After Amazon built two large warehouses in Melbourne and Cocoa and then left them unused for about two years, the company now plans to finally open the two distribution centers by the end of the year.
The Space Coast warehouses complement Amazon delivery stations in Jacksonville and Tampa, as well as Amazon’s 100,000-square-foot logistics facility in Port St. Lucie, which opened two weeks ago, as part of the e-commerce giant’s expansion in Florida.
Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy and community engagement, spoke briefly about the warehouses on Friday during a speech at the Space Coast Symposium, a space-related conference organized by the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce. In his remarks, he mentioned four of the five Florida facilities, excluding Cocoa.
“These four developments not only strengthen our operational capabilities, but also underscore our commitment to the Sunshine State by creating over 1,300 new jobs that offer excellent wages, great benefits and great opportunities for advancement,” Huseman told the audience.
“And that’s in addition to the 52,000 employees we already have here in Florida. We are proud to be part of Florida’s strong economic engine,” he said.
“And Florida will play a key role in connecting us to our customers, both through faster package delivery speeds and by providing fast, affordable broadband internet through Project Kuiper,” he said.
Average wage for customer processing at Amazon: $20.50 per hour
In a press release, Amazon representatives announced the opening of warehouses in Melbourne, Port St. Lucie, Jacksonville and Tampa in 2024, touting the company’s more than $36 billion investment in Florida since 2010.
Samantha Senger, Cocoa’s director of communications and economic development, said Amazon’s Cocoa facility will also open later this year.
“We expect that to happen very soon,” Senger said. “They have stated that it should happen sometime in the fall. We hope to have information on local hiring opportunities in the next few days.”
Amazon’s 19,850-square-foot delivery station at 3655 Grissom Parkway in Cocoa received building permits from City Hall in December 2021. However, Amazon.com Inc. reported a financial loss of $3.84 billion in the first quarter of 2022, attributing the loss in part to overcapacity in warehouse facilities and increasing headcount too quickly.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey shared a copy of Amazon’s press release and some details about his city’s distribution center at 3998 Sarno Road. He noted: “This building has been completed but not in use since 2022. Very limited information has been disseminated since then.”
“The Amazon building is planned to be 13,500 square feet and will feature an electric vehicle charging station capable of charging up to 737 delivery trucks. It will also feature a signaled entrance/exit to Eau Gallie Blvd. and two covered bus stops, one on Sarno Road and the other on Eau Gallie Blvd.,” Alfrey said in the post.
Under Project Kuiper, Amazon hopes to launch its first full payload of internet-transmitting satellites aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in the fourth quarter of the year. In a $140 million effort, the company is building a 100,000-square-foot satellite processing facility and a 40,000-square-foot flight hardware building at NASA’s Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.
“This last mile in Melbourne, along with the recent selection of Kennedy Space Center as the site of the company’s satellite processing facility, demonstrates their commitment to Florida’s Space Coast,” said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, in Amazon’s press release.
“Amazon’s philosophy of long-term investment and local philanthropy will benefit our community for years to come and provide opportunities for our growing economy,” Weatherman said.
Business editor Dave Berman contributed to this story. Rick Neale is a space reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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