Even the scaled-back version of a planned Amazon warehouse and distribution facility, the first to be located within Fort Myers city limits, will be a record-setter and innovator.
Amazon.com Services LLC paid $66.5 million Nov. 18 for 143.2 acres off State Road 82, said Justin Thibaut, CEO of LSI Companies and the broker on the deal. The land has an address of 10631 State Road 82.
Amazon already uses two buildings for distribution and warehouse space off Alico Road.
But the new building will be a “first-mile” robotics distribution center, said Sam Blatt, economic development manager for Amazon. It will be the first facility of its kind in Southwest Florida, and it will serve the southeastern U.S. and areas beyond, he said, depending on what products are ordered from it. Plus, it will accelerate the pace for getting items to homes across Southwest Florida. The latest robotic sorting technology will be built on the site, and it is planned to be ready by 2027, Amazon officials said.
A longtime Fort Myers-based land investor sold the land under the name Keystone Creek LLC, property records show.
The price marks a record for raw land in Lee County, said Matt Simmons, a property appraiser with Maxwell, Hendry & Simmons. It eclipses by $10.5 million the $56 millon price paid in 2015 for 347 acres off Bonita Beach Road for what is now the Valencia Bonita community.
The building will measure about 750,000 square feet, Amazon officials said.
That would be the largest, standalone industrial building in Lee County history, Thibaut said. It will be almost the size of two Edison Mall shopping areas.
“The indicators that Lee County and the city of Fort Myers are in growth mode are clear when a user like this not only enters the market as they did a few years ago in the Alico Corridor, but then doubles down by delivering another large-scale facility here,” Thibaut said. “Our area has been on the precipice of hitting key metrics that now prove that large-scale distribution/delivery infrastructure and facilities like this one are needed to keep up with changing and increasing consumer demand.”
Although the original estimations to the city government said the completed project would provide about 750 full and part-time jobs starting at $16 an hour, Blatt said that job number since has risen to at least 1,000 employees and that the average pay will be $22 an hour.
“We like to be conservative in our submissions, publicly,” Blatt said. “We want to make sure we’re providing a number that we’re certainly going to hit. Now we’re confident that we’re going to exceed that number.”
The just taxable value of the land will rise from the current $10 million to about $500 million upon completion of construction, said Kimley-Horn and Associates in a June letter to Fort Myers Community Development Director Steve Belden about the project.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Amazon and their state-of-the-art facility to the city of Fort Myers,” Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said. “As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, this new center will greatly serve our growing community, as well as generate high-quality jobs and economic opportunity and growth.”
Amazon will pay for all sewer and water connections, the letter said, as well as a traffic signal and median cut just east of Lightard Knott Lane, about 1.2 miles east of the interstate and 1.8 miles west of the Colonial/Lee Boulevard and State Road 82 intersection.
“Great location,” Blatt said. “I’m really happy with it.”
Three years ago, Amazon paused plans to build what would have been the largest industrial warehouse complex in city of Fort Myers and Lee County history.
Then known as “Project Rainforest,” the original plans would have measured almost 1.5 million square feet and were to have had four buildings, with the largest being 650,000 square feet.
But in 2022 during post-COVID-19 supply-chain disruptions that impacted construction, Amazon scaled back some of its warehouse expansion plans, not just across Southwest Florida but across the country.
Thereafter, the same investor from this week’s deal sold parcels just to the east and west of the existing Lexington Palms at the Forum apartment complex under the C-Hack and Keystone Creek LLC names.
A 64-acre tract sold for $30.8 million to Varden Capital Properties in June 2022. And a 70-acre tract sold for $30 million to Wolfson Development for a planned 700-unit apartment complex. Neither of those two projects have broken ground yet.
“Amazon is constantly evaluating locations,” Blatt said. “It wasn’t the right time. But we’re excited to be moving forward now. We’re looking forward to creating more than 1,000 full-time jobs.”
Thibaut said the proximity to Interstate 75 drove the value of this latest land deal.
“The location relative to I-75 was a key factor for this acquisition, in addition to the simple fact that large vacant properties similar to this simply do not exist in this close of proximity to major thoroughfares in Lee County,” Thibaut said. “A new flag is being planted in our area, and consumers will notice the impact as soon as its delivered.”
Steve Weathers, director economic development for city of Fort Myers, called Amazon coming to the city a win for the local economy.
“Any time an Amazon facility comes to your community, it brings a lot of jobs,” Weathers said. “It brings a lot of economic benefit to the area. I just think when Amazon comes to your community, it brings a lot of jobs with great benefits. They’re always a great addition to your community. And they pay taxes. They’ll increase our tax revenue and our tax base for job creation.”
