(Posted May 16, 2018)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Amazon.com plans to open a fulfillment center in West Jefferson that would create more than 1,500 full-time jobs by the end of 2019.
The 855,000 square-foot facility will be located Duke Park 70, the commerce park on U.S. Route 29 on the village’s west side. Employees will pick, pack and ship customer items such as electronics, books, housewares and toys.
“This has the potential to be Amazon’s highest volume center in the U.S.,” said West Jefferson Mayor Ray Martin.
While the facility’s stated square footage is comparable to the Amazon fulfillment center in Etna, Ohio, its actual functioning square footage will be closer to 2 million with mezzanines counted in the total, said David Kell, executive director of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce and Madison County Future Inc.
“We are excited to open a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in West Jefferson and to continue innovating in Ohio–a state committed to providing great opportunities for jobs and customer experience,” said Mark Stewart, Amazon’s vice president of North America customer fulfillment, in a statement released on May 14.
In addition to the company’s fulfillment centers currently operating in Etna and Obetz, Amazon will launch operations at previously announced centers in North Randall and Monroe by the end of 2018 and in Euclid in 2019.
“Amazon has been an outstanding partner in Ohio, and the West Jefferson investment demonstrates the company’s ongoing confidence in this state’s talent and logistical advantages,” Ted Griffith, JobsOhio managing director for logistics and distribution, said in the statement.
Amazon has created more than 6,000 full-time jobs in Ohio and invested over $2 billion in the state since 2011. Full-time Amazon employees receive competitive hourly wages and a benefits package that includes healthcare, 401(k) and company stocks starting on day one.
“We’re excited that Amazon is building a new fulfillment center in West Jefferson, which will help us build a stronger community for all,” Martin said. “We’re proud of the business climate we have in West Jefferson which is very attractive to industry leaders like Amazon.”
The development has a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement, Martin confirmed.
To accommodate employee traffic flow, a $4.5 million road project will reconfigure Route 29 at its intersection with Route 40. According to Kell, JobsOhio is contributing $1.5 million to the road project, the village of West Jefferson is investing $1 million, and the Ohio Department of Transportation is pitching in $500,000. Amazon and the developer, Duke Realty, will cover the balance.
