Amazon to build distribution center in Pender County, will create 100 new jobs
PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Amazon will build a new distribution center on 40 acres at Pender Commerce Park, according to a news release from Wilmington Business Development.
This addition will create more than 100 full-time jobs, offering starting wages of $15 an hour and comprehensive benefits beginning on the first day of employment.
WBD says the 142,000-sq.-ft. facility is anticipated to be completed in 2023 to serve the company’s growing customer base in Greater Wilmington.
“We are excited to continue to invest in the State of North Carolina with a new delivery station that will provide efficient delivery for customers,” said Sam Blatt, Amazon’s Economic Development Manager for North Carolina. “The region has an excellent, growing workforce that will support the success of this important new facility.”
As well as providing associate jobs, the Delivery Station at Pender Commerce Park will provide hundreds of driver opportunities for Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners and Amazon Flex drivers. Delivery Stations power the last mile of Amazon’s order process and help speed up deliveries for customers. Packages are shipped to a Delivery Station from neighboring Amazon Fulfillment and Sortation Centers, loaded into delivery vehicles and delivered to customers.
“The choice of Pender Commerce Park by this iconic global company will bring economic diversification, local tax revenues and mobile career opportunities to Pender County and beyond,” said David Piepmeyer, Chairman of the Pender County Board of Commissioners. “It’s a major win for our community and further underscores just how transformative Pender Commerce Park has been for the region’s economy.”
Amazon is the latest in a string of companies to develop new facilities at Pender Commerce Park. The +450 acre industrial property welcomed its first tenant in 2013 — Acme Smoked Fish. Since then, Empire Distributors, FedEx Freight, Coastal Beverage, Pender Commerce Partners 1 LLC and Polyhose have constructed facilities there. RL Cold, a division of RealtyLink, and Ramm Capital Partners have started work on significant industrial footprints in the park as well. Equipped with the latest utility infrastructure, Pender Commerce Park is located on U.S. Highway 421, just three miles from I-140 and 13 miles to the Port of Wilmington.
“In just over a decade, Pender Commerce Park has gone from a dream to a reality that now includes some of the world’s most successful companies,” said Scott Satterfield, Chief Executive Officer at Wilmington Business Development. “Today’s announcement by Amazon keeps that momentum going, and WBD appreciates the commitment the company is making to Greater Wilmington’s economy and workforce.”
