Amazon.com Latest to Choose Kansas City Area, Announcing New 822,000-Sq.-Ft. Distribution Facility, 1,000 New Jobs

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Kansas City area's speculative development boom continues to pay off.  Amazon.com is the latest company to select the KC area, announcing it will occupy a new 822,104-sq.-ft. fulfillment center at Logistics Park Kansas City in Edgerton, Kan., part of the 18-county Kansas City metro area served by the Kansas City Area Development Council.

Amazon's new facility was developed by NorthPoint Development as the area's largest industrial building ever built on a speculative basis. The new state-of-the-art fulfillment center will create approximately 1,000 full-time hourly positions, plus managerial and support roles to support customer fulfillment.

"Amazon's announcement validates the vast investments our local developers have made in speculative industrial developments," says Tim Cowden, president and CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council.  "There are over a dozen spec projects in 28 different locations across the metro right now, and we're optimistic about the market remaining strong. Over half of the companies occupying Kansas City's spec space are new to the market."

In the past five years, the Kansas City area has seen an average of 4 million sq. ft. of speculative space added annually. More than 5.8 million sq. ft. of speculative industrial space hit the market in 2015, and currently 6.3 million sq. ft. of spec space is under construction. S&S Active Wear, Commonwealth Inc., Excel Industries, US Farathane, ReallyGoodStuff.com, Novia and Flexsteel have also located in a Kansas City area spec building in the last 18 months.

"The Kansas City region offers a unique competitive advantage to companies looking to diversify distribution with a Midwest location," says Chris Gutierrez, president of KC SmartPort. "We are seeing the industrial market respond to demand for new distribution space, and this opens up opportunities for growing supply chain companies."

Amazon already operates a 267,000-sq.-ft. fulfillment center at Lenexa Logistics Center at 113th Street and Renner Boulevard. The new Amazon facility will be located at the northeast corner of 196th Street and Waverly Road in Logistics Park Kansas City. The Amazon project was managed by Cushman & Wakefield.

About KC SmartPort
KC SmartPort is the authority on logistics opportunities in the 18-county, bi-state Kansas City region. KC SmartPort promotes and enhances the Kansas City region's status as a leading North American logistics hub. KC SmartPort is affiliated with the Kansas City Area Development Council, the regional economic development organization for the 18-county Kansas City metro. www.KCSmartPort.com

About Greater Kansas City
Home to 2.5 million people, the Kansas City region offers the benefits of more than 50 unique communities and 18 counties in Kansas and Missouri. The area ranks as the number one rail center in the U.S., the country's third largest trucking center and one of the largest Foreign Trade Zones in the U.S. www.thinkKC.com 

SOURCE Kansas City Area Development Council