Amazon Nears Deal For 855K SF Distribution Center At Tradepoint Atlantic
Amazon is reportedly nearing an agreement to build a fulfillment center within the massive Tradepoint Atlantic development site.
Officials are in final negotiations to turn the 3,100-acre plot, formerly the home of the Bethlehem Steel plant called Sparrows Point Terminal, into an 855K SF distribution facility for the e-commerce giant. Details emerged from the Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development, which is pushing the county council to support a $2.2M incentive package, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Of that amount, $2M would come in the form of a conditional loan from the State of Maryland, with the remaining $200K from the county. The conditions of payback were not disclosed. The deal reportedly has no bearing on Amazon's decision-making for its HQ2 location — Gov. Larry Hogan has supported Baltimore City's Port Covington as Maryland's best bet in that regard.
If an agreement is reached, the fulfillment center would bring an estimated 1,500 jobs with it, bringing the total number of employees at Tradepoint Atlantic above the number employed by the steel mill's last tenant, RG Steel, at the time it closed in 2012.
“With 1,500 new jobs at stake, we want to show Amazon that we mean business,” Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said in a statement. “We are proactively putting pieces in place to attract an Amazon fulfillment center to Tradepoint Atlantic."
Amazon would join a growing community of distribution facilities at Tradepoint Atlantic, including FedEx, Under Armour, Atlantic Forest Products and Pasha Automotive. Harley-Davidson also has a training school on the grounds.
