SPANISH FORT – An Amazon distribution center that will employee about 115 people is planned to open in 2022 in Spanish Fort, city officials said Monday.
“Hopefully if everything goes through, it will be a new distribution center at the Spanish Fort Town Center,” Mayor Mike McMillan said during a City Council work session.
“It’s 115 jobs in a new center out there,” he said after the meeting. “This is a good thing for Spanish Fort.”
He said the facility will be built on a two or three-acre parcel near the end of Bass Pro Drive. The Spanish Fort Planning Commission approved the use of the site, which is zoned for manufacturing.
He said that in addition to 115 full-time jobs, the facility will increase city property taxes and provide lease income for the owners of the parcel that has not been developed.
“It’s more of, I think they call it, last point delivery system,” McMillan said. “In other words, that’s where those blue vans go out of.”
Large trucks will come into the facility between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. to be unloaded. Smaller delivery vans will be loaded and leave the center to make deliveries to homes and businesses in the region starting at about 9 a.m.
“That sort of makes you miss the rush hour,” McMillan said.
Councilman Curt Smith said Amazon has worked with city officials to address concerns, such as traffic.
“The more I thought about it, the more I’m warming up to it. They did answer quite a few questions,” Smith said. “They’re trying to do everything they can to be good neighbors as far as the traffic flow. It will be off hours and not complete with school or work traffic. So far, they’ve had all the right answers.”
Smith said Amazon will also not service or refuel the vehicles at the site.
Amazon opened a larger distribution center in Mobile that employs about 360 works four years ago.
