Niagara, N.Y. (WBEN) - Work is well underway in Niagara County to construct one of the largest Amazon facilities in New York State.
Local officials gathered on Wednesday in the Town of Niagara to celebrate the start of construction for the new 3.1 million square-foot Amazon Niagara Fulfillment Center along Lockport Road. Ground officially broke on the project this past spring, with the steel frame of the five-story facility much of the way in place.
"We've been doing a lot of ground, foundational work, and as you can see, we're kind of well-past the groundbreaking. But it was important for us to celebrate this important construction milestone with the town," said Glendowlyn Thames, New York's lead of economic development for Amazon. "Steel erection is well underway, and then shortly after we'll be enclosing the shell of the building. And we're still on schedule for a 2026 launch."
Amazon’s new facility will be an Amazon Robotics Sortable (ARS) fulfillment center, where millions of products are received, stored and shipped to customers.
This is Amazon’s fourth ARS fulfillment center in New York, with the others in Rochester, Syracuse and Staten Island.
"It is, what we call, our "first mile" fulfillment center, so this is our largest warehouse distribution center in our network. This is, essentially, where the journey of the package begins," Thames detailed. "Just think about our version of an online mall. If you are ordering something off of Amazon, more than likely it's starting and coming from a facility like this one, and then making its way through our network, and then to our delivery station that delivers it via the vans to your doorstep. That is the distinctive difference. We store, package and fulfill orders at a fulfillment center of this size."
State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt says he was recently in Rochester to celebrate the opening of a new Amazon facility in Gates. He is amazed with the prospect of just how large of a facility the fulfillment center will be in Niagara.
"When I got there, this facility is huge. I couldn't believe it. You don't see too many things that are built from scratch that are that big anymore. We go inside, the technology, it was the latest and greatest, the robotics, it was cutting edge. It was interesting to be on the other end of that Amazon pipeline. Usually I'm on the receiving end when the package arrives at my door, usually addressed to my wife, like some of you might have," said Ortt during Wednesday's ceremony. "But then as I was walking around this huge facility, they told me this is their medium facility. The one we're building in Niagara is our large facility. You could walk around this thing all day, and you would get lost. It's unbelievable, and this is a company that's building in New York."
One of the benefits of having such a facility in Niagara County will be the employment opportunities for residents nearby and in the neighboring communities.
"There will be, at least, 1,000 direct jobs and employment with Amazon, and then there's hundreds of seasonal, part-time, and just the indirect employment that comes with the facility of this size as well through our various third-party operators and vendors that we employ, and that we need as part of our supply chain," Thames said.
Ortt feels this type of project was the right thing for not just the Town of Niagara, but also for Niagara County and New York State.
"1,000-plus jobs when it's open, not including the labor jobs of the iron workers and other people, good paying labor jobs, that are helping to build this facility, not including all the sales tax dollars," he noted. "Amazon has invested $41.5 billion in New York since 2010. You show me another company that's invested $41.5 billion in New York State, I'll wait."
Meanwhile, Niagara County Legislator Rich Andres knows the benefits of this project won't just stop with the Amazon fulfillment center itself.
"This is a fantastic sort of a success story, but as we look to developers outside of this county, we say all the great things that we have going for us here in Niagara County - all the things that we know are true - the workforce is great, the labor relations are great, and the folks work from the bottom to the top from the local to the county, to the state. We all work together, we pride ourselves on that," said Andres on Wednesday. "I want to welcome Amazon, thank them for their commitment to this area. And to developers out there, Niagara County is open for business."
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