VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Amazon will build a new multi-story robotics fulfillment center and delivery station that it said would bring more than 1,000 jobs to Virginia Beach, the company, city officials and Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.
Youngkin was in Virginia Beach Monday to make the major economic announcement.
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer and others joined Youngkin at the intersection of Harpers Road and Dam Neck Road, which will eventually be the site of a multi-story robotics Amazon fulfillment center and delivery station. The project is going on a combined 237 acres. It will be the company’s 14th fulfillment and sortation center and 17th delivery station in Virginia.
Inside the state-of-the-art fulfillment center associates work with robots to pick, pack and ship your packages.
“They truly work side by side. Most of our robots help with the occupational stress to our employees. They are complementary,” said Lindsay Winter, Head of Virginia Public Policy for Amazon.
Amazon opened its first robotics fulfillment center in Virginia last October in Suffolk, and about two miles away in Chesapeake, the company opened a processing center.
“Virginia Beach is the ideal location for Amazon operations facilities due to its strategic location to the Port of Virginia, accessibility, and available workforce,” Dyer said in a statement. “We welcome Amazon to the Virginia Beach community and look forward to a successful partnership.”
The 650,000-square-foot robotics fulfillment center is anticipated to launch operations in 2025. The delivery station is anticipated to launch in 2024, in time for the busy holiday season.
“Amazon’s cutting-edge fulfillment centers generate major capital investment and thousands of jobs and strengthen Virginia’s position as a logistics industry leader on the East Coast,” Youngkin said. “We see Amazon’s expanding footprint impacting economic growth and innovation across the Commonwealth, and we will continue to compete for additional investment in Virginia.”
WAVY News 10’s Brett Hall reported last month that this news was likely.
Virginia Beach City Council voted 10-1 at an August meeting to move the project forward, and also agreed to pay for a new road to be built between Dam Neck Road and London Bridge Road. The new road will run behind the Prince George Estates neighborhood. Those who expressed concern over potential truck noise were advised that there are requirements for “substantial landscaping” to provide a buffer.
Councilman Chris Taylor was the one member who voted against the project, saying it would cut other road projects from the budget. Taylor also expressed concern that the giant company could steal employees from smaller businesses.
“Amazon’s new facilities will enhance economic vitality for the city of Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads region, bringing capital investment and 1,100 new jobs as well as indirect jobs that create a multiplier effect,” said Del. Barry Knight in a statement. “Amazon is a great corporate partner to Virginia, and we look forward to their continued expansion.”
