Amazon pulled its annexation and rezoning application for a property in Buena Vista (BV) on Monday. April 20. The former Topside Development, termed “Amazon’s Project Valley,” is located along County Road 317. The property was being considered to serve as a last-mile delivery facility for Amazon packages within a 60-minute driving radius of the facility.

Ark Valley Voice (AVV) confirmed with BV Planning Director Marika Kopp that the application had been pulled. AVV was unable to reach Amazon for comment that day.

AVV called Amazon Senior Manager of Economic Development Sam Bailey and left a message on Monday for further comment. AVV followed up with an email on Tuesday and received an automated out-of-office message.

While Bailey did not respond, Amazon Regional Public Relations Specialist Nissa LaPoint responded later on Tuesday April 21, stating LaPoint and a colleague would answer the questions.

The questions asked were:

Why did Amazon decide to withdraw the application?

Are the limitations on truck routing the primary reason for deciding against the use of the property?

Can you confirm that Amazon still intends to build a last-mile facility in the Arkansas valley?

Will this still be in Buena Vista or are you considering other locations?

Do you have any additional message for the public about Amazon’s potential future in the valley?

On April 23, LaPoint responded to AVV’s questions with a single quote:

“We’re continuing our work to identify where we can establish operations in the Arkansas Valley in order to provide customers with fast delivery and great service. We’re grateful to our local partners, including the Town of Buena Vista and Chaffee County, who have supported our efforts thus far, and we look forward to continuing to work with them.”

This response did not address the questions asked about why Amazon decided to pull the application. AVV has reached out again and will update this article should a response be received.