Charlotte officials on Monday gave Amazon (AMZN) the nod to build a new distribution center in the city. The company is planning to invest $200 million on the distribution center, which is expected to create about 1,500 jobs. The city officials have approved $13.4 million as incentives to Amazon in the form of reimbursements to build road infrastructure, which is expected to be up and running in 2019.
The new 2.5 million square feet facility will come up on a 90-acre plot near Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
James Mitchell, a member of the Economic Development Committee of Queen City, is gung-ho about the project. Commenting on the project, he said, “Amazon is on our radar screen again and I think this is going to be great.” Mitchell also added, “to choose Charlotte to be your first prototype says a lot about our business community.”
It’s worth noting that Amazon plans to open six automated distribution centers, of which, the one at Charlotte will be first. The new center is expected to come in multiple floors, with robots doing the mundane tasks.
As the land is part of the airport, the project needs to be cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration. Seefried Industrial Properties which has built warehouses for Amazon in the past will take care of the new facility construction.