Amazon Plans 1st Fulfillment Center in St. Lucie County

Amazon fulfillment center. Image courtesy of Amazon

Amazon continues to expand in Florida, announcing plans to build its first fulfillment center in St. Lucie County—a 1 million-square-foot facility in Port St. Lucie that is expected to create more than 500 full-time jobs. Seefried Industrial Properties is the developer of the project slated for delivery in 2022.

The fulfillment center will be built at Midway Business Park on 110 acres east of Interstate 95 and south of Midway Road, according to the Treasure Coast Newspapers. Employees at the center will pick, pack and ship large customer items including sports equipment, patio furniture, fishing rods, pet food, kayaks, bicycles and larger household goods. Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin said in a prepared statement the fulfillment center will be the largest building in Port St. Lucie.

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The e-commerce giant employs more than 52,000 full-time employees throughout Florida and has fulfillment and sortation centers in Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $9.5 billion across the state, including infrastructure and compensation to employees. Amazon is also building a 60,000-square-foot delivery facility on Commercial Circle in nearby Fort Pierce, Fla. In South Florida, Amazon announced in February it was building a fulfillment center in Sunrise, Fla., which would employ at least 1,000 full-time staffers, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper. The Tampa-area fulfillment center, a 600,000-square-foot facility, was announced in August 2020 for 8706 Harney Road in Temple Terrace, Fla. That center is expected to bring 750 jobs to the area upon completion this year.

In April, funds managed by Intercontinental Realty Corp. acquired an Amazon-leased warehouse with 710,962 square feet in Lakeland, Fla., from developer Ackerman & Co. for $106 million. Amazon is leasing the distribution center at 8100 State Road 33 for at least 10 years. Completed in 2020, Dragstrip Logistics Center is located in the Interstate 4 Corridor, one of Florida’s fastest-growing industrial hubs.

More locations

Florida isn’t the only state where Amazon announced plans for more fulfillment centers in recent months. In March, Amazon said it was building a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Amarillo, Texas, that would create more than 500 full-time jobs when it opens in 2022. The development was expected to cost about $100 million and be located on a 110-acre site at the intersection of N.E. 24th Avenue and Loop 335. The Amarillo plan was announced several months after Amazon said it would expand in San Antonio by adding two fulfillment centers totaling nearly 1.8 million square feet and a 350,000 square-foot delivery station. Also in late 2020, the company revealed plans for a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Missouri City in the Houston suburbs and a 700,000-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Waco, Texas.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans for a fulfillment center in Alcoa, Tenn., and five new facilities in the Detroit area, including three fulfillment centers.