DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Amazon plans to build a 640,000-square-foot distribution center in Davenport, creating more than 1,000 permanent jobs, city and local chamber of commerce officials announced Wednesday.
Plans call for building the center north of Interstate 80 and west of the Davenport Municipal Airport, the Quad-City Times reports. It would be Amazon’s second center in Iowa and its largest in the state after the company opened a 640,000-square-foot center in December outside Des Moines. Amazon also signed a lease in March to move into a warehouse north of Des Moines, according Polk County property records.
Local officials estimate that it will cost $3.9 million to improve the roads around the Davenport site. The city has applied to the state Department of Transportation for a grant to cover 60% of the cost and plans to issue bonds to cover the rest.
Davenport city Alderman Kyle Gripp said while the company is promising more than 1,000 new jobs, the hope is that it will create more than 1,500. He said the city believes the center will help make the local job market more competitive.
