Amazon is planning another last-mile delivery station in northeast Oklahoma, just a few miles from the one the company closed nearly two years ago due to declining sales and oversupplied warehouse space.
The lull is over. Amazon is rebuilding to boost e-commerce sales by promoting same-day delivery, according to real estate data firm CoStar Group.
The 178,991-square-foot building, currently in the early planning stages, will be located at 1803 E Britton Road on the west side of N Eastern Avenue, according to Oklahoma City planning documents. It will be nearly three times the size of the 60,000-square-foot center Amazon closed at 4401 E Hefner Road a mile north and two miles east.
Amazon confirmed the plan but declined to provide details.
Another Amazon delivery station could mean up to 200 jobs
According to Bloomberg, delivery stations can employ up to 200 workers for about $18 an hour, depending on their size and location.
The number of Amazon employees in Oklahoma has grown exponentially in recent years. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce estimated that Amazon employed between 2,000 and 2,500 people in the state in 2019. In 2023, that number is expected to rise to 14,000 to 15,000.
Amazon delivery stations receive packages from larger facilities and transfer them to delivery trucks for the final leg of the journey to customers. They are colloquially called “last-mile” stations, but are designed for distribution within a 45-mile radius.
“We are exploring the possibility of opening a facility in Oklahoma City. Nothing is final yet and we will share more as further progress is made,” said Amazon spokeswoman Allie Payne.
The vacant property, owned by 1948 Cornerstone LLC, was most recently planned as the site for OKC-based Kimray Inc., a manufacturer of valves and control equipment for the oil and natural gas industry, until that project was canceled.
Before that, it was part of Arcadia Farms LLC, the private grazing empire of the late energy executive Aubrey McClendon with about 12,000 acres. Before that, it was owned by OPUBCO Inc. and The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Amazon warehouses in Oklahoma are as big as 61 football fields
According to MWPVL International, a supply chain and logistics company that tracks Amazon’s distribution network, Amazon now has nearly 3.5 million square feet of warehouse space in Oklahoma (61 football fields), including 2.5 million square feet in Oklahoma City (43 football fields). The company says Amazon now has the following warehouse operations in Oklahoma:
- A 29,000 square meter delivery center in 6801 S Air Depot Blvd., which opened in June 2020.
- An 11,000 square meter delivery center in 6101 SW44, opened in September 2020.
- A 60,000 square meter delivery center in Tulsaopened in November 2019.
- Two 9,000 square meter delivery centers in groveopens in 2021 and 2022.
- A 28,000 square meter sorting center in 1414 S Council Road, opened in December 2017.
- A 25,000 square meter sorting center in Chicago, Opening in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- A 60,000 square meter fulfillment center in 9201 S Portland Ave., opened in August 2019.
- A 100,000 square meter fulfillment center in 8991 S Portland Ave.opens in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- A 60,000 square meter fulfillment center in Tulsaopened in August 2020.
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