The new Amazon fulfillment center in Detroit’s former State Fairgrounds, which can employ more than 1,200 people, is no longer scheduled to open this year as originally planned, Free Press has learned.
Construction on the mammoth 3.8 million-square-foot building began in late 2020, and at the time Amazon wanted the center to open by the middle of this year, so it could be up and running by the 2022 holiday season. It is said that
It’s been months since the new building, but the timeline for Amazon’s use of it has changed.
Amazon spokesman Austin Stowe told the Free Press that “initial operations” have begun in the building, but Amazon is looking to 2023 to launch its fulfillment center and officially launch. rice field.
A spokesperson didn’t provide any details as to why the opening was delayed or when the center will launch next year or what kind of early operations it will begin.
Detroit officials said Monday the city isn’t worried about the delayed opening.
“Amazon could have chosen somewhere else,” said Nicole Sherard-Freeman, group executive for Jobs, Economy & Detroit at Work, in a statement. Given the fact that Amazon was announced early in the pandemic, we’re not worried about the delay.Amazon has made significant investments and commitments to the City of Detroit in the opening of the facility.”
Amazon’s sales growth slowed this year, delaying the opening of several new warehouse facilities in the U.S. and completely scrapping plans for other facilities.
In Michigan, a fulfillment center in Delta Township, a suburb of Lansing, which was due to open this year, has been delayed until 2024, and construction of an Amazon fulfillment center in Gaines Township, a suburb of Grand Rapids, has been put on hold. Said Ship’s manager.
Washtenaw County is planning a delivery station in Pittsfield Township, but there is no timeline for construction. Amazon has reportedly canceled plans for a warehouse in Ypsilanti Township. But the online shopping giant opened a new distribution center in Canton last week.
The new Detroit Fulfillment Center, located off the Eight Mile, a former trade fair ground, has been developed for Amazon by Detroit-based Sterling Group and Dallas-based Hillwood Investment Properties.
Sterling Group and Hillwood purchased a 142-acre site from the City of Detroit for $16 million.
Amazon does not receive any local or state tax relief or fulfillment center subsidies.
A group called the State Fairgrounds Development Coalition is trying to halt the 2020 sale of city-owned land, a deal that undervalues the property and requires Amazon to enter into a community interest agreement with Detroit. claimed to be.
The Coalition won a temporary injunction from Wayne County Circuit Court in late October 2020 to stop the sale, but it was quickly rescinded by the state’s appeals court a few days later. A contract was then signed and construction began.
In an affidavit in October 2020, Detroit’s Economic Development Authority said in response to a coalition lawsuit against the deal that the fulfillment center project is on a “very aggressive” construction schedule, with Amazon scheduled for mid-2022. He said he hopes the center will be up and running by then.
Officials warned if the coalition’s lawsuit would delay the start of construction, Amazon may decide to build the center elsewhere.
“Amazon needs that completion date to start operations at its fulfillment centers in time for the peak holiday season of 2022,” said the deputy group head of employment and economic growth. Lucas Polcyn wrote in an affidavit: “This deadline leaves no room for delay in completing this $400 million project.”
When an appeals court lifted a restraining order in early November 2020, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan welcomed the news, suggesting Amazon could make 2,000 positions available in its new fulfillment center. said he did.
Development Coalition co-chair Frank Hammer said last week that Amazon is clearly behind a timeline it once claimed was very important.
“Not in time for the holiday season,” he said.
The 2020 Detroit Amazon deal also includes building a new Detroit Department of Transportation Transit Center inside the old dairy barn at the fairgrounds, replacing a bus hub near Woodward Avenue. The new State Fair Transit Center is expected to be completed by early 2024.
Once on the brink of demolition, the amusement park’s historic bandshell has been repaired and moved to Palmer Park near the Detroit Police Department’s 12th Precinct parking lot. Bandshell is on track for his fall 2023 opening, according to the city.
Amazon facility in Michigan
- 5 distribution centers
- 5 sorting centers
- 11 delivery stations
- One shipping station dedicated to same day delivery
Please contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl.
