WILMINGTON — “I’m feeling like a billion dollars,” Scott Satterfield, CEO of Wilmington Business Development, announced at the groundbreaking of Amazon’s new robotics distribution center, being built in Pender Commerce Park.

According to Satterfield, WED — a private, nonprofit organization that focuses on bringing businesses to the area — has been working on the project for five years. Though Wednesday’s groundbreaking was more symbolic than literal, as the facility is 65%completed, the excitement surrounding it didn’t wane.

Located on U.S. Highway 421, construction crews were working away on the four-and-a-half story, 100-foot building, to have 3.2 million square feet of floor area for orders to be picked, packed and shipped across the southeast and nationwide. The robotics center is expected to open by the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027. 

Holly Sullivan, vice president of world economic development for Amazon, said it would bring state-of-the-art technology and AI to its operations. Robots are used to streamline warehousing needs, whether picking, packing or building boxes at the facility, and are also in place to increase employee safety. Sullivan wouldn’t detail how many robots will be on site, noting they’re located on multiple floors and housed on mezzanines; employees work in surrounding perimeters. 

The facility will bring 1,000 jobs, from entry-level associates to higher level positions, according to Sullivan. 

UNCW’s associate professor of economics, Mouhcine Guettabi, conducted an analysis on behalf of Amazon and noted wages will be between $18 to $22 an hour. Upon its completion Amazon’s local footprint will have spillover effects into the local job market overall, with the project also supporting 435 indirect jobs to come to the area.

Altogether, this is expected to account for an additional $163 million in recurring economic activity and represent 1% of all employment in the region, the study noted.

“It’s going to yield dividends for decades to come,” Satterfield said. 

The initial investment in the facility is $350 million, not taking into account around $200 million coming from subcontracts and suppliers. 

“Most cities have a Fortune 500 company,” New Hanover County Chairman Bill Rivenbark said. “We have a Fortune 2.”

Amazon has been rated numerous years in a row by Fortune, landing in the second spot behind Walmart.

Multiple leaders attended the groundbreaking, most praising the generational change the facility will bring for employment and economic impact regionwide. 

Mayor Bill Saffo called it “historic,” while Pender County Chairman Randy Burton praised Satterfield and WED’s perseverance to bring the project to fruition. 

Part of the deal’s wrangling came with getting all area leaders at the same table since the facility straddles both Pender and New Hanover county lines. Amazon will pay taxes to both counties, Satterfield said. 

According to New Hanover County, it’s roughly a 60-40 split. Around 105.6 acres of the robotics center is located in Pender County, with 70.5 acres in New Hanover County. 

“It’s not yet known if the facility’s tax split will mirror the acreage split, especially given the counties have different tax rates,” NHC spokesperson Josh Smith told Port City Daily.

Sullivan moved to the area a little more than a year ago when the deal was already underway. She said commissioners from both New Hanover and Pender counties signed an interlocal agreement to ensure the permitting process was efficient and seamless, which made a difference in pushing forward the project.

Normally, facilities of this stature are built in 18 to 24 months months, Sullivan said: “We might break that record because of that agreement.”

Amazon entered into the North Carolina market with a facility in Charlotte in 2016 and now has more than 25 statewide, accounting for more than 27,000 jobs. It’s invested roughly $12 billion in the state and the Wilmington robotics center will be the largest in North Carolina to date.

“It will put Wilmington on the map, to be able to land this kind of opportunity,” Satterfield said, calling it the largest economic investment in the area in recent history.

Sullivan pointed to state and local stewardship as instrumental to helping corporate residents and Amazon’s success regionally, calling North Carolina a “business friendly state.” Over 60% of what ships from Amazon comes from small and medium-sized businesses, she explained, noting more than 11,000 on the e-commerce website are located in North Carolina.

Local talent was another main draw for Amazon to build its robotics facility locally, she indicated. Full-time employees of the company receive on day one benefits and paid parental leave pay. The company also has a prepaid college tuition program and Sullivan said they’re already making connections to partner with UNCW and Cape Fear Community College.

“We are looking to be a good community partner,” she said, noting the real estate property and infrastructure in place at Pender Commerce Park was a “unicorn” that appealed to the company.

The 450-acre industrial park is located three miles from I-140 and 13 miles from the Port of Wilmington. Satterfield thanked the Pender County commissioners for their willingness to get the property 20 years ago when WED’s vision was to bring an economic driver to the region. The county has invested in putting water and wastewater treatment plants on the site, with gas, power and other utility lines also running to it.

The global e-commerce company will join other corporate tenants in the park, including Acme Smoked Fish, Empire Distributors, Polyhose, Coastal Beverage, FedEx and more.

Satterfield ranked the Amazon project at the top of his career so far, dubbing it “Project Whale.” He called its many moving parts challenging at times, dealing with various needs when it comes to land, infrastructure, utilities, and road access. 

“And you also have to be able to train a huge labor force, which is something we’re confident in, but you have to prove that to the company,” he said, noting he believed in southeastern North Carolina’s ability to compete, with a strong foundation of resources, leaders and allies in place. “We’re better for it, we’re better for the effort. And it continues to put the greater Wilmington region on the map as we’re able to land this type of opportunity. It truly will be transformational.”

Originally Amazon announced in 2022 it was coming to the region, in a deal backed by Seefried Industrial Properties to purchase the 170 acres. Seefried reneged on it, according to the Wilmington Business Journal. Amazon closed on the property last August and broke ground two months later.

The robotics distribution center is only part one of the Amazon build-out. Guettabi indicated in the study, phase one of construction has brought 2,340 indirect and direct jobs, with 1,500 people working on the site. But the jobs won’t stop there; a delivery station, to be more than 140,000 square feet, is also coming to the region, located a couple hundred or so yards from the robotics center. The timeline to its completion — which Satterfield calls “Project Tuna” — is yet known.

Closer to the robotics center’s opening, Amazon will host job fairs, Sullivan said. 

“Together we’re not just building a fulfillment center. We’re building an opportunity that will positively transform the Wilmington region and generate prosperity,” she added.

Have tips or comments? Email info@portcitydaily.com

Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.