Amazon.com’s proposed fulfillment center in Chattanooga is closer to reality with site work possibly starting in a week, officials said Tuesday.
The project cleared two key hurdles as officials try to close the deal to bring the No. 1 online retailer to Hamilton and Bradley counties.
Chattanooga’s Industrial Development Board on Tuesday endorsed the incentive package approved by the City Council and Hamilton County Commission.
AMAZON WAGESAmazon has pledged to pay annual wages, excluding benefits, of at least $30,500 on jobs created in a proposed Chattanooga fulfillment center.
Also, the panel OK’ed a land swap with Volkswagen to enable Seattle-based Amazon to build the proposed million-square-foot facility on 80 acres at Enterprise South industrial park.
“They’ll bring a lot of jobs,” said Ted Mills, the board’s chairman.
Amazon has said it would employ more than 1,400 people full time and potentially more than 2,000 seasonally if it builds fulfillment centers in Hamilton and Bradley.
Hamilton County Engineer Todd Leamon said site work on Amazon’s 80-acre tract at Volkswagen and Discovery drives could start in about a week if a project bid is approved.
J.Ed. Marston, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of marketing, said local officials have taken the key steps to help finalize the deal with Amazon.
“We think we’ve done what we’ve needed to do at this point,” he said.
Mark Drury of the state Department of Economic and Community Development declined comment on Amazon discussions relating to incentives.
Mark Smith of the law firm Miller & Martin, representing Amazon, said there would be a $91 million investment in the Hamilton project creating 1,249 jobs over three years. The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement would run for 11 years, he said, and Amazon would pay the schools portion of property taxes.
VW, which had a lease on the 80-acre site, will receive a new agreement relating to a 53-acre, city- and county-owned parcel next to the automaker’s plant site. Also, the car company will receive a similar lease agreement on a 15-acre plot slated for use related to VW’s proposed welcome center near Interstate 75.