Amazon to Open 1 MSF Texas Fulfillment Center

Amazon fulfillment center. Image courtesy of Amazon

Amazon has revealed plans to establish a new fulfillment center in Forney, Texas, roughly 20 miles east of Dallas. The 1 million-square-foot facility marks the third Texas fulfillment center the e-commerce giant has announced within the last 30 days.

Amazon’s global industrial footprint just gets bigger and bigger. “In 2019, we increased network square footage by approximately 15 percent. This year, we expect a meaningfully higher year-over-year square footage growth of approximately 50 percent. This includes strong growth in new fulfillment center space as well as sort centers and delivery stations,” Brian Olsavsky, CFO of Amazon, said during the company’s second quarter earnings conference call on July 30, 2020.

READ ALSO: Amazon to Open 8th Florida Distribution Center

Seefried Industrial Properties is serving as developer of the Forney fulfillment center, which will be constructed at a cost of approximately $80 million, according to records from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The Ford & Associates Architects-designed building, which will include a 250,000-square-foot mezzanine space and a 34,500-square-foot office area, will sprout up on an approximately 80-acre site at the intersection of Gateway Boulevard and Akron Way. The property will also feature exterior hydrogen cell fuel tanks, as well as ample parking and loading areas to accommodate more than 1,000 vehicles ranging from motorcycles to trucks.

Amazon’s commitment to Forney, however, extends beyond the new fulfillment center and the accompanying 500 full-time job positions. Additionally, Amazon is building a 200,000-square-foot delivery station within the 2,000-acre mixed-use Gateway Development to help facilitate the last mile of the fulfillment process. Seefried is also behind the development of the delivery station, which is on track to reach completion by late 2020. The fulfillment center is scheduled to commence operations in 2021.

Lone Star State Expansion

The announcement of Amazon’s plans for a fulfillment center in Forney comes on the heels of the company’s news of two other industrial projects in the State of Texas. Within a single week in July, Amazon announced it would open its first fulfillment center in El Paso with the development of a 625,000-square-foot facility, and launch an 820,000-square-foot fulfillment center just outside Austin in Pflugerville. Also in metropolitan Austin, the company inked a lease for an approximately 300,000-square-foot building in Kyle to serve as a new sortation center.