Amazon Unveils New Baltimore Fulfillment Center

By Bogdan Odagescu

Employee picking at eighth generation FC

Amazon will construct an 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center within Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,100-acre multimodal industrial site at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County. According to The Baltimore Sun, the facility is slated to open in 2019.

The online retailer plans to employ some 1,500 people at the new facility, adding to the already existing 5,000 full-time positions at sortation and fulfilment centers across Baltimore City and Cecil County. Amazon already has two facilities in Baltimore City, located in the Point Breeze area. This January, Amazon also announced a 1.2 million-square-foot facility in North East, Md., close to the Interstate 95 corridor linking Baltimore to Philadelphia.

A growing industrial hub

Tradepoint Atlantic is located some 15 miles away from downtown Baltimore and offers easy access to the city’s port. The park provides rapid access to the Baltimore-Washington corridor, being close to a handful of regional road networks, including interstates 95, 695 and 895, as well as Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

The Sparrows Point park is steadily growing. FedEx Ground recently opened a 300,000-square-foot facility within Tradepoint Atlantic and the tenant list also includes Pasha Automotive Services, Harley-Davidson of Baltimore, Access World, C. Steinweg and Lafarge Holcim.

In August 2016, Under Armour unveiled plans for a 1.3 million-square-foot facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, the company’s fourth distribution project. Additionally, the site is slated to house The Shoppes at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 130-acre mixed-use retail park announced in mid-2016.

“Amazon’s decision to locate its state-of-the-art fulfillment center at Tradepoint Atlantic serves as further validation of the unique logistical advantages we offer and further establishes our location as a top destination for users seeking a best-in-class multi-modal logistics platform,” said Eric Gilbert, chief development officer for Tradepoint Atlantic, in prepared remarks.

Tradepoint Atlantic is rising on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant, which was in operation between 1889 and 2012. The mill closed in 2012 and Hilco Global bought Sparrows Point out of bankruptcy. The site is now owned by a joint venture between Hilco Global and Redwood Capital Investments. According to the owners, Tradepoint Atlantic has more than $1 billion in capital investment for development.

Image courtesy of Amazon