Amazon considering a large Oak Creek distribution center, with over 1,000 full-time jobs

Amazon.com Inc. is considering a large distribution center at a new Oak Creek business park, a development that would include over 1,000 full-time jobs, according to real estate industry sources and plans filed with state officials.

The building would be at Ryan Business Park, which is being developed on 85 acres south of West Ryan Road, between South 13th Street and the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks.

That site is just east of the I-94/Ryan Road interchange. 

Industry sources said Amazon, the nation's largest online retailer, is focusing on Ryan Business Park after considering other sites, including Milwaukee's Century City. That business park is at the former Tower Automotive Inc. factory site on the city's north side.

Mike Faber, one of Ryan Business Park's developers, said Tuesday that he's been in conversations with prospects looking for a large amount of light industrial space. 

But Faber, principal at Capstone Quadrangle, said no tenant has yet been signed. He declined to comment on whether Amazon was among those prospects. 

Alyssa Tran, an Amazon community relations specialist, said the Seattle-based company "is not yet commenting on any specific plans in Wisconsin."

'Internet retail fulfillment center'

Faber has submitted an application to the state Department of Natural Resources for a water permit at Ryan Business Park.

The property includes Oak Creek's south branch, which triggers a DNR review of how the development would affect that wetland.

The application was submitted under the name "Project Arrow." That's a possible reference to Amazon's corporate logo, which includes a curved arrow.

Also, the project is described in the proposal as an "internet retail fulfillment center."

The information filed with the DNR, which doesn't name the building's prospective tenant, calls for a four-story distribution center totaling 2.6 million square feet.

That building would have over 1,000 full-time jobs. The parking lot would accommodate 1,800 cars, according to those plans.

The distribution center would use the entire business park site, except for land set aside for a neighborhood park, flood plain and other open space.

Its tenant would have "an efficient automation system to minimize the building footprint yet accomplish the needs of the facility," the proposal said.

Capstone is developing Ryan Business Park with General Capital Group.

JSOnline reported Monday that Oak Creek could spend up to $30 million to help finance Ryan Business Park.

The money would be spent on reconstructing South 13th Street, building new roads within the business park, grading, constructing a bridge over Oak Creek's south branch, interest costs and $6 million in "economic development incentives" to help land companies.

The city's funds would be repaid through property taxes from the new buildings.

Ryan Business Park was proposed to have buildings totaling 1 million to 3 million square feet, with total values of $80 million to $100 million, according to a report by the city's consultant, Vandewalle & Associates Inc.

Ryan Business Park's developers hope to begin site work this fall.

The information filed with the DNR said the distribution center's tenant looked at alternative sites, including the northwest Milwaukee area — which lacked adequate infrastructure.

Also considered was a Milwaukee urban site, apparently Century City, "which was challenged from a vehicular access standpoint." That business park is south of West Capitol Drive and west of West Hopkins Street, about 1.5 miles from the nearest I-94 interchange.

Amazon's $250 million Kenosha distribution and fulfillment center along I-94 features two buildings totaling 1.5 million square feet on 165 acres. It has around 1,100 employees.

Amazon's Kenosha facility is among several newer large industrial developments along I-94 from Oak Creek to the Wisconsin-Illinois border.

Those projects have raised questions about where companies such as Amazon, Haribo and Foxconn Technology Group will find the thousands of workers needed to operate distribution centers and factories.

In some cases, those workers could include people who will move to southeastern Wisconsin from out of state, according to economic development officials.

For workers commuting from Milwaukee, the state's largest city, Oak Creek would be a much shorter trip than either Mount Pleasant, where Foxconn is building its operations, or Kenosha County.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.