Amazon to open packaging center in Greenwood

GREENWOOD, Ind. (Daily Journal/WISH) — Amazon will open a rare packaging center in Greenwood, which will bring 1,250 jobs to the area by 2020.

The 615,000-square-foot “receive center” on Allen Road, where a proposed FedEx distribution center was planned before the company backed out in March, is expected to open by the end of next year.

According to News 8’s partner paper Daily Journal, the major online retailer will start hiring next winter.

Greenwood was competing with one other community for the facility.

This distribution center would be one of only a handful in the country, Amazon’s Economic Development Manager Ryan Wilson told city council members last month.

The jobs will pay an average of $14.65 an hour. With benefits, the hourly wage would be closer to $18 an hour. Benefits would start on day one of employment, Amazon officials said.

Council members approved two 10-year tax breaks on property taxes for the building and equipment. The company plans to invest $45 million in real property improvements, as well as $35 million in equipment.

The lease, which an Amazon official said was signed Tuesday, is longer than the abatements, so the company will have a presence in Greenwood for a long time.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers released a statement:

Greenwood is pleased to welcome Amazon to the community. It’s a strong sign for our city when the world’s second largest company chooses Greenwood to invest more than $80 million and $2 million in public infrastructure improvements. They plan to hire more than 1,250 people and pay them more than double the current minimum wage in Indiana. It’s a win-win for all involved, and we look forward to a promising future.