Dive Brief:
- Internet retailing giant Amazon is moving forward with plans for a $1.5 billion international Prime Air hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), according to Business Facilities. Until the company's new facility is ready, it is leasing space from DHL, which also operates a global hub out of CVG and is expected to help Amazon reach international customers after the Prime Air hub is complete.
- The CVG complex, which will include more than 3 million square feet of new building construction, will serve Amazon Prime customers and, according to the airport, will host a fleet of more than 100 Prime Air cargo planes. The company will lease 900 acres of airport land under a 50-year-plus agreement. Earlier this year, Air Cargo World reported, Amazon bought an additional 210 acres next to the leased airport property, growing the hub's footprint to 1,100 acres.
- CVG is in Hebron, Kentucky, and the state's Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) has given its preliminary approval for a $40 million tax credit as long as the company creates 600 jobs. According to WCPO, the authority also gave the company another $5.4 million of tax breaks to the company for the project's first phase — $2.4 million for materials and fixtures and $3 million for research and development and equipment. Since 2000, the authority has approved almost $80 million of incentives for the company, which operates 11 fulfillment centers in Kentucky. The company expects to create more than 2,700 jobs at the new facility, construction of which should start in 2019 and begin partial operations in 2020 with full buildout complete by 2025.
Dive Insight:
Construction of the air freight facility at CVG is not the only new airport project on Amazon's radar.
The Oklahoma City Airport Trust approved a lease deal last month that would see Amazon build a 2.6 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center at the airport, according to The Oklahoman. The plan is not finalized, but Amazon supposedly wants to expedite construction. The company is also reportedly in the preliminary planning stage for a new distribution center near Spokane International Airport, according to the Journal of Business, although it has not officially announced its involvement in the 80-acre, 2.5-million-square-foot project. Thus far, the applicant of record is a local engineering company, and the project is dubbed "Super Duper Project Rose."
CVG is not even 150 miles from Columbus, Ohio, one of the 20 finalists Amazon has chosen for its $5 billion, second North American headquarters. Although it is not considered a front-runner to win the project, the state of Ohio appeared to pull out all the stops on an incentive package for the company, the Columbus Navigator reported. Included in the deal is a 15-year, 100% property tax abatement for all Amazon sites in the state and up to $400 million in total tax rebates based on job creation. Recent reports have suggested that the total value of Ohio's offer to Amazon would be worth about $3 billion.
