Nov. 29 – CITY OF NIAGARA – Almost every day on her way to work, Niagara Municipal Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso is reminded that something big – really big – is happening in the city.
As she drives along Lockport Road, she says she marvels at the progress being made on Amazon’s newest $550 million fulfillment center.
“It’s the second largest in the country,” Virtuoso said of the 3.1 million-square-foot facility.
“Progress is excellent,” she said. “(Construction crews) are moving at a nice pace. The weather cooperated.”
With huge cranes towering over the steel skeleton of the five-story building, project managers say they have completed more than 20% of the construction. The facility, the size of six football fields, at 8995 Lockport Road, is expected to be completed in time for Black Friday 2026.
“As far as I can remember, we have never had a structure like this in our region,” Virtuoso said of the project. “It went smoothly, it really did. All the (contractors) involved in the project have a lot of experience with this type of construction.”
Work on the project, which started in the spring, is being managed from a small one-storey building at the front of the construction site. It acts as the hub of the project.
The walls are lined with blueprints and schematic drawings, and on a large TV screen, video from a drone flying overhead provides live footage of the construction in progress.
“It’s really great to see,” Virtuoso said. “It’s a great plan they have.”
The project will be located on 216 hectares, which Virtuoso said is already landscaped with berms and “greenery.”
The facility, called an Amazon Robotics Sortable Fulfillment Center, is expected to employ about 1,000 workers who will use robotic technology to receive, store and ship items. The site has room for 414 tractor-trailer parking spaces, 55 loading docks and 1,755 parking spaces.
“I think we’re all feeling the energy and excited about the possibility of what’s on the horizon,” said Glendowlyn Thames, Amazon’s head of economic development for New York state.
Virtuoso said the construction managers also appeared to be “good neighbors” to nearby residents.
“Every time the neighbors have had a concern or complaint, they have done their best to address it,” the city supervisor said.
