KATY, Texas – Amazon Inc. has been scouting the Houston area for a massive distribution center and people in the real estate community say that Amazon is expected to construct the facility on the far west side of Houston along Interstate 10.
If the deal comes together as envisioned, the Amazon footprint will be impressive – approximately 1 million square feet. And the job creation will be noteworthy as well — 1,000 new jobs. Although there is no official announcement, people in the Houston real estate community say there is a high probability this deal will coalesce, according to a copyrighted story in Realty News Report.
Last month, the Seattle-based online retailer announced a fast-paced national expansion program that will result in Amazon hiring 100,000 employees over the next 18 months.
Amazon is currently building an 855,000-SF fulfillment facility in north Houston at Hines’ Pinto Business Park near the southwest corner of Interstate 45 North and Beltway 8.
But with the size of Amazon’s growth aspirations in an expanding market like Houston, Amazon will likely need a number of facilities in the Houston metropolitan area.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a major Amazon presence. In January it was announced Amazon plans to build a 1 million square-foot fulfillment center in Coppell in northwest Dallas County. It will be the third Amazon facility in Coppell, a town of 38,600 people.
Elsewhere in the Lone Star State, Amazon currently operates fulfillment centers in Haslet, Dallas, Fort Worth, Schertz and San Marcos. Amazon also has sortation centers in Irving, San Antonio and Houston.
In its search for real estate in Houston, Amazon has been working with one of the largest global commercial real estate firms, in addition to Amazon’s in-house development specialists in a site search for a property in excess of 100 acres. Amazon’s PR department did not respond to inquiries.
Amazon is eyeing property with Interstate 10 frontage about 40 miles west of downtown Houston, west of the Grand Parkway, also known as Highway 99, according to people in the Houston real estate community.
This I-10 deal could fizzle out before Amazon begins construction. But the company shipped over 1 billion items over the Christmas shopping season — and with sales of that magnitude, it’s likely Amazon is going to need a bigger Houston presence in short order.
March 13, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017