TYLER, Texas — An Amazon delivery station will be coming to East Texas soon.
The Tyler Economic Development Council announced that it sold 30 acres to Amazon for the construction of a new 140,000-square foot delivery station. The facility will be at the North Tyler Commerce Park, located on County Road 334 (Center Church Road). Construction is set to begin in the coming weeks.
“This delivery station will allow us to better serve customers in Tyler and across East Texas,” said Jessica Breaux, senior manager of economic development for Amazon. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the City of Tyler, Smith County and the Tyler Economic Development Council and look forward to sharing more details about this facility in the future.”
According to the news release, the new delivery station will help "power the last mile of Amazon’s fulfillment process by enabling fast, everyday delivery directly to customers’ doorstep."
“On behalf of the City of Tyler, we are excited to have Amazon building a delivery station here in our city. The benefits from this project are enormous as it will add to our tax base, and provide faster service from when we make an Amazon purchase to the package showing up on our doorstep. This is a huge win for the City, County, and the Tyler Economic Development Council,” said Tyler Mayor Don Warren.
Smith County Judge Neal Franklin said county officials are thrilled to see Amazon build a facility in Smith County.
"Well, I know it’s about a $50 million project. So just coming into the tax base that's always huge for us, but then jobs. There’s a lot of jobs. I’ve heard different numbers. I’ve heard about 100. And I do know from reading the national news that Amazon is paying high salaries," Franklin said.
Both part time and full time positions have already started to pop up online with pay ranging anywhere from $15 to $35 an hour.
What most people may be excited about is the obvious is this means quicker deliveries.
"A delivery station in Tyler it makes it quicker for Amazon to get that product to your doorstep," Franklin said.
In a statement to CBS19, Tyler Mayor Don Warren said "this is a huge win for the city, county, and Tyler Economic Development Council."
While people may not be able to enjoy the benefits just yet, the new delivery center could be paving the way for even bigger things for Tyler in the future.
"Once you have one anchor and then you have others start building, it just takes off. We’re excited," Franklin said.
Scott Martinez, TEDC president and CEO, said that Amazon will have a tremendous economic impact for the community.
"This new facility is a testament to the economic vitality of our community. This investment will translate into more growth, which benefits everyone who lives here," Martinez said.
Martinez also thanked Smith County Engineer Frank Davis, Tyler City Planner Kyle Kingma, East Texas Municipal District General Manager Lane Thompson, Jim Hedrick of Potter Minton Law Firm, and Rea Boudreau of The Brannon Corporation for making this possible.
Over roughly 14 years, Amazon has invested $70 billion in Texas, including infrastructure and compensation to employees. The company employs 89,000 people in Texas and operates more than 80 operations facilities across the state.
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