Today, Amazon.com, Inc. announced plans to locate a new robotics fulfillment center in Leon County, Florida, creating more than 1,000 full-time jobs, paying a starting wage of at least $15 an hour with industry-leading benefits starting on day one including healthcare, 401(k) retirement savings and career skills training programs.
“Amazon’s project is a once-in-a-generation economic development opportunity for the entire community,” said Leon County Commission Chairman Rick Minor. “Amazon’s investment in Florida’s Capital County will be transformative.”
The Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA) met on May 27th to consider the Amazon project, labeled “Project Mango” at the time. The IA voted 11-1 to move forward with offering a $2.6 million incentive package.
City Commissioner Jack Porter was the only elected official who voted against moving forward with the project.
According to an economic impact analysis conducted by the FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis, this project could create a total of 3,600 new jobs, $167.6 million in wages, and generate approximately $451 million in local economic impact for Tallahassee-Leon County.
“As they do with every business, I am proud of our many County teams who worked with Amazon to take this from an opportunity to a game-changing reality,” said Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long. “The Amazon project will be the largest job producing opportunity in our community’s history, serving as a testament to Leon County’s continuous strategic efforts to develop and grow our local economy.
Amazon is anticipated to deploy $200 million in capital investment for a new 630,000-square-foot fulfillment center, which will become the largest facility of this type in the entire Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson and Wakulla counties.
Construction is expected to begin near the Mahan Drive/1-10 interchange in September 2021 and be completed in late 2022.
“We’re excited to announce five new delivery stations as we continue to invest in the state of Florida,” said Holly Sullivan, Vice President of Worldwide Economic Development for Amazon. “The new facilities not only allow us to better serve our customers across the state, it allows us to create jobs and drive opportunity within the Sunshine State. We’re proud to have created more than 52,000 jobs and invested more than $18 billion in the state over the past decade.”
“Supporting job growth and diversifying our economy is key to creating economic prosperity in our city,” City of Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey said. “This $200 million investment by Amazon will bring 1,000 new jobs to our community and is a testament to our position as a vital regional economic hub.”
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I feel for the owners of homes in the county’s’ I’ve seen some nice homes and seen some. Ice properties w/homes. These ppl shouldn’t lose or pay higher taxes on properties etc, because of Amazon. The construction should have went throughout the county Mayor etc. alls it’s done was to explode Fl more than ever besides the AMAZON FULFILLMENT CENTER in Hillsboro Co. Ruskin Fl. Took all the land of ppl couldn’t afford to live their or did not want to have a Amazon in between neighborhoods
Jack Porter. Really? Are you really this anti- business? Tallahassee needs job growth and this facility sits in a perfect location. Good for you local leaders. I would rather give Amazon money than Jet Blue. How did that work out?
Amazon looked around for the most corrupt city it could find. The clear winner is Tallahassee. Amazon makes billions of dollars annually. Yet it extracted a couple of million more from Tallahassee as an “incentive” to come here.
Amazon is indeed the closest thing to slave labor that exists. The workers reportedly have so little time to go to the bathroom that they reportedly piss in bottles to avoid having their pay check docked.
Meanwhile owner Jeff Bezos, perhaps the richest man in the country, reportedly pays no federal income tax. Amazon will do everything possible to kill off any union that even thinks about advocating for the rights of workers.
This deal was done in secret. With all the corruption in Tallahassee done in broad daylight, why should we allow anything in this town to be done in secret?
Mayor Dailey, Rick Minor, the entire Blueprint gang, and a corrupt Chamber of Commerce need to go!
Edward Holifield, MD
It will be a huge mistake. Don’t forget Amazon uses slave labor, practices, censorship, and supports communism. Perfect for the Socialist city of Maskahassee.
Someone needs to remind these elected officials that they are supposed to represent us, or at least take actions that the majority of the community approves of. Right off the bat this group was determined to not let us know what they were up to – why else call it “Project Mango”? PROJECT MANGO??? What the heck do mangos have to do with Amazon?
I don’t have a dog in this race, but I do feel sorry for those folks who own homes out that way. Lafayette Oaks & The Vineyards are really nice neighborhoods with a large tax base. This is going to affect them very negatively, and yet no one was given any opportunity to stop this. And $2.6 mil to Amazon is outrageous! THEY should be paying Leon Co. to mediate what all of their construction et al is going to do to our roads etc..
Why not neither? I particularly don’t want my money going to companies who dont respect free speech. But even when I stop giving it to them the city gives them my taxes!
@ Jon: Wouldn’t you rather have your Tax Dollars go to a Company that CREATES a lot of Jobs instead of to people who just want to live off our Tax Dollars and demand they get more?
Just can’t get away from those Amazon censors. Cancel prime, don’t buy anything from them, and my damn city gives them my taxes instead!
Will the company that builds and services McDonalds Ice Cream Machines get the contract to build and service the Amazon “Robotic” Employees?
ALSO, great time to get into the Food Truck Business and get permission to park in their Parking Lot, even while it is getting Built, over 1000 Construction Workers DAILY? Yep, get in on the ground Floor NOW.
This is good news. Now would be a great time for someone to start building Restaurants out there. Over 1000 People will need Places to eat. Also, if you hustle, someone might be able to convince Amazon to lease them an area for a Dinner INSIDE that HUGE Building………… You can make some good Money if you can.
Jack Porter reminds me of Congresswoman AOC from New York. AOC actually killed the deal with Amazon and cost her constituents thousands of good jobs. Fortunately, Jack Porter was unsuccessful in killing the deal here. Unfortunately, the similarities between the two are not limited to this circumstance.
Tim, Why would an airport need international flights to get a designation that really only means that they have a customs and border control facilities? There are a lot of private and charter planes that do go international, and they do not have to stop somewhere else just to get cleared by customs.
Why is it being called a “Robotics Fulfillment Center”?
Why does the FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis, say it could create a total of 3,600 new jobs?
Why does the City & County say it will create 1000 Jobs?
Will the 2600 other Jobs be filled with Robots?
This is GREAT NEWS…….. NOW, to anyone living in that area, just remember, YOU chose to live close to an Interstate Interchange. That is where Businesses like this should be so, no Complaining from YOU.
I see the state losing a lot of employees. They will definitely need to increase their salaries. No more threatening folks with their job and benefits.
It must be the International airport that bought them here. You know the one with no actual International flights….