As work moves ahead on two Amazon facilities near the New Hanover-Pender county line, local officials on Monday are set to consider allocating $500,000 toward relocating existing utility lines on one of the sites.

Construction began last fall on a more than 3-million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center near the New Hanover-Pender county line, and in recent months, Amazon broke ground on a nearby delivery station facility in Pender Commerce Park.

Pender County is working closely with utilities in the area of the distribution center site to “relocate some of the existing lines deeper to allow for ample depth and protection of those lines,” according to an agenda item set to be considered by the Pender County Board of Commissioners during its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.

“We are requesting to use these fund contributions as an economic development incentive to ensure the site is adequate for the needs of the facility that is currently in process,” the item states.

While the cost of relocating the utilities is estimated at $500,000, the agenda item notes the costs will be “recouped in short order from future property tax revenues generated from both facilities.”

The fulfillment center is expected to create more than 1,000 full-time jobs, while the delivery station could create more than 100 full-time jobs. Hiring for an Amazon facility typically starts two to three months before it opens, according to Amazon officials.

In response to questions about the status of the facilities, an Amazon representative directed the Business Journal to a written update included in a recent newsletter from Wilmington Business Development. 

Sam Blatt, Amazon’s senior manager of economic development for North Carolina, stated in the newsletter that work on the fulfillment center facility is “progressing tremendously.”

“The building shell is complete, landscaping is wrapping up, and Amazon is now outfitting the interior with advanced robotics and operational equipment,” he wrote. “We remain on track for our fall 2026 launch.”

As for the 142,000-square-foot delivery station, Blatt stated that construction is “well underway.”

“The foundation slab has been poured, utility work is progressing, and we’re preparing to go vertical shortly,” he wrote. 

The delivery station will support the last mile of Amazon’s order process. The facility will directly serve Amazon customers in the greater Wilmington area, according to the newsletter. 

“The last-mile facility will receive customer orders from other facilities in our network, such as the nearby fulfillment center, sort them by delivery route, and dispatch them via our delivery service partners in Amazon-branded vans,” Blatt wrote in the newsletter update.

The facilities are the latest in a series of companies to locate in Pender Commerce Park, a 450-acre industrial property that welcomed its first tenant in 2013. With the new facilities, the park is now fully built out. Other tenants include Acme Smoked Fish, Empire Distributors, FedEx Freight, Coastal Beverage and Polyhose, among others.