Amazon: Little Rock port building is new fulfillment center

A rendering of Amazon's first fulfillment center in Arkansas. Courtesy of Amazon
A rendering of Amazon's first fulfillment center in Arkansas. Courtesy of Amazon

It took three months, but Amazon.com finally confirmed what almost everyone knew: The 826,000-square-foot facility under construction on an 80-acre site at the Port of Little Rock will be its first fulfillment center in Arkansas and employ more than 1,000 people when it opens next year.

The technology and online retail multinational corporation also confirmed that it will open an 85,000-square-foot delivery station in a warehouse on Interstate 30 in Alexander. Delivery stations serve the "last-mile" of delivery items people purchase on Amazon.com.

"We're delighted to be building out our network of operations in Little Rock, Arkansas," Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon's vice president of global customer fulfillment, said in a prepared statement. "We greatly appreciate the strong support from local and state leaders as we look to open our first fulfillment center and second delivery station in the state of Arkansas."

Davis' comments represent the first official word from the company since construction began on the port site, which an Amazon proxy bought for $3.2 million. The company is spending nearly $8 million to remodel the I-30 warehouse to suit its needs.

The company opened its first Arkansas facility in 2018 in North Little Rock. The tentlike structure is designed to help with "last-mile" deliveries using Amazon vans owned by contractors to deliver packages for the online retailer.

Construction on the port area warehouse has been in progress for some time. Permits for the project were issued last fall under the code name, Project Diamond, a tactic the company uses in the early stages of construction projects.

Amazon gave no price tag for the project. Similar-size facilities that Amazon has built that have employed at least 1,000 workers cost in the neighborhood of $100 million.

The company operates 75 fulfillment centers in North America providing full-time employment to 125,000 people, according to the company's website. Several warehouse centers are under construction, including one in Memphis that's scheduled to open in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Official word of the Amazon facility at the port came on April 7 when the Little Rock Board of Directors approved the sale of the 80-acre site at the port. At the time, Mayor Frank Scott would confirm only that the site was for an Amazon distribution center.

It is a shot in the arm economically for Pulaski County, which struggled with job growth even before the covid-19 pandemic hit.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the last full quarter before the impact of the pandemic was felt, employment fell 0.5% in Pulaski County, ranking it 314th among the 356 largest counties in the United States in job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By contrast, Benton County in Northwest Arkansas saw its job growth rise 3%, which was the 20th-fastest employment growth among the largest counties.

And that was even before a major port tenant, LM Wind Power, announced in April that it was winding down its wind-blade manufacturing facility because of declining demand for the giant blades it produced. Manufacturing ceased at the end of April, costing the port 370 jobs. Another 100 employees are expected to remain until the end of the year.

"The covid-19 public health crisis has caused deep concern among many Little Rock families as they struggle to stay afloat due to current economic uncertainty," Scott said. "Today's announcement provides reassurance that Little Rock will rebound and that jobs are on the way."

Amazon's announcement came one day after state, county and local officials broke ground on infrastructure improvements in the port totaling $11.2 million that they said would benefit Amazon and another company, CZ-USA, a gun manufacturer expected to break ground on its manufacturing facility in August, as well as the other port tenants that employ more than 4,000 people.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., was among the dignitaries present for what he called a "big day for the state."

"Home to over 40 businesses that employ over 4,000 people, the Port of Little Rock is the largest industrial hub in Central Arkansas," he said. "Those numbers are about to grow once again, proving that investments in infrastructure truly do promote economic expansion and job growth. I look forward to CZ-USA and Amazon's contribution to the long-term development in the region."

The total amount includes previously announced grants totaling $4.9 million, which would improve Zeuber Road to industrial standards. The road runs in front of the Amazon and CZ-USA sites.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration provided $2 million for the Zeuber Road project, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission provided $1.9 million while Little Rock and Pulaski County each supplied $506,185.77, according to the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The second grant totals $6.3 million, which will pay to widen a section of Fourche Dam Pike in the vicinity of Interstate 440, extend Pratt Remmel Road and make improvements, including the installation of traffic signals at two intersections on Fourche Dam Pike, Lindsey Road and Sloan Drive.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration and Delta Regional Authority each provided a $2 million grant to go toward the improvements, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission provided $1 million, the city and county each provided $552,069, and the county provided an additional $232,711 for a turn lane on Zeuber Road.

"As the Port continues to acquire land for future industrial sites, this more than $11 million in transportation infrastructure improvements will help existing companies' expansion opportunities while being key to attracting even more new companies to the Port of Little Rock," the chamber said in a separate news release about the grants. "The improvements will also provide a safer and more efficient transportation system for employees, customers, and suppliers."

Asked what incentives Amazon received from the state, the spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Commerce cited only the $1 million the Arkansas Economic Development Commission put toward the $6.3 million worth of improvements.

"The infrastructure improvements will help all businesses that utilize or are located at the port," spokeswoman Alisha Curtis said.

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