HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — It has been more than two years since Amazon first announced its Hamburg delivery center project in January of 2021.
Now, many have been wondering if and when people will start working at the $47 million facility off Bayview Road in Hamburg.
The warehouse, expected to be almost 200,000 square feet upon completion, has yet to open, and concern is rising as Amazon continues to close and shutter projects across the country.
An Industrial Development Agency (IDA) official from Hamburg tells 7 News $13 million in construction wages were paid out from the time this project was approved in February 2021. That month, the IDA also approved tax incentives for the project.
It was originally expected to be completed in March 2023, but Covid-related factors and supply chain disruptions slowed the timeline. Now, the hope is to have things up and running by this fall.
Hamburg Industrial Development Director, Sean Doyle tells me there have been 84,000 construction labor hours spent building this facility off Bayview Road near Route 5 in Hamburg. He expects Amazon employees to be working here just in time for the holiday season.
"Amazon will be continuing work into the spring, summer, fall months and having that site as an active distribution facility into the fall for the holiday season of 2023," Doyle says.
It's expected to be a zero-carbon emissions facility.
"There's about 250 electric vehicle charging stations, the roof has been engineered to support solar panels at this site. This is really a leading-edge building designed to meet our climate goals in the state and in the country," Doyle explains.
Doyle tells 7 News that Amazon has committed to creating 75 new full-time equivalent jobs.
"As we monitor the project and their metrics and their commitments to our taxpayers in Hamburg they have either achieved or exceeded all of their goals to date. The next critical step will be that march of 2024 employment commitment deadline," he explains.
That means Amazon is required, based on its commitment to the IDA, to be at full employment by march of 2024 but Doyle expects people to be working there months before that. While other projects throughout the country have been abandoned all together, he's thankful the one in Hamburg is still expected to open.
A spokesperson for Amazon sent 7 News this statement:
The delivery station in Hamburg remains in our plans and we're in the early stages of building our hiring and leadership team. Once open, our delivery stations typically employ upwards of 100 people. While we don't have a specific launch date to share right now, we look forward to bringing these good-paying jobs to the region.
Doyle says a number of factors led to the delay of opening in Hamburg and, "unfortunately we see it all too often in economic development lately." He says supply chain issues, labor, and inflation is impacting development everywhere.
You may recall plans to possibly bring a much larger Amazon distribution center to the Town of Niagara. Amazon was expected to build a 3 million square-foot facility there. I called the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency and was told they "have not received any word one way or another regarding the property in Niagara." I also asked an Amazon spokesperson about that project and have not heard back.
