BAZETTA TOWNSHIP – Documents filed with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency last month indicate that a proposed 169,000-square-foot distribution center along Perkins Jones Road NE in Bazetta Township would be a delivery facility associated with the online retail giant Amazon.
According to a site concept plan prepared by Progressive AP, an engineering firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich., the project calls for a delivery station to be constructed on 66.2 acres, replete with 341 parking spaces reserved for employees, managers and visitors.
Among those are three spaces dedicated to managers at “AMZL”– an abbreviation for Amazon Logistics, the site map shows. Moreover, another 46 spaces are allocated to “DSP” managers. DSP stands for Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners.
The proposed parking area, positioned parallel to Perkins-Jones at the south end of the property, allots another 193 spaces for associates, three visitor spaces and another 96 “van personal spaces,” the document shows.
In addition to the employee lot, the proposed project provides 1,003 spots for vans on the north and east side of the site, the map shows.
The site map also shows the outline of a mostly rectangular-shaped
delivery center that is perpendicular to Perkins Jones and the front parking lot. The map denotes locations such as
“associate gathering areas,” spaces for bike racks, and ride share shelters.
At press time, a township official contacted by The Business Journal could not confirm whether the $30 million project – first announced by trustees in May simply as “Project Penguin” – was planned as an Amazon delivery station.
Bazetta Township Trustee Michael Hovis said he wasn’t aware of any EPA documents that suggested the project was one of Amazon’s delivery sites. “I haven’t heard anything about that,” he said.
Hovis said the developer, Ambrose Property Group, selected the site because of its proximity to the state Route 82 interchange. “It’s definitely going to create some jobs, and with them bringing infrastructure there it’s hopefully going to expand on that industrial zone there,” he said.
The sewer would extend a lateral 2,100 feet to serve both residents along Perkins Jones and the new development, he said. “We’re just waiting on the EPA approval,” Hovis said.
The cost of the infrastructure would be assumed by Ambrose Group, the developer, he said.
In August, Walsh Construction worked with Ambrose Property Group on an 80,000 square-foot warehouse for Amazon’s last-mile delivery program in Wisconsin.
Ambrose has also assisted in developing plans for an Amazon center near Terre Haute, Ind., according to published reports.
A spokeswoman from Ambrose Property Group said she could not provide any information.
The Bazetta center would be the second Amazon delivery location in the Mahoning Valley.
In 2019, Amazon opened its first delivery site – a 43,200 square-foot warehouse in North Jackson at Youngstown Commerce Park.