Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Multinational technology and online retail giant Amazon is expanding their footprint in the Levittown area.
The company has signed a lease for a 148,831-square-foot warehouse at 6300 Route 13 by the U-Haul facility near the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the the deal.
The property is owned by Alliance Partners HSP and previously occupied by Solid Wood Cabinets.
Work to completely renovate the warehouse for Amazon’s use as a distribution center is underway at the 9.9-acre site. The renovation work is extensive with the structure being taken down to the beams.
Bristol Township Manager Randee Elton confirmed Amazon has signed a lease for the planned distribution center. She said the company has told the township that they plan to formally introduce themselves to the community in the future.
In July, an attorney for property owner Alliance Partners HSP said the building would be used by a “national logistics company” and a “significant” amount of money was being spent to make upgrades.
The site could add as many as 100 jobs, the attorney said in July.
Drawings submitted to the Bucks County Planning Commission show revised parking lots at the site. The plans from early summer also called for taking down about 4,000 square feet of the building.
In Falls Township, Amazon is close to signing a lease, if they have not already, for the 396,000-square-foot former Rite Aid warehouse at 1 Geoffrey Road in the Morrisville section of the township, the sources said.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Falls Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said he is aware Amazon has a letter of intent to lease the large warehouse.
Earlier this week, crews were spotted performing work at the building.
The former Rite Aid warehouse is owned by AG-EIP 1 Geoffrey Drive LLC.
Amazon spokesperson Rachael Lighty said the company has a policy on not commenting on “rumors or speculation, nor on our future roadmap.”
The Bristol Township and Falls Township warehouses are both close to major highways with access across the area and Mid-Atlantic region.
Sources familiar with Amazon’s efforts to procure warehouse space in Lower Bucks County have said the massive company that is based in Seattle had been searching for space to lease for months. The search included multiple site tours and meetings with local officials.
The company did their best to keep a low profile and even had some people involved sign nondisclosure agreements, sources said.
One real estate source explained that some area warehouse and property owners have stepped up efforts to lure Amazon to their sites.
Another local development source said they understand that Amazon wanted to open the new last-mile delivery centers to expand their capability to quickly deliver orders to customers. They said the company could is still eyeing more properties in Bucks County, Philadelphia, and other locations in the region.
Amazon already operates a fulfillment center on Cabot Boulevard in Middletown Township. The site sees what seems like an endless stream of blue vans coming and going throughout the day. It also is a base of operations for the Amazon Flex program that uses freelance workers to make last-mile deliveries in their personal vehicles.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Amazon is preparing to open a new 235,240-square-foot distribution center on State Road in Bensalem, just a short distance from Bristol Township’s Croydon section. The Philadelphia Business Journal first reported the lease was signed in August.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
In June, grocery industry trade publication Food Trade News reported that Amazon was looking to Bucks County – at the old Kmart on Street Road in Bensalem and a closed Giant Food Store on Route 611 in Warrington – and Philadelphia to open its unnamed grocery concept that is seperate from Whole Foods, which the company owns.
While many companies are seeing negative financial impacts due to the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon grew revenue by 40 percent in the second quarter and plans to add more than 100,000 new employees in the coming months. By the end of the year, Amazon could have 1 million employees, according to financial website Motley Fool.
When Amazon launched their North American second headquarters search a few years back, both Bristol Township and Bensalem submitted applications but lost out.
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