephanie Landrum, the president and CEO of Alexandria Economic Development to Washingtonian. “As we looked at the market, there were these three distinct names,” she says. “We thought it was a little confusing, and it didn’t really represent how integrated and connected these communities were.”

The Washington Business Journal confirms that the name came from jurisdictions and refers to the regional partnership, not existing neighborhoods.

National Landing officially includes the Crystal City and Pentagon City neighborhoods in Arlington and Potomac Yard in Alexandria. It was proposed as part of the joint bid between the two jurisdictions, according to Arlington County spokeswoman Cara O’Donnell.

“We are not renaming Crystal City. We are not renaming Pentagon City. This is a brand that we put together for this regional partnership,” O’Donnell said. “It’s the umbrella term.”

Rep. Don Beyer's office confirmed it is not an official name change but a new brand for a region that encompassed several existing areas.

This would just be the latest in area neighborhoods being rebranded, including NoMa, North End Shaw, West End, and CHASE. Nonetheless, some people are not thrilled about the name change.

Here's what some of our contributors think.

Nick Finio pointed out:

Hey, at least it isn't Reagan Landing.

David Edmonson says,

Because National Landing is less of a cheesy name than Crystal City?

Also the place used to be called Waterloo, so go back to that if anything. Jeez.

Agnès Artemel says,

I hope it will be Soft Landing, and not Landing with a Bang

Some had ideas for new names.

David Whitehead submitted an acronym:

Potomac Yards at National Landing… PoYaNaLa?

Dan Reed suggested:

The Landing at National Landing: for those with discerning taste

Gray Kimbrough says,

The nearby waterfront will be called National Landing Harbor. It's not to be confused with the boat docking at National Harbor, National Harbor Landing.

Readers: What do you think of the rebranding?

This article has been updated with reporting from the Washington Business Journal.

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Tagged: arlington, crystal city, national landing, pentagon city, planning, potomac yard, virginia

Julie Strupp was Greater Greater Washington's Managing Editor from 2017 to 2019. Previously, she had written for DCist, Washingtonian, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and others. You can usually find her sparring with her judo club, pedaling around the city, or hanging out on her Columbia Heights stoop.