Amazon.com Inc. is pausing construction on the second phase of its HQ2 corporate campus in Arlington, Virginia.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg today and later confirmed by Amazon.

The first phase of HQ2, which is known as Met Park and includes two office towers, is on track to complete in the summer. The second phase comprises three officer towers and a skyscraper shaped like a double helix. Amazon originally planned to break ground on the latter buildings in the first quarter, but has decided to push back the date.

“We’re always evaluating space plans to make sure they fit our business needs and to create a great experience for employees, and since Met Park will have space to accommodate more than 14,000 employees, we’ve decided to shift the groundbreaking of PenPlace (the second phase of HQ2) out a bit,” said John Schoettler, vice president of Amazon’s global real estate and facilities team.

Amazon’s HQ2 campus in Arlington is the fruit of an office expansion initiative that began more than six years ago. In 2017, the company announced plans to build a second corporate headquarters at a cost of more than $5 billion. The second headquarters, which gave the HQ2 initiative its name, would have had capacity for 50,000 Amazon employees.

A year after unveiling the initiative, Amazon announced plans to split the original HQ2 into two smaller campuses with capacity for 25,000 workers each. The company planned to build the campuses in Arlington and New York City. Amazon later scrapped the planned New York City hub, leaving the Arlington site as the sole campus being constructed as part of the HQ2 initiative.

The first phase of the Arlington campus is called Met Park. It includes two 22-story office towers with 2.1 million square feet of office space between them. Amazon expects to complete construction of the buildings this summer and will make them available to employees in June.

The second phase of the project is known as PenPlace. It comprises three 22-story office towers and an even taller, spiral-shaped building dubbed The Helix. The building’s hallmark feature is a pair of twisting outdoor walking paths designed to resemble the shape of a double helix.

Last month, Amazon announced a new remote work policy that will require employees to spend at least three days per week in the office. Currently, individual teams can determine their remote work arrangements instead of following a company-wide policy. Amazon will implement the change at the start of May, or about two months before the two buildings that comprise the first phase of HQ2 are set to open. 

Amazon hasn’t yet decided when it plans to break ground on the second phase of HQ2. However, the company told CNBC that its original plans to create about 25,000 jobs at the campus and in the surrounding area over the next decade remain unchanged. 

“Our second headquarters has always been a multi-year project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region,” Schoettler said.

Image: Amazon