The evidence that Amazon is planning to build a massive fulfillment center in southern Greensboro continues to grow.
On the consent agenda for the Tuesday, April 5 Greensboro City Council meeting is a resolution in support of the North Carolina Department of Transportation spending in excess of $250,000 for improvements to Ritters Lake Road, “to improve the safety and mobility of the traveling public by widening a sections to three lanes and tapers.”
On Dec. 3, 2021, the Rhino Times reported that Amazon was planning to build a 2-million-square-foot fulfillment center on 109 acres on Ritters Lake Road between Randleman Road and South Elm-Eugene Street.
The property was rezoned for such a development by a unanimous vote of the City Council on Nov. 17, 2021. However, at that meeting there was no mention made of an Amazon fulfillment center being built on the site. The one question asked at the City Council meeting was about traffic concerns in the area.
For months the Rhino Times was alone in reporting about a new Amazon fulfillment center coming to Greensboro. However, on March 3, 2022, the Triad Business Journal reported on the still unconfirmed news that the Ritters Lake Road property was the site of an Amazon fulfillment center. The Triad Business Journal article noted that attorney Mike Fox of Tuggle Duggins, representing Williams Development Group of Winston-Salem at the Greensboro Board of Adjustment meeting, said that there was a potential $200 million investment on the site with the possible creation of 1,000 new jobs.
The request approved by the Board of Adjustment was to allow the building to be 110 feet in height, which is 30 feet higher than permitted under the zoning standards.
Although Amazon has not confirmed that the Ritters Lake Road property is being prepared for a fulfillment center and no one in a position of authority will confirm that on the record, it has been confirmed off the record by several people in positions to know about major economic development projects in the area.
I prefer to buy things locally, but in my experience; when I can’t find something locally, Amazon has it – and at a lower price. From OTC drugs to an electric lawnmower, Amazon has been the place for me to go.
I wonder how much water this place would use so local people will have to do without.
Not nearly as much as the battery plant that’s being built at the mega site. Battery problem uses a tremendous amount of water as well as a lot of pollution. Greensboro is supplying that water and sewer also.