Ark Valley News - Amazon coming to Park City

Crews work on the site of the Amazon fulfillment center on Broadway north of 69th North. A 1 million-square-foot facility will be built.

Amazon coming to Park City
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: October 29, 2020

Breaking its silence over a construction project that has been in the works for several months, Amazon confirmed Oct. 16 that it is building a giant fulfillment center in Park City.

The 1 million-square-foot warehouse will employ 500 people. It is expected to open in 2021.

For perspective, 17 football fields could fit inside the warehouse.

The warehouse will handle large items, such as patio furniture and outdoor equipment. Employee pay will start at $15 per hour with benefits, said Mark Marzano, the company's director of operations.

"We're excited for what our future holds together," Marzano said.

Amazon's official announcement was made on a Zoom conference call. It included local, state and national leaders. Each praised Amazon's decision. The online retailer also announced it was opening a similar warehouse in Kansas City, Kan.

"We are excited and honored to have a household name such as Amazon choose to be here in Park City," Park City Mayor Ray Mann said. "… We believe Amazon chose us in this area because of our proven workforce that we have here, unmatched highway access and potential growth that we have, especially here on the northern end of the county."

Gov. Laura Kelly echoed the praise.

"Today's Amazon announcement further proves why Kansas can offer prospective businesses the kind of workforce, infrastructure and central location that can compete with anywhere in the country," Kelly said. "This project will bring more than 1,000 good-paying jobs and significant capital investment to our state and sends a clear message to prospective companies — Kansas is open for business."

Amazon asked for no economic development incentives from Park City or Kansas City, Kan.

Work on the Park City site continued this week as tractors moved tons of dirt after razing houses, barns and a rodeo arena.

According to documents from Park City's planning and zoning department, the warehouse is valued at $55.5 million. The project sits on 76 acres of land.

It will be on the east side of Broadway between 69th Street and just south of 77th. Its address is 7130 N. Broadway.

During a special meeting in late June, the city council gave final approval to a plat and zoning changes for the property, which was called the "Broadway Industrial Park."

The plat basically combined more than a dozen other properties that were located between 69th and 77th streets.

The properties had a variety of zoning classifications, including single-family residential and commercial. It was rezoned to light industrial.

The former Baker Furniture store, two houses, a manufacturing plant and a rodeo arena were among the 14 structures that were razed to make room for the warehouse.

The owner of the warehouse was listed as Scannell Properties LLC of Indianapolis. On its website, Scannell says it is a privately owned real estate development and investment company that "focuses on build-to-suit and speculative development projects throughout the United States, Canada and Europe."

Though Amazon's name was not on any public documents related to the project until last week, it was one of the worst-kept secrets in north Sedgwick County.

Earlier this month, the City of Valley Center said that because of "Project Starship," it wanted to move forward with improvements to 77th Street and the intersection at 77th and Broadway.

Project Starship has been known as a code name for the Amazon project.

Further, Scannell Properties LLC had been involved in other Amazon warehouse projects in other parts of the country, including a similarly sized facility in Schodack, N.Y., that opened last month.

"We're excited about the great benefits that's going to bring us, hundreds of great-paying jobs and substantial economic impact that it's going to bring to this area," Mann said. "Really it establishes us as a logistical hub that I think will drive even more into our market. We're just so excited as a city. We worked really hard to be business friendly and make sure that we could attract the business in here. We're open and we're ready to go. … To be able to bring something in that's going to drive jobs and … economic growth, it's just a fantastic day for us and a fantastic day to be partnered up with Amazon and everybody else here."

Amazon previously announced it would open a delivery station near 37th North and Rock Road. That facility, which was already built and could open this year, is much smaller than the warehouse under construction in Park City.

Park City is having a big construction month.

On the other side of I-135, a casino is taking shape. The building will be on a newly named street, 777 Jackpot Way, which is located just south of the Sedgwick County fire station on 77th, east of I-135.

The facility's valuation was listed at $4.3 million. It will be owned by the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma, which previously had a mobile home moved onto the site in which it is already operating a small casino.