Amazon delivery station coming to Abilene, Development Corporation says

The Development Corporation of Abilene announced the addition of an Amazon delivery station in Abilene, the online giant leasing a warehouse in the DCOA’s Five Points Business Park to house a "last mile" facility.

The delivery center will power Amazon's capabilities to increase efficiency of its deliveries to customers, the company and the DCOA said in a joint statement Thursday.

The 71,000-square-foot facility at Five Points Business Park will be trimmed out of an existing 140,000 square foot space.

Amazon will convert part of the property into a "competitive logistics and distribution center," said Misty Mayo, president and chief executive officer of the DCOA.

"This is a last-mile delivery center that will service the Amazon region," she said.

The facility will create dozens of jobs, with a minimum starting wage from $15 an hour and a variety of benefits.

"They're looking at being operational by first quarter 2022, so within the next six months," Mayo said. "I would anticipate the push is probably prior to Christmas, but they're committing to quarter one of (next year)."

The DCOA's ability to leverage an existing building helped seal the deal because of the speed to market Amazon was seeking, Mayo said.

Diversification of jobs in the local workforce is vital, she said, something the project brings.

"These Amazon jobs will offer flexibility for their employees," she said. "Perhaps there's a student that wants a part time job, or perhaps there's a parent that wants the security of a company like Amazon. It's ... ensuring that everyone has an opportunity for employment."

As soon as the company is ready to begin accepting applications, links will be provided via developabilene.com and on social media. 

Links to jobs for other recent DCOA wins, including Great Lakes Cheese and Primal Pets also will be posted when appropriate. 

Strategic location

The business park is located west of Arnold Boulevard between Interstate 20 and Business Interstate 20. 

Abilene’s strategic location in south central United States, with access to major highways, is a key factor in the location of Amazon’s facility, Mayo said.

The bulk of the conversion costs will be related to work on the building's exterior, Mayo said.

"There'll be a large trucking pad, there will be new dock doors," she said. "Anything that you can imagine for bringing trucks in and bringing those Amazon boxes in every day."

Jessica Breaux, manager of economic development at Amazon, said that while the company may be a large, global business, "it’s made up of small businesses and communities."

"From the local jobs we bring, to the local people we employ, train, and upskill — our business is made up of people from the communities like Abilene,” Breaux said. “There are now over 70,000 Texans working at Amazon, and we're excited to be growing our workforce.”

Increased capacity

Mayo said the agreement ultimately will allow Amazon to increase capacity and help them reach customers more efficiently — and, potentially, offer added services.

"Part of the DCOA's primary role is seeking out opportunities (and) building relationships with site consultants, as well as company real estate executives," she said. "... I've even had relationships that I brought with me with Amazon's Real Estate Group."

Such is part of strategic marketing, specifically business development, Mayo said, promoting and prospecting on behalf of Abilene to highlight it as a "premier location for company expansion."

"We had the opportunity to speak directly with one of the company executives who engaged some local real estate folks to help identify an existing DCOA-owned facility would be a perfect fit for this type of operation," she said.

It's exactly the sort of opportunity Abilene is primed for, Mayo said.

"We're a regional hub, and this offers (Amazon) that opportunity to reach this region in a more rapid fashion," she said.

Mayor Anthony Williams said he was proud to see Amazon become part of the community.

"This incredible opportunity confirms what we have always known, Abilene is a great place to do business in Texas," he said in a news release.

Bringing jobs

Since 2010, Amazon has created more than 70,000 jobs in Texas and invested more than $29 billion across the state, including infrastructure and compensation to its employees, the initial news release stated.

Amazon’s investments have contributed more than $34 billion in gross domestic product to the Texas economy and have helped create over 136,000 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s direct hires – from jobs in construction and logistics to professional services, the release said.

More than 112,000 independent authors and small and medium businesses in Texas are selling to customers in Amazon’s store, creating thousands of additional jobs across the state, the statement said.

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.