Amazon planning major distribution center at Little Rock Port Authority

Central Arkansas will be home to another major investment from online retail giant Amazon, local economic officials revealed Tuesday (April 15).

Early Tuesday, Little Rock Port Authority officials approved a 107-acre land sale to Amazon.com LLC at the eastern Pulaski County industrial park for a major distribution center. Later in the day, city directors approved the transaction at a Little Rock City Council meeting.

While details of the investment, including the dollar amount and number of jobs, has yet to be determined, a groundbreaking is being planned for July. Amazon is now evaluating the site to determine what the size and scope of the facility may be, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Jay Chesshir told Talk Business & Politics.

“We’re really excited that since 2017, Amazon has decided for the fifth time to establish another facility here in the central Arkansas area,” Chesshir said. “This will be a facility at the port relatively close to the other port facility there. They’re not quite sure yet what the size of it will be. There is still research and environmental and soil borings and those kinds of things that are going on.”

Chesshir said details will likely be held until July’s groundbreaking, but he hinted the project will be significant.

“There will be a groundbreaking in July where there’ll be the specifics of the size of the building and the specific amount of jobs,” he said. “But we can tell you with a smile that this will be another ‘hundreds of new jobs’ as opposed to 100 or 200. So it’s going to be a significant job creator, and Amazon continues to believe in us, and we appreciate it.”

Amazon has two large fulfillment centers and two delivery stations in central Arkansas with several hundred employees. A fulfillment center is where Amazon packs and ships orders for final mile delivery. The distribution centers are larger and are the first stop where products are received, sorted, and sent to different fulfillment centers.

A recent Amazon distribution center in Daytona Beach, Fla., was committed to creating at least 1,000 jobs. Another recently announced facility in Utah promised at least 600 jobs.

Bloomberg News reported last week Amazon was seeking up to $15 billion from investment partners for an aggressive warehouse expansion plan.