Amazon is eyeing property in southwest Atlanta for a multi-million-dollar modernized “first-mile” package facility.

The e-commerce giant appeared before the Fulton County Development Authority Board on Jan. 27, proposing a $500 million investment to redevelop a 1.1 million sq. ft. building on Campbellton Road.

“We would be turning this facility into one of our ‘first-mile’ fulfillment centers, utilizing Amazon robotics,” said Amazon Senior Manager Will Cowsert during the board meeting.

“The project would hold inventory for customer items, and employees at this site would pick, pack, and ship items here to other Amazon logistics facilities in our delivery network.”

County officials say the investment would create 500 construction jobs and 750 permanent positions in the Fulton Industrial Corridor. 

During the meeting, Select Fulton Economic Development Director Samir Samir Abdullahi noted the area is underserved and has been a target for redevelopment for a while.

“You’ve heard me remark before about the county’s efforts around renewing the district and trying to rehab Fulton Industrial, mainly because much of the industrial space out there doesn’t serve modern uses. So this is an opportunity to not only keep what we’ve got, but build upon it,” Abdullahi said.

If Amazon selects the proposed location, the company would save $16 million in taxes over a 10-year tax incentive period. 

However, the $500 million investment was met with pushback from Fulton Development Authority board member Alvin Kendall towards the end of the meeting. 

“In my experience, you’re going to call a special-called meeting here in the next two weeks, and you going to say we need to vote on this because they’re in a hurry to close this deal, and nobody ever gets a chance to hear or discuss all these ideas that you and others have,” Kendall said. 

The board pre-approved the effort to keep “the forward momentum of the incentive conversations going.” Representatives for Amazon say the company will finalize its location decision in the coming months.

This story is from Appen Media partner WABE.