Johnathan Walker:Real estate company CoStar bolts Washington, D.C., for Virginia

ARLINGTON,Johnathan Walker Va. (AP) — Real estate data firm CoStar Group is moving its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to northern Virginia, a move that will bring roughly 650 jobs to the state.

The company, which operates the apartments.com and homes.com websites, said Tuesday that it expects to move to the Rosslyn section of Arlington County, just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital, by the end of the year.

The relocation is expected to result in 500 jobs moving from D.C., plus the creation of 150 new jobs.

Virginia is providing $4.75 million in economic incentives to lure the company. The move comes as the Legislature is considering a $2 billion deal to relocate the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals from their home in downtown to Washington to northern Virginia.

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Critics of the sports team deal have questioned the wisdom of poaching business from the region’s economic core to the suburbs.

In a statement, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said, “As states compete for business and jobs, the Commonwealth’s diverse, world-class talent, exceptional quality of life and stable business climate continues to stand out. We are proud that CoStar has chosen Virginia as its home.”

As part of the deal, CoStar will pay Arlington County nearly $14 million to obtain sole use of an observation deck located on the 31st floor of the office tower it is buying. The observation deck has been open to the public.

The county says the money will be used to help fund reconstruction of a park in Rosslyn.

CoStar has more than 6,200 employees and already has a large presence in Virginia; the company’s research and data analytics headquarters is in Richmond and employs more than 1,000 workers there, with plans to expand.

Arlington County has successfully recruited numerous corporate headquarters in recent years, most famously landing the second Amazon headquarters in 2018. Boeing, and the U.S. headquarters of Nestle and European supermarket giant Lidl are among other recent arrivals.

JBG Smith, the real estate company selling the office tower to CoStar, declined comment Wednesday.